[Magdalen] A useful approach to the Bible

[Sibyl Smirl]

On 8/29/15 8:16 AM, Ann Markle wrote:
> I find it arrogant when someone assumes THEY are the one to decide (for
> everyone) what should be retained, what should be discarded or dismissed
> from scripture.  Of course scripture was written by humans.  But what hand
> did God have in it?  What parts were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and what
> parts were not?  Who's to say that THIS is from God and THIS is not?
> That's partly where tradition (the wisdom of those who came before me) and
> reason come in.  I believe that scripture was written by heads that may
> well have been wiser than mine, not some primitive people or primitive
> mind.  Yes, parts are primitive -- parts are a collection of our most
> ancient stories and poems.  That's also where our (collective, not
> individual) reason comes into play -- what parts of scripture are true to
> tradition, and especially true to the Gospel teachings?  What parts are
> TRUTH and WISDOM?  I guess that's one reason I'm doing so well in AA -- I
> assume that some people are wiser than I, and that steps and traditions
> that have worked to save the lives of generations of alcoholics might just
> work for me, too -- rather than dismissing anything that I find unpleasant,
> and finding some rationalization for my personal dislike and dismissal.
>
> And yes, I give scripture some kind of mystical authority that contemporary
> humans do not have.  I'm a mystic (and glad to be one) -- so "mystical
> authority" seems right by me.  I do believe that God's ways aren't my ways,
> and I can only struggle to discern a little bit of the mind of God, and
> that I dismiss something that I believe contains God's Truth and Wisdom at
> my own peril -- with fear and trembling as some wise one once said.


Hear! Hear!



-- 
Sibyl Smirl
I will take no bull from your house!  Psalms 50:9a
mailto:polycarpa3 at ckt.net