Comments on: Random Colin: the Bible Isn’t a bible

By: lindseyhall

lindseyhall — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:11:57 +0000

“It scares us so much that we aren’t allowed to critique the Bible, we aren’t allowed to ask it difficult questions. We accept it all dogmatically because we think it’s all dogmatic, but it isn’t. There is room to question and challenge the Bible. Do you know how I know this? Because the Bible questions and challenges itself. Ezekiel questions the Torah. Lamentations questions Deuteronomy and the great deuteronomistic history. Jesus questions the Law, even as he says that he does not set aside even one jot of it.”

I appreciate this quote because it gets ride of the elephant in the room as first year students in seminary. This quote invites us to discover the bible without being fearful to ask difficult questions, or say something outside the context of Sunday school. Sometime we need the okay to challenge what is taught, and Colin’s blog encourages that freedom. Thank you.

When Colin stated that the Bible is a piece of literature, and not just an instruction manual, I couldn’t help but think of the cookbook in Barns and Nobel called “The Cookie Bible.” The cookbook is clearly an instruction manual for making delicious cookies. Yet the non-cookie Bible is limited, and perhaps quite confusing if it is only seen as an instruction manual. Because the Bible questions and challenges itself, how would we know what to do if we followed its instructions literally?

By: Pastoral Counselor in Training

Pastoral Counselor in Training — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:34:52 +0000

Oops: I forgot to mention that after reading Colin’s post I though of the words “For the Bible Tells Me So.” In addition to songs with those words in the title or lyrics, I encountered the documentary of the same name. It is on the way some groups leverage biblical teachings to direct hatred at the LGBTQ community while conveniently ignoring other admonitions. Slavery, women, divorce, etc., come to mind. I’m dumbfounded by the inability of people to read the Bible for what it has to say to us today. We may differ on the details but surely we can all recognize the fact society has changed in the past couple thousand years.
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By: Pastoral Counselor in Training

Pastoral Counselor in Training — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:04:44 +0000

I came to my Literature of Ancient Israel class with some preconceived notions about biblical inconsistencies, and some of those have proved true. My original conclusion based on those inconsistencies was that the entire document was unreliable and should be ignored. What I didn’t expect was to find music in that tension. I like the following statement by Colin: “The great power and theological depth of the Scripture is found within these points of tension, and again within the tension between our lives today and the various parts of this ancient collection of books. The Bible is like a stringed instrument in this respect. It only works because of great tension.” All stories cannot be all things to all men at all times. Life is not harmonious and our relationship with one another and with God cannot be expected to be harmonious at all times either.
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By: Colin Toffelmire

Colin Toffelmire — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:35:31 +0000

Thanks for the press Brooke, I’ve added you to my blogroll as well (something I’ve long meant to do).

You make a great point here. I grew up in an evangelical church and was certainly one of those young college students who “knows” all about the Bible. Thankfully I had fantastic OT and NT profs who blew my preconceptions to smitherines.