The Bible

Has anyone ever heard of this guy, David Plotz, blogging about the Bible? I JUST found out about it today. He's a nominal Jew who decides to read every word of the Bible and blog about it. Apparently his book came out last month. Excuse my ignorance if you already know all about it.

I read through a little bit of his comments on Genesis. And of course, he has typical secular reactions toward the text (i.e. women being called "helper", Why don't Adam and Eve literally die after eating of the tree, the 2 creation stories). But it's also fun to read about his surprise and discovery of the things that are true, like when after the flood and Noah is on his ark and everyone else is dead, he realizes that the evil punished is not man against man but man against God. A lack of dependence and fear and reverence of God. It's just so interesting to read someone's fresh perspective on the Bible without the commentaries and sermons.

Together with what I've read from Nouwen recently (though yes, ironic or not, that is yet another book/commentary on the spiritual life), I realize that it can be very easy to just go from one book/wise person/sermon to the next without even really reading the Bible by yourself. I bought a compact ESV Bible recently, and somehow this translation really makes things rather clear. I cannot even count or recall how many dozens of books, study Bibles, and sermons I or my parents have spent money on in all of my life as a Christian. It's refreshing to just read the Bible early in the morning. I've been utilizing this site afterwards, to see some basic commentaries, but on the whole, it's been interesting going without a guide for a season.

Related to that, I'm amazed at how much Scripture is imbedded in my heart. True, in the midst of struggle and sorrow, that's what intentional verse memorization is for, but I am amazed how someone like me who has previously lived an adulterous life - memorizing verses like really, really well while never even actually reading the Bible (and let's be real, I could ignore Bible-readin' again in some other season) - can start to see the effects of reading and letting the Word of God take root. This has been a very recent discovery. I'll be sitting in Fellowship Group or someone is telling me something weird, or I'll be crying about one thing or another, and then Scripture, though perhaps sometimes with a vague reference like "Jesus said at some point", will come out at me. I'm not gonna lie, it's a satisfying experience, and I hope I remain grateful for it. It's so much better than quoting Tim Keller or Henri Nouwen. Because the Word of God is THE Word of God. The Word is His primary means of grace in the world as Paige Brown says (I know, I'm a walking contradiction ^_^, but there's lots of Scripture about the Word too: Joshua 1:8, 2 Timothy 3:16). I like how that's worded, "primary means of grace". The most powerful resource for life on earth.