Nouslife got me thinking about the Bible as an unfinished symphony...

And so I am wanting to discover something of the mystery and engage with it. I have had rather a rebellious attitude towards systematic theology and I am aware that it has much to teach me and my response to it has been very biased because it has much more to do with my suspicions about Wayne Grudem's agenda. I don't charge him with having an agenda, I charge myself with having an agenda in supposing that he has one. I am sure he hasn't and is simply a theologian and disciple, reading the bible in a way that makes sense of the world for him. What I am trying to do is give up on the idea that the bible will help me make sense of the world because I don't think that that is what it is all about. Doctrine will only ever capture a droplet of the oceans of truths it contains and so I am looking at the moment into the thinking of Brian McClaren, whom I find very interesting and I am also about to investigate some of the books that Simon Barrow recommends - I get good vibes about this guy - he's got something very real to share which I think will open up the eyes of many Christians who think they've got it all sown up.

And so he recommends In God's Time, and Ward's 'What the Bible really teaches' in which Ward asserts that human interpretation and error are a part of the story of the unfolding nature of scripture. There are, of course, a variety of interpretations given by the gospel writers about the life of Jesus and so as readers we should ‘compare, recognize diversity, learn from it and respond in a personal way to the living Christ’ (p. 13). The Bible itself models creative exploration and does not justify any kind of unchangeable barrier to any new thought’ (p. 16).

I look forward to the postman coming with my books!