How can the church prevent its young people from leaving the faith? I don’t know, exactly. But perhaps the current exodus from the church is at least partially our fault. Recently I encountered a now-adult atheist who grew up in the church but became disillusioned with God in his teen years because God didn’t perform as advertised. God didn’t answer …
Endorsements (and two full reviews) for Faith Unexpected
Rick Mattson has written a book about struggling people who have an authentic and sometimes messy encounter with a delightful and disturbing and wooing God. Whatever your faith background or orientation, you will be inspired and encouraged by these real life and powerful stories! – Dr. Rick Richardson Director of Academic Programs, Church Outreach Initiative and Research Wheaton College and …
Faith Unexpected: Full Description
Faith Unexpected: Real Stories of People Who Found What They Never Imagined How did Pentagon military strategist Donald Wellington find faith in God? Not the way you’d expect – not through attending church or reading the Bible. In fact, Donald discovered faith in ways that he never expected. Or Deedra Reyes, Hopi Native American girl – how did she find …
Story Part 2: How to Read the Biblical Story
A few years ago when I read the famous book pictured at left, it changed the way I approach the Bible. Robert Alter taught me to pay closer attention to the story of Scripture, that is, to the author’s intended literary elements, such as: “the minute choice of words and reported details, the pace of narration, the small movements of dialogue, …
Story Part 1: Jesus Used Stories. So Should We.
In his fine book Reimagining Evangelism, Prof. Rick Richardson of Wheaton College and the Billy Graham Center reminds us of the power of story: “Jesus taught truth by telling stories and his stories still reverberate in our souls centuries later: the prodigal son, the sower, the parables of the kingdom. Jesus knew how to lodge truth not just in our heads but …
Bible Interpretation Part 5: The Justice Objection 2
So far in this set of posts regarding Bible interpretation, I’ve replied to four different objections to a traditional reading: the naturalistic, the literalistic, the pluralistic and the “justice” objection. This is part two of the justice objection, and can be summarized as follows: Whenever a traditional interpretation of the Bible doesn’t account for racial, sexual and gender justice, it must be …
Bible Interpretation Part 4: The Justice Objection 1
In my prior three posts I responded to 1) the naturalistic objection to Bible interpretation, 2) the literalistic objection and 3) the pluralistic objection. This post is about the “justice” objection, which has various forms but perhaps can be summarized as follows: It would be unjust of God to reveal himself primarily in only one religious tradition such as Christianity …
Bible Interpretation Part 3: The Pluralist Objection
In the prior two posts, I responded to the naturalistic and literalistic objections to Bible interpretation. The “pluralist” objection is third, and goes something like this: The Bible is just one revelation among many of the Divine. Any interpretation of the Bible that excludes other religious traditions or somehow invalidates them cannot be accepted. Two Replies: 1. Excluding exclusivism: the pluralist …
Bible Interpretation Part 2: The Literalistic Objection
In my prior post I replied to the naturalistic objection to Bible interpretation. In this post I’d like to respond to the literalistic objection, which goes something like this: The Bible is the inerrant Word of God and must be read literally, “as is.” You don’t “interpret” Scripture, you just read it and apply it to your life. I agree …
Bible Interpretation Part 1: The Naturalistic Objection
College students of varying backgrounds often raise objections to traditional interpretations of the Bible. Here are three types of objections I hear regularly: Naturalistic Literalistic Pluralistic Naturalistic objections are critical of anything that is miraculous or otherwise “fanciful” in the Bible. Thus the supernatural elements found in the Gospels, Exodus and numerous other places in Scripture are automatically rejected — …