It’s Alive!

The importance of the Bible in my life has become more apparent as I have grown as a Christian. However, no matter how my failure to acknowledge its influence, the Bible [that collection of books that dares to claim to be the written Word of God] has always undergirded my existence.

I was eighteen years old before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior; however, I had grown up in the organized church. In Sunday school, I learned the Bible stories found in the Old and New Testament. The Biblical themes taught to me in Sunday School undergirded the development of my moral character and thinking. Although I assumed the Bible was inaccurate in its scientific and historical record and historical record [because of what I was being taught in public school], I still felt the impact of the Bible’s teachings. As a result, my sinful nature was somewhat checked during my youth.

In junior high school I read through the New Testament and found it boring. I was offended by some of th...

What do you think of the Bible—that is, the sixty-six books revered by Christians? Do you consider it relevant to your own life or to the problems that society faces today? Do you consider the Bible to be a collection of fables spun by superstitious men in the past to control people? Or do you consider the Bible to be a provocative set of moral teachings?

Perhaps you think it is merely a book sometimes held up by extreme right-wing politicians trying to persuade you to listen to them.

Or perhaps you never consider the Bible or its contents.

However, if I asked if you liked ice cream, and you said, “I hate ice cream”, I might ask you why?  Did you find it too cold or too sugary? If you replied, “Oh, I’ve never tasted ice cream”, I might ask you why you hate something you have never tasted.

If you told me that you couldn’t open the lid off the ice cream container and that frustrated you, I would reply, “Well, let me open the ice cream for you.”

This series of meditations is my attem...