Flexible Bible
“Mary Cosby used to begin her New Testament class by bending her soft-cover Bible and saying she preferred a Bible that was flexible. Then she would say, ‘The Bible is not a manual for morality but a mirror for identity.’”—Carol Martin, Bread of Life Church, “A Mirror for Identity,” InwardOutward.org, Church of the Saviour..
My first introduction to this more profound and flexible approach to Bible study came through a small group at St. Mark’s in Little Rock in the 1980s, led by Dick Moore in a room above the children’s classrooms, which we called “the upper room.” As we studied the books of the Bible, Dick reminded us that the Bible was a roadmap, not the destination.
I think of old friends like Carole and Gary Kimmel, who were in our class and now live on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I remember Betty and Brady Anderson well. They later became Bible translators in Tanzania, Africa. Brady was later appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as the American Ambassador to Tanzania. They taught me so much. Together, we uncovered new insights from the Bible that had never occurred to us.
As we saw God present in the lives of people in the Bible who were like us—with gifts and faults—we also became more aware of the Holy Spirit at work in our own lives and in the lives of others. We saw that the Holy Spirit's relationship did not end with first- and second-century Christians; instead, the Spirit continues to lead us today. If we believe only in a strict, literal translation of the Bible, we deny the Holy Spirit's continued presence in our lives today, which will bring us more good news.
I share with you the Bible I received from Bishop Maze twenty-five years ago, at the time of my ordination. It is also flexible.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/daily