That there are 20
tabs in this book in indicative of the fact that I liked it!
For example she
says…
“If our theology
doesn’t shift and change over our lifetimes, then I have to wonder
if we’re paying attention.”
“I had to learn
that taking the Bible seriously doesn’t mean taking everything
literally.” - I will save the rant about the Bible being too
important to be taken literally, but if you ask nicely I can provide
it offline.
In embracing
questions she notes that Children question everything, but “They’re
not asking to be cool or to push back on the establishment or to
prove anyone wrong or to grind an axe or make a point… [they] ask
because they want an answer.” I.e. we should never be afraid of
questions…
And what are those
questions… in response to an Old Testament story one of her
children asks “Is God the bad guy in this one? Or the good guy?”
The classical debate on the problem of evil expressed in a dozen
words…
As the counter point
to so much exuberance in the Church she says that she is “learning
that it is okay to feel sad and to be angry, to long for rescue and
redemption, to pray and shout and cry, to weep with those who weep.”
A theme already notes by Kenda Creasy Dean, in so many Churches if
you are sad you have no place.
The ability to speak
of the criticality of faith, at the same time as being honest that
the Church often is a barrier rather than an enabler of that faith is
refreshing. Most Christian writers write from the starting point that
the Church is a full and effective embodiment of the Kingdom of God.
For those of us that have been damaged by the Church, it is really
hard to take such writers seriously. Bessey offers us some balance...
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