Reading the Bible for All the Wrong Reasons

For most people, reading the Bible can be a demanding task. Should we read it solely for personal guidance and solace? How can we understand the meanings of this diverse collection of stories that often contradict each other and that are written in and translated from languages unfamiliar to most people? In this useful and inviting little guidebook, New Testament scholar Pregeant (Encounter with the New Testament) challenges us to embrace the adventure of reading the Bible for clues to larger meanings of life and faith. Thus, the creation stories in Genesis, he observes, offer neither an alternative scientific theory nor an antiscientific perspective, but rather "an interpretation of human experience in and of the world, experience that includes but is by no means limited to aspects of reality that science can investigate." With gentle and patient urging, Pregeant encourages an understanding of the Bible as a dialogue partner in the search for truths to live by. (Oct.)