Wednesday, February 24, 2010

shazaam

Talking about cultural assumptions, passion, and flexibility in the Bible upsets many people, for it feels like the edge of a slippery slope. How can we depend on the Bible, if it's not consistent? I answer that the Bible is consistent, but not mechanically, mathematically consistent. The Bible is consistent the way a human personality is consistent. A person is shaped by her experience, has different moods, and waffles on certain issues, yet if we know her well, we can usually anticipate her reactions. Once in a while, of course, she will surprise us - it's the surprises that keep friendship growing. In the same way the Bible, for all her variety, shows generally predictable patterns. She also surprises us once in a while - perhaps even in a verse we have studied many times before. Could we expect less from eh word of a living God? - Marti J. Steussy

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well said by Prof. Steussy, and well quoted by you :) Prof. Steussy was my teacher at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis.

~L~ said...

living God and living Word. what a great analogy, because reading His Word is a lot like having a relationship with a person, it's different for almost everyone, yet consistent in the message we get from it as a whole.
thanks for sharing!

Bryan said...

Makes me thankful for the working of the Holy Spirit, guiding us into Truth and giving us wisdom and understanding as we read.