Surprised by Scripture

"We do not read the Bible the way it is; we read it the way we are" - Evelyn Uyemura

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and I am reminded of Jack Deere's book "Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit."  We all tend to be surprised by God, Jesus, and even the Bible at times.  N. T. Wright new book, "Surprised by Scripture," engages Scripture with contemporary issues like science and faith, the problem of evil and idolatry, and issues like politics and the end of the world.  I suspect it seemed like the world was ending for the first Christians until Pentecost happened and nothing was the same afterwards.  God is creating a new world where heaven and earth meet and join together.

Wright rightly challenges how Christians compromise their faith when they split reality between sacred and secular, history from story, and earth from heaven.  These realities work together rather than being divided and fragmented.  The church needs a new awakening or as Wright says a new understanding of what God's new creation looks like.  Or as Wright puts its, "The Bible is not about the rescue of humans from the world but about the rescue of humans for the world" (p.32).  And if we are really going to listen to what the Bible says, doesn't the Bible more talk about us living under Jesus authority rather than simply the Bible flexing its own spiritual authority?  There are surprises at every turn so when it comes to the Bible, don't be surprised to get surprised!