OK, I hope this huge outpouring of words didn’t deter potential readers too much…
I think my best chances for reconciliation with the bible must begin with researching (and maybe imitating) how people (including my former self) who do get along with the bible read that book. That’s where I must dig in my treasure hunt.
If my dia(b)logue partner Big Dan should have read these posts: I’m not sure what you meant with the question “Are you going to touch on the idea of the Bible as “God’s Holy Word”?” (but I’d of course be interested to know)
Good luck with the digging, my friend. Have you seen these How to Read the Bible Videos?
When I said “Are you going to touch on the idea of the Bible as “God’s Holy Word”?” I meant considering what it means to describe the bible as “God’s Word” – which let’s face it, most Christians do.
Can we really believe that it’s a deliberate message sent by God to inspire and instruct humans throughout the ages, irrespective of whether or not that’s done via the medium of fallible human writers?
Or is it just a collection of stories of people’s experiences of, and reponses to, God? To me, that’s not the same thing.
Interesting coincidence – today I saw this cartoon addressing the meaning of “Holy Bible”. I haven’t read the comments, but I’m sure there’s some good discussion in there.