As an OT prof I am constantly asked about the “troubling texts” of Scripture. This happens in my classes of course, but it also happens at surprising moments like in the check out line at my local supermarket, at the bus stop when someone finds out I teach the OT, and certainly regularly at my church.
Iain Provan, a prof at Regent College, has suggested that what we offer is a “Seriously Dangerous Religion.” This stands in the face of recent opposition from New Atheists like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Sam Harris (The End of Faith), and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great). There is a reason why New Atheists ask questions about the depiction of God in Scripture. There are texts that are genuinely “troubling” and involve thought and reflection that challenges us to dig deeply into Scripture itself and to think carefully about our hermeneutical lens when approaching Scripture.
I love that we have entitled this session “Compassionate Ministry: Preaching and Teaching Troubling Texts” (and not just because I helped with the name!) because how we teach and preach troubling texts is part of how we live out compassionate ministry in our churches and also in the world. In my response, I will highlight what I see as key touchpoints in each of these three papers and for each suggest some ways forward for their research.
The full paper is attached to this post as a PDF.
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