Read that which hammers on your skull

The quote below from Kafka emphasizes the need to allow literature challenge our preconceived notions and rattle our temptation to make all things sweet and palatable. The Christian ought to take this quote seriously when reading their bible. The text of the bible can become sentimental if we don't read it with listening hearts and open ears.

"If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a hammering on our skull, why then do we read it? So that it shall make us happy? Good God, we would also be happy if we had no books, and such books as make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves. But what we must have are those books which come upon us like ill-fortune, and distress us deeply, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us." Kafka

Biblical trivia – the curse of spiritual growth

Working with small groups in the church I have come to realize how seldom we reflect adequately on our lives with the intention of spiritual growth. For many the Christian gathering is about the accumulation of biblical data that is used either as a means to impress the neophyte or control the discussion. The traditional bible study has become just that, a study, not of the soul but of biblical trivia that brings on a yawn. The art of the small group leader is to help others find the intersect between the gospel light and the dark recessed fears of our human experience. Helping the good news wind pop open the contorted vacuum-sealed parts of the soul.

“… just living life is not enough. We must know what we are living. A life that is not reflected upon isn’t worth living. It belongs to the essence of being human that we contemplate our life, think about it, discuss it, evaluate it, and form opinions about it. Half of living is reflecting on what is being lived. Is it worth it? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it old? Is it new? What is it all about? … Reflection is essential for growth, development, and change. It is the unique power of the human being.” Henri Nouwen,"Can you drink the cup?"

Is all scripture reading biased – does God speak to us through it?

The search for spiritual direction in a group of people is somewhat troublesome to say the least. We all have our different opinions on things, we have different impressions as to where it lead us and depending on our exposure to historical tradition and scholarship we read it at different literal levels. I like the term ‘selective literalism’ (not sure where it comes from) to describe the way we engage with this ancient giant of literary writings - the bible. We love to read those parts we like and hardly ever read those sections that contradict our impression of God and God’s ultimate desire. So when we come together as leaders or people who are concerned about doing things in ‘Godly’ ways we are often forced into a conflicting situation due to our alternative ‘God directed’ views. What normally happens is that all who think this way congregate in this camp and those who think differently in the other. Stalemate! How certain can we be that our’ take’ is the right one? I believe the more invigorated we become that we are ‘right’ and they are ‘wrong’ is the first step to becoming a religious exclusivist. So how do we do it? How do we help a group of people ‘listen’ to God and make plans to do ‘God’s will’. I would love to hear how diverse our approaches may be.

Disciple Bible Study

This is the fourth time I have run this 34 week programme in a church. For those who endure and make the effort it is a life changing experience. So many folk are wanting to walk a deeper walk and are tired of the pith that is so often given to them as Christian education. This provides a well balanced approach to the study of scripture with a the idea of transformation versus information as its goal. For those interested go here for more information.