Mother Laura at RevGals writes:
Does everyone remember the old Sunday School song?
The B-I-B-L-E,
Oh, that's the book for me.
I take my stand on the Word of God,
The B-I-B-L-E.
I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's experience and reflection on these B-I-B-L-E questions:
1. What is your earliest memory of encountering a biblical text?
I'm not sure about this.
2. What is your favorite biblical translation, and why? (You might have a few for different purposes).
NRSV, The Message (though not technically a translation.)
3. What is your favorite book of the Bible? Your favorite verse/passage?
Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
4. Which book of the Bible do you consider, in Luther's famous words about James, to be "an epistle of straw?" Which verse(s) make you want to scream?
For me, there is not a book that in its entirety is "straw", but there are certainly "straw" verses. I Timothy 2:11-15, for instance, is one big ol' bale of hay! Just two days ago I was with a patient who was very depressed about his current state who said, "The bible just makes me mad sometimes!" I think he thought that I would be shocked, but of course, I wasn't. I happenedthat day to be carrying with me my bible I received when I was a teenager. I pulled it out and showed him how banged up and notched the cover was and told him that it was in that condition because of all the times I have thrown it against a wall. I was 16 years old when I first acknowledged my call to be a pastor and the "straw" passages of I Timothy and others caused me to go nuts! I think it was a revelation for my patient that it's okay to not like all of the bible.
5. Inclusive language in biblical translation and liturgical proclamation: for, against, or neutral?
I am most definitely for inclusive language.
Bonus: Back to the Psalms--which one best speaks the prayer of your heart?
Right now, Psalm 139. "You hem me in- behind and before."
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6 comments:
I love your story about throwing the Bible up against the wall! I think more people need to acknowledge that it's OK to get angry and frustrated about things that are in the Bible...
amen to melissa!
you certainly blessed your patient with your story of throwing your Bible at the wall. when someone first told me it was ok to not like it, to be pissed off at God, and to question everything it was the weight of the world off my shoulders. i was then free to hear the Gospel.
wonderful play iris!
many of us agree on #2, and thanks for the philippians verse, which has help sustain me lots of times--thanks for playing!
Thank you for the throw your bible against the wall story--what a blessing for your patient.
I had a similar life changing moment when a nun who directed the retreat three months after my toddler was killed in a car crash said "I had the most profound mystical experiences of my life after I started cussing God out."
"big ol' bale of hay," I love it!
ah wait a minute dear after a long day scrubbing the kitchen floor until it shines; serving meatloaf, real mashed potatoes, fresh green peas from the garden, a homemade buntd cake, and a cold beer to my darling husband... then washing all the dishes (by hand), slipping out of my high heels, setting my pearls on the night stand, hanging up my apron, brushing the dog's coat until it shines...
EEK! seriously something is a little culturally derailed in 1Tim no?
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