I was recently watching the movie Silence, about 17th-century priests and their journeys to Japan. It is a difficult movie and quite brutal. It is not a simple watch and the book by Shūsaku Endō i is just as fascinating and compelling. But there was one scene where a former priest who had apostatized and a current priest were speaking. The former priest was making the case that the Japanese Christ...  Read More

Once you have sorted out what you believe scripture to be in your life, then it is time to come up with a plan on how you are going to approach this confusing and creative, and calculating series of books. Without a plan, you will probably flounder rather than flourish in your study. Here are a few practical ways that you can begin to make a plan. Find space. If you are anything like me, I love ha...  Read More

I have a few thoughts on this. Firstly, for those of us who have been in the church for most of our lives and who have also gone to Christian schools for a portion of that time, simply going to Genesis and starting there is going to be difficult. Remember, we have studied scripture repeatedly for what seems like forever. We have been exposed to the greater narrative that scripture offers. The stor...  Read More

I don’t know how you have interacted with the Bible throughout your life, but if you are like me, it is a on-again-off-again relationship. While I love scripture, there are times in my life where I am closer to it, and other times where I am further away. Some people read through the scriptures every single year, and some have never read it all the way through. Whatever your relationship with Scri...  Read More

Growing up, I used to be terrible at Bible quiz time at school. I just couldn't remember chapter and verse as they wanted us to. I wasn’t great at memorization and that seemed to be a prerequisite for being a good Chrstian. I was so bad that no one wanted me on their team when it came to bible bowls that we often seemed to have in elementary school. We used to have classes in chain referencing scr...  Read More

Does the bible give us a particular type of certainty? And is that what it is supposed to be used for?The great Protestant tradition, beginning with Martin Luther, has always been a great search for the certainty of correct understanding of scripture to answer the questions that we have about God, ourselves, our lives, and our trajectory. But is the Bible set up that way? Is the Bible the “Basic I...  Read More