Met last night with a group of people from our church who are reading/studying We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McClaren. I am finding the group really interesting, the conversation thought-provoking. A quote from the author explaining the title of the book:
The Christian faith is still "in the making" (Dr. John Cobb). It continues to grow, evolve, learn, change, emerge, and mature ... in and through us. What we will be as Christians in the 21st century, for better or worse, will surely change what Christian faith will be in the 22nd century and beyond. So, with that in mind, I wanted to introduce people to a vision of the Christian faith and the biblical narrative not as a box, set in stone, and not as a parking lot (where we await the ferry to heaven), but as a road ... that is extended into the future by all of us, walking forward in the Spirit together.
Some takeaways from last night?
1) the bible is a library of stories. Example - There are two different creation stories in the first two chapters and they are very different. They are each reflections of a community's effort to understand who they are, why they are here . . . They are stories to be shared, read aloud, pondered. They are not history. They are not to be taken literally. They are considered scripture. As the author states, two are better than one because they "challenge us to see life from a variety of angles - adding depth, a sense of direction, and wisdom." Likewise there are 4 different gospels and they are different as well. Where does this leave us? Liberated for sure and with some work to do.
2) McClaren suggests warning against eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (in the second creation story) as a warning against judgment. Can we discern right and wrong without labeling part of creation as bad or evil? Can we be clear about what is good and moral while remaining humble and open to dialogue? This feels very consistent with Pope's message over the past few days.
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