20 responses to “Which bits of the Bible do you miss out?”
-
I think that I’m with you Father K, there is a time and place for everything and a service where the problems of a problematic passage can’t be addressed easily is not the place to read it, lectionary be hanged.
-
My favourite bits of the Bible are the Song of Songs (which, in the medieval period, was interpreted by both Jews and Christians as an allegory of the soul’s relationship with God); the book of Ruth; the book of Esther; the story of David and Jonathan; Amos & Micah. Most of the New Testament leaves me completely cold, and some of it is actually offensive, especially the account of the silver-smiths of Ephesus, and the way that Paul appropriates pagan poetry in the marketplace of Athens.
I think the solution to your problem is not to read the “difficult” bits without some sort of homily about a better way to understand them, and how to read the Bible in general as a collection of texts situated in a particular historical situation.
Previous Posts
-
Sermon – 13 March 2005
On Friday afternoon, I had the pleasure of spending several hours sitting in our Cathedral Church in Perth for the consecration of our new Bishop, the Rt Rev David Chillingworth. Sadly, I was not sitting in a seat which afforded me a view of the proceedings. Indeed, I was very much behind a pillar and…
-
10 Commandments
An attempt is being made by one of the television stations to get people to write their own version of the 10 commandments. Here is mine. Well, Ten Liturgical Commandments. 1 Thou shalt not put flowers in the font – ever. 2 Thou shalt not put flowers in anything during Lent. 3 Thou shalt not…
-
Bishop Watch
The Scottish bishops have released a new statement about the usual topic. Its not bad either.Take a look: Bishops' StatementI've been writing a response today, which appears on the Changing Attitude Scotland website: www.changingattitudescotland.org.uk
-
Freecycle
Here is a good internet idea – the Freecycle network. It works a bit like Ebay except everything is free. The idea is to promote recycling by offering unwanted things to others for free. The network is up and running in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but not in the Stirling/Forth Valley area yet. http://www.freecycle.org
Leave a Reply