I may have two degrees from a seminary, but by no means does that make me an OT or New Testament scholar. I feel I have been given permission from my education to ask bigger questions of Scripture. (That is a freeing feeling, you know.)
Here is a Preface to the notes I will scribble about my Bible readings.
1. I think God likes it when kids ask questions.
2. But I’m sure it is best when we are attempting to face towards him when we ask.
3. We all have different starting points and lenses that we look through when we read anything, the Bible in particular.
4. Most of our lenses are unseen by us, and they are often our most painful life experiences. (We all have pain, we all have sorrow…) But lenses are also made by the culture that raised us and the raw geography of where we are born.
5. That is why we need each other (lots of each others from all over the world) to help interpret Scripture. And we really need the Holy Ghost.
6. My main starting point is that God is a Good and Loving Father/Mother and that Jesus Christ is Lord.
7. I, like you, have plenty of biased lenses that I read through. (No one is immune to this.) I will try to point them out as I go along. I think confessing our biases diffuses them, and opens our eyes a bit.
I’m not that keen on overly theologizing things, but I wanted to still offer this minor preface, particularly for those of you who may not know me beyond the interwebs.
[ Holga, I did not take – by pig sty avenue ]