Reading the Bible with Scot McKnight (1)

The first two chapters of Scot McKnight’s new book The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible give a user friendly introduction to some of the key questions and issues concerning reading the Bible today.

Let’s start with chapter 1.

Scot begins with a recounting of his passion for Bible reading, which eventually raised the question of saying and doing. He realized this: Christians don’t always do what they say. Many Christians say they believe everything the Bible says and therefore do whatever it says, but this is a fallacy. Scot perceived there was a lot of picking and choosing going on and rightly flags this as a problem. He gives, out of the many he could mention, five examples of what the Bible seems to say, yet some Christians do not always do: keep the Sabbath, tithe, wash feet, express charismatic gifts, and share possessions. Pickers and choosers take what they want and leave the rest to the side. Add to this the disputed issues of Calvinism, war, evolution, etc. and we’re faced with the crucial question of how we are to live the Bible today. Scot honestly points out that this question causes him some discomfort and discontent, as it should for us all who take the Bible seriously. Applying the Bible today is an arduous, but worthwhile task. However, we need to face up to the problem of picking and choosing, while we focus on the question of how to read and live the Bible.