I know you are very busy and may not get a chance to read this, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. I have read “A New Kind of Christian” and “The Story We Find Ourselves In”.
I really enjoyed both books and look forward to the third one coming out this year. I was hoping that I could get a recommendation to a good Old Testament intro book. I liked what I read in “Story” concerning the process and evolution of humanity found in the O.T. I guess I want to know what books influenced your writing for “Story” so that I can do a more detailed study for myself.
I have recently learned of Walter Brueggemann because of your books and saw his book, “An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination” at Amazon. The book, “Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction” by Lawrence Boadt was also recommended to me. I don’t know if you have heard of the latter one (there are probably thousands of O.T. intro books).
Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions you may have and thank you for your time. I am grateful that you are putting your thoughts on paper because they have been very helpful in my Christian walk. I struggle with reading the O.T., for some reason it is hard for me to believe that they are literal stories that took place in history. Other people seem to accept them with such ease.
I can’t help but wonder if they are a combination of history and imagination. This is why I appreciate “Story” so much and how you honestly admit that none of the current strains of Christianity fully describes your own faith.
Unfortunately, most pastors feel they need to know all the answers so I appreciate your honesty and humility. This needs to be a character trait of all Christians. Thank you and keep up the great work.
Answer: Thanks for these kind words. I think Dr. Brueggemann’s work will help you a great deal. I think you’re right: there’s a mixture of history and imagination, which isn’t a bad thing at all. The important thing is to discover what both the historical and imaginative passages mean for us, how they prepare and form us to live in the story as it unfolds today.