A contextual reading is in fact an incarnational reading of scripture, paying attention to the full humanity both of the text and of its readers. This must be undertaken in the prayer that the "divinity" - the "inspiration" of scripture, and the Spirit's power at work within the Bible-reading church - will thereby be discovered afresh. - N.T. Wright, Scripture and the Authority of God
Ruth - Dr. Cyndi Parker | 6.25.23
Whenever we pick up the Bible, read it, put it down, and say, "That's just what I thought," we are probably in trouble. The technical term for that kind of reading is "proof-texting." Using the text to confirm our presuppositions is sinful; it is an act of resistance against God's fresh speaking to us, an effective denial that the Bible is the word of the living God. The only alternative to proof-texting is reading with a view to what the New Testament calls metanoia, "repentance" - literally, "change of mind." - Ellen Davis, "Teaching the Bible Confessionally in the Church"
Noah & the Flood - Rev. Chris Currie | 6.18.23
For those of us who want to continue to affirm the ongoing normative role of the Bible in the life of the church, it will not do to dismiss the concerns raised about the Bible from many quarters. The path forward is not a return to the naiveté of a previous generation, but a journeying through the hard questions while being informed by the roots of the tradition bequeathed to us. I propose instead that we adopt the posture of Jacob and refuse to let go of the text until it blesses us. - Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black