Donald Kraus

I don't normally read theology, being an atheist and all, but the title of this book drew me. I'm glad I picked it up. The author basically looks at what the Bible says about things like social justice and gender relations and sexual behavior, and tries to determine what is really intended by those passages and how they apply to modern life. He's obviously a liberal Christian -- my favorite kind -- and his arguments and opinions were very sensible and logical.

One quote which I thought was particularly insightful, from page 134: "The authority of the Bible, in other words, is not something intrinsic to the Bible itself; it is the authority of a pointer, a witness, that derives its power and importance from the matter it is leading us to. And God is what the Bible leads us to. That means, ultimately, that reading the Bible is more an act of coming to know a person than it is an act of coming to understand an argument."

I would recommend this book for liberal Christians and anyone interested in debating about Scripture.… (mehr)