Telling Our StoriesPersonal Accounts of Engagement with Scripture Journeys with Scripture, Volume 1 |
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"Like the vibrant voices of a mixed CD, this book blends the personal tales of nearly two dozen Mennonite pilgrims. Each describes, with candor and vulnerability, a unique spiritual journey with scripture. Some voices seem dissonant, but together they challenge us to consider our own paradigm for biblical interpretation." --Steve Carpenter, media columnist, church and conference administrator
How does the church struggle with its differences? How can that struggle draw us together rather than drive us apart? This book tells of a gathering that asked these questions in the form of stories reporting on each storyteller's journey with Scripture. The book also proposes guidelines for such engagement with Scripture.
As the book shows, the model of telling personal stories of wrestling with Scripture creates a space for mutual understanding that can detour around the typical conflicts. Such storytelling goes beyond abstract arguments about the authority of the Bible or how it is understood to reach the heart of each Christian's relationship with Scripture and its ultimate Teller. The twenty-one stories in this book offer paths through the church's conflicts over biblical interpretation and application.
"The contributors were able to connect on a human level, despite varying interpretations on a divisive issue. This commitment to talk with rather than past each other gives me a heartening glimpse of the beginnings of community theology." --Laura Brenneman, Assistant Professor of Religion, Bluffton University
About the Editors
Ray Gingerich, Harrisonburg, Virginia, taught college and seminary courses in theology, church history, and ethics at Eastern Mennonite University for nearly 30 years and helped lay the foundations for EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.
Earl Zimmerman, Harrisonburg, Viriginia, is Assistant Professor of Bible and Religion at EMU and Pastor at Shalom Mennonite Congregation. He is the author of Practicing the Politics of Jesus: The Origin and Significance of John Howard Yoder's Social Ethics.