new books.

I've started reading a couple of new books to learn more about what I believe and why and to challenge myself to really, well, think.

Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament by Peter Enns
What if the creation story in Genesis is a metaphor and not literal?  Would that change your belief that the Bible is true?   It doesn't have to. (quoted paragraph at the bottom pertains to my questions)

"What the Bible is must be understood in light of the cultural context in which it was given." (Enns p.41)


I want to learn more about other religions and beliefs.  I believe it will help me better understand where people are coming from plus I hope to be able to engage in conversations better with people of other faiths.  So I looked for a book that would give me a good overview of many religions and belief systems.  Here is what I found:

All You Want To Know But Didn't Think You Could Ask: Religions, Cults, and Popular Beliefs by Jessica L.T. Devega and Christine Ortega Gaurkee

Perfect! :) I think it's a good start!



"Therefore the question is not the degree to which Genesis conforms to what we would think is a proper description of origins.  It is a fundamental misunderstanding of Genesis to expect it to answer questions generated by a modern worldview, such as whether the days were literal or figurative, or whether the days of creation can be lined up with modern science, or whether the flood was local or universal.  The question that Genesis is prepared to answer is whether Yahweh, the God of Israel, is worthy of worship.  And the point is made not by allowing ancient Israelites to catch a glimpse of a spherical earth or a heliocentric universe.  It is wholly incomprehensible to think that thousands of years ago God would have felt constrained to speak in a way that would be meaningful only to Westerners several thousand years later.  To do so borders on modern, Western arrogance.  Rather, Genesis makes its case in a way that ancient men and women would have readily understood--indeed, the only way."  (Enns p. 55)