BOOK OF THE YEAR

In a previous post I mentioned I was reading a book I thought would be my book of the year. I realize it's February, but I did finish this book several weeks ago, but I wanted to digest what I read before I wrote anything. This will not be a book report per se, but an explanation as to why I think it was the best book I read last year. Plus, it's one of those books, as I look back over it now, is underlined on every other page, and that begins to complicate things as far as explaining the book in a simple and short way.

A few years ago on one of my mission trips, a friend made a statement (also the friend who said something so simple, yet profound enough for me to come back and begin the process to adopt Sean), that went like this: "I have been asking the Lord to give me new eyes to read the bible." In context, we were talking about reading the bible as if we had never been taught the bible or had anyone give us their opinions and beliefs about it. If you've been a Christian long enough, and had the opportunity to go to bible school and seminary, you develop quite a system of beliefs and interpretations on things. Not that that is wrong, but I got to the point in my Christian journey that I knew I needed 'new eyes'. Things were getting a bit muddled for me, and once again, I had plenty of thoughts bouncing around in my head that I was having difficulty explaining in words.

So, with out further ado, I am recommending The Blue Parakeet, by Scot McKnight. It's bi-line reads, Rethinking How You Read the Bible. It's learning to read the bible with tradition, not through tradition. The idea of the blue parakeet comes from a story early on in which McKnight sees a parakeet out in the wild, not caged, thus it stands out from the other birds, gets his attention and makes him look a second and third time to see what is going on. He uses this metaphor for talking about certain bible passages that stand out, that get our attention and make us look a second and third time to figure them out. This is what McKnight says: "Blue Parakeet passages are oddities in the Bible that we prefer to cage and silence rather than to permit into our sacred mental gardens. If we are honest, blue parakeet passages often threaten us, call into question our traditional way of reading the Bible, and summon us back to the Bible to rethink how we read the Bible." Over the years, I have changed my opinion on some things, and this book has helped explain why I have thought the way I thought. On the back cover it asks this question: "What if I'm too Conservative to be Liberal, and too Liberal to be Conservative?"That was one question I was asking myself. What Christian circles do I even fit in anymore? I didn't fit in with out-of-touch fundamentalists or unrealistic liberals. This book also helped explain why.

So, if you're looking for something to read, give this book a try.