"Tis the season to be heretical falalalala lalalala..."
Earlier today ken Shepherd, who is collaborating with me on Christ and culture stuff, sent me this email.
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Here's something interesting I saw today.
Our unsaved neighbors may read books like this and it seems like something we should be aware of and use as springboards to talk about the Gospel:
Book is called "Reading Jesus" by Mary Gordon, a literary critic who happens to be Catholic. Washington Post did a review of it today, and from the reviewer's examples, it's clear she has some pretty funky interpretations of some of the elements of the Gospel accounts, like Jesus cursing the fig tree or Mary washing Jesus's feet with her tears:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/01/AR2009120104532.html
Newsweek's religion columnist Lisa Miller also touched on "Reading Jesus" in a piece back in October:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/219990
I read the review primarily for this reason. In this holiday season more than any other, I believe, we will be bombarded with differing interpretations of absolute truth, namely scripture. While we live and breath everyday the reality that the bible is not authoritative in the lives of people, there is something about Christmas where we really see that reality play itself out in "the most wonderful time of the year." This is the season of reflection, of joy for some and sorrow for many. It is a lonely time and reported to be the highest suicidal time each year. It is a time where the final authority of one's life is viewed and evaluated by that person or others but not by God.
There is, indeed, something about this season that is to be a worship filled reflection on the birth of Jesus but has condescended to a continual worship of self and its autonomous reasoning to explain life, love and authority. We find such ideology in books like the one reviewed in the above link.
Now the issue isn't this author, whether or not she is a believer or if her book on the gospels is even true or will sell. The issue as I see it, based solely on the review, which is all it will be based on because I am definitely not reading the book, is the authority of scripture. What is the standard of evaluation to say what the scriptures mean? Is it how we feel or what we think merely by our own thoughts? It obviously is to many people including this woman who is getting pretty rave reviews for her "reflections on the gospels." If you read the review it will be pretty clear that her reflections are but an outright denial of the purpose of the gospels in essence taking the authority away from them and what they are intended to mean and replacing that with what she thinks they may mean. Mind you many people are in this place that she is in terms of how to view the bible. Even "devout" believers would say the bible is not authoritative but can be used as a guide.
I wouldn't be surprised if you have the chance to have conversations this season about what you believe that in some way shape or form the reality or non-reality that the bible isn't authoritative isn't peppered in the person worldview. This to me would be a far cry away from 2 Peter 1:20-21 20knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
