Studying Scripture Again

 There was a time when the scriptures would come alive when I studied them.  That was when my understanding of the Bible was fairly limited and my reading of it was taken at face value.  During this time my desire for God was very strong as was my desire to study the Word.

This season passed and during another season my feelings toward the scriptures became more tenuous because of my questions.  As I studied and learned more about the history of the Bible it became more of a book to be challenged and corrected instead of a spiritual or religious book.  I stayed in this season for some time, many years in fact, and my interactions with the Bible did not encourage spiritual growth.  

Now, I'm trying to embark on a new season.  In this new season, I have rediscovered an appreciation for the Bible because I know that there are others that have similar doubts and questions that I have about the Bible, and that others have spent their lives wrestling with these questions and have a deep commitment to following Christ and the Christian faith.  

 Had an honest but nice talk with Matt last night about the Bible.  I shared my story about how the UCC changed the way I look at the Bible and homosexuality in particular.  He shared several stories of friends he knew that have struggled with homosexuality.  He said that his friends that pursued that lifestyle were not any happier after going that way.  Interesting.  

But the issue I was getting as was not really about homosexuality.  It's really about how we are to read the Bible and how much we should follow the rules stated in the bible or such a struct interpretation is not the best way to interpret the Bible in today's world.  

It was a good conversation and he said that it's good to have at least a handful of people in the church that you can be honest with about such things, like doubt or sexuality or other struggles, even though talking about these things in every group at the church may not be the best approach.  

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