[Magdalen] What We Believe - St. Paul's Bellingham

[Sally Davies]

Jim, why does it have to be either entirely human made or magically God
given? Scripture surely is both God given AND man (or maybe in some cases
woman) made.

Magic has nothing to do with either part of the never ending negotiation of
meaning, myth and power that is the Bible. It is flawed, it is horrible, it
is beautiful and wise beyond all telling, it is food and drink, vinegar and
honey.  It is the only book I know that reads me right back when I read
it...

The love and passion for it held by God's people down the centuries drifts
like incense from the pages. And the shed blood of innocents in every age
drips from it also. It reflects ourselves as we truly are, behind the
veneer of civilisation and the self satisfactions of our present era,  it
holds up a mirror to the heart and cuts sinew from bone.

I dont want a narrative of God's redemptive love written by one person,
through the lens of one historical era. Its fine with me to have a jumble
of times, places, and understandings and to wrestle with that even if I
walk away limping - as most of us have.

I too hate some of it, and other parts could not live without. I hate the
way it is used and abused, and I would not call it THE Word of God, only
Jesus gets that title.

But set it aside? No way. I have no right to do that and call myself an
Anglican of a child of Abraham.

Sally D

On Wednesday, August 5, 2015, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'd offer the whole hoax about the Davidic covenant as one great example.
>
> However, it's kind of pointless if people insist on the view that
> scripture, entirely human-made, is somehow magically God-given.
>
> God might have inspired some of it, but certainly not all of it.  Where to
> draw the line? Why, that's why The Lord of Hosts gave you and me the
> ability to reason.
>
>
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>
> On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 3:39 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> magdalen at herberthouse.org <javascript:;>> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 8/5/2015 3:29:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > oppenheimerjw at gmail.com <javascript:;> writes:
> >
> > Some  scripture is terrible and needs to be
> > set  aside.>>>>
> >
> >
> > You have an ally in Martin Luther who is famously (or infamously)
> > quoted with calling "James an epistle of straw".
> >
> > He later made an attempt to retract that statement.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > David Strang.
> >
>