Inspired:Intro

Hey Brian, I finished the “Inspired” intro, and here are a few of my thoughts:

·         Early thoughts/feelings about the Bible, for me, are nonexistent. My Roman Catholic (RC) upbringing was more indoctrination than discovery or exploration. We were taught to never question, just obey. It wasn’t until I met Martha and heard about God’s grace that I began to explore God’s Word for myself. In the early-mid 80s, I went to a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class, my first Bible study. It changed my life and how I encounter God. And over the next 35 years, my idea about what the Bible is and what it means for us, has evolved.

·         Rachel Held Evans (RHE) asks, “What was your favorite Bible story as a child, and how do you read it now as an adult?”  For me, I guess it was Noah’s Ark. Obviously it was a miracle how God saved all the animals. How could they all fit on the boat and survive (not eat each other)? Well, now I look at it as a metaphorical story, that God will go to any length to protect His creation. Also, as kids there was never any talk of “How could a good God commit genocide on the world’s population (except Noah and family)?”

·         One of the most confusing things of the Bible is the post-Eden populating of the earth. Adam and Eve had Cain, Abel, and (later) Seth. After Cain murdered Abel, he was cast out of God’s presence. And settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Well, where did Cain’s wife come from? Did God ‘start’ a whole different family tree outside of Eden that was populating Nod? Cain’s wife, and therefore the people of Nod, just show up!

·         If I was to describe the Bible in the 1980s, I would say it was inspired, inerrant, infallible, trustworthy, authoritative, and sacred. Today I would say it is inspired, trustworthy, and sacred. I believe God “breathed” His story into many authors over many millennia. Not every bit is fact, but in some mysterious way, every bit is true. And because God Himself inspired it, at some level the Bible is sacred; and it is therefore trustworthy as a revelation of God’s character and plan.

·         I was attracted to BSF to help me understand the Bible better. Reading the Bible straight through (GEN – REV) was a bit of a slog the first time, but I persevered. Like RHE, I discovered my “life verse”. It literally jumped of the page when I read it. “For to the one who pleases him, God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy…” Ecclesiastes 2:26a. Also. Matthew (MT) was my first BSF study, and MT 5:17 rebuked my notion of believing only the New Testament (NT), when Jesus said, “I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets…” i.e. the OT and all it’s confusing bits.

·         RHE encourages us to write our own Bible story, so here goes.  “Once upon a time there was a boy who, for decades, was told there was only one way, one story to believe. Then he met a girl who believed in God’s grace which he had never heard of. This was a much better story, so he started to follow that story. It changed his life in profound ways, and made him a more compassionate and loving follower of Jesus. He now knows it is OK to not have all the answers; questions and doubts are permitted. He is eternally grateful to live in grace, and do what he can to move God’s story forward.”