I'm fascinated by things about which I have changed my mind. I bet you've heard politicians and others brag about how they have never changed their minds. Changing your mind about something now is much harder than it was 50 years ago simply because all of us are bombarded with so much information that we have little time for disciplined thinking about things that matter.
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“Eugene Peterson believed translation is a kind of ‘lectio divina–more than only getting the words right, there is spirit, the vibrancy of the text, the livingness of the message.’ The Bible was not a dead book. It was vibrantly alive” (218). What Peterson was trying to do was paraphrase the biblical text into idioms common to the folks who worshipped at the congregation he served in the Baltimore suburbs and even more to working-class folks like his father, a butcher, and the people he grew up around in Kalispell, Montana.
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We don’t hear much about heroes today. Perhaps folks are too jaded and cynical to think that there are public figures worthy of our admiration for their character, their accomplishments, and for their contributions to humanity. Heroes are those who step up to challenges. They don’t back down in the face of struggle or difficulty. They inspire others. They do the right thing even when it costs something. They are folks who are not so much “me” centered as they are “we” centered. They are people who give us something to aspire to; folks whom you want your kids to admire and emulate.
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Last week, new survey data indicated that only 47% of Americans are connected to a church, synagogue, or mosque; a dramatic drop over the past 20 years. Lots of pundits are worried about that. I'm not and you can read why here.
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Context; Context; Context. Robert Mayer reflects on how important Bible reading has been in his long journey of Christian faith and suggests how some key ideas for reading the Bible well helps us learn to better follow Jesus in a complex world.
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