A few years ago, David Plotz wrote a series for Slate where he attempts to answer the question "So, what will happen if I approach my Bible empty, unmediated by teachers or rabbis or parents?" (*) As a lifelong Unitarian-Universalist and Religious Studies major, I've always felt obligated to take scripture rationally (the responsible search for truth that is valued by UU's) and in historical context (the religious studies background), so this was a new idea to me. It made me realize that while my primary test for non-scriptural material (novels, quotes, life experiences, blogs, ...) influencing my faith, belief or practice is whether or not they help me better understand the big issues (my relationship with Deity, my purpose in life, ...), but when it comes to scripture I worry about context, translation, history and other factors. It's not that those things aren't important, but there is a value in letting the text speak to you that I've missed and want to explore.
I'm not going to attempt to structure myself as strictly as Plotz or be as disciplined (he got through his scripture, the TANAK, in a year.) For several reasons, including the fact that I see great value in reading other people's scriptures, I'll leave the definition of scripture for blogging purposes open. My goal is to blog on the Revised Common Lectionary readings (which I usually follow along with my church's Christian group, albeit poorly) with other scriptures as time and interest allow. I'm blogging mostly because I think it's a good way to organize the information for later use, but if someone feels compelled to read and comment, or has complimentary goals and would like to be a blog author, you are welcome!
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