Chapter 7 – Letting the Bible Read Us

1. For Dan, and for the majority of evangelical Protestants, the Bible is foundational to the faith of Christianity. While affirming the centrality of the Scriptures, Neo questions the value of using a word or metaphor like foundation to adequately express the role of the Bible and what is contained therein. Summarize the difference between the building or foundation image and the web image for describing the role of the Bible in Christian thought and practice.

2. In questioning the adequacy of the foundational metaphor, Neo seems to undermine Dan’s faith. Is there a danger in having a faith that rests merely on one foundation (such as the Bible, authority, or an interpretive scheme)? How might a faith that is built on one foundation crumble when that foundation is challenged? Have you seen or experienced such a crumbling of faith?

3. In talking about the factors that contribute to a stable faith, Neo points to the historical figure of John Wesley who emphasized Scripture, tradition, reason and spiritual experience (now known as Wesley’s quadrangle). What has been the foundation of your faith? How has that expressed itself in your life?

4. What does Neo mean when he asks, “What if, instead of reading the Bible, you let the Bible read you?”

5. Neo engages Dan in a little thought experiment by asking him to describe the postures of a scientist and a detective toward a subject in their given fields. Are these similar to postures we have taken toward the Bible? What do you think of Neo’s suggestion that we approach Scripture in a way analogous to how a teenage boy approaches a teenage girl? What other analogies might we use?

6. Dan asks Neo a rapid-fire set of questions about seeing the Bible as story (p. 58). How would you reply to Dan’s questions? What is the story? What is the difference between getting the story and getting answers? Is there really a difference between a story and an answer?

7. Neo says he “. . . found the pastorate a pretty hard place to be a growing, thinking, honest Christian.” Reread his reason for leaving professional ministry (p. 59). What does this say about our expectations for leaders? Are there any correlations between how we treat the Bible as a modern text and the expectations we place on leaders? If so, what are they?