Author Glenn Paauw’s purpose in writing Saving the Bible from Ourselves “is to contribute to the construction of a new paradigm for engaging the Bible in the Christian community.” He points out that not only is the Bible the best-selling book of all time, but it is also still the best-selling book every year. Yet, regrettably, “the words on the page are not common currency.”
Paauw sets out to find out what the Bible is and what we are intended to do with it. He asserts that the Bible needs saving, not because the Word of God is defective in any way, but because “we’ve buried it, boxed it in, wallpapered over it, neutered it, distorted it, isolated it, individualized it, minimized it, misread it, lied about it, debased it and oversold it.”
Paauw’s answer to this dilemma is to introduce seven new Bibles. Not literal Bibles, but seven new understandings of the Bible, a proposed recovery that would include the following: “a Bible that is presented as literature, eaten in natural forms, grounded in history, inviting in its narrative, restorative in its theme, engaged in community, and honored in its aesthetic presentation.”
Paauw’s writing is imbued with his passion for the Bible and his desire for Christians to read it and be transformed by it. (IVP)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.