Full Description
In an age when the Bible has been stripped of its sacredness and functional biblical illiteracy reigns, this book makes the case that we must work to re-enchant the text in order to return the Bible to its rightful place in the lives of Christians.
Cheryl Bridges Johns explains how the Enlightenment's turn to the rational human subject made it possible to objectify the Bible and has distorted our interpretations of Scripture. This move generated a belief that studying the Bible was primarily a means of supporting facts and providing evidence of competing visions of reality. This "modern" version of the Bible does not trouble our nights with apocalyptic images. It has been stripped of its power. She also shows that both "liberal" and "fundamentalist" interpretation are failed forms of disenchanted readings.
Johns argues that we must rediscover the Bible as a sacred, dangerous, mysterious, and presence-filled wonderland to counteract biblical illiteracy in an increasingly post-Christian landscape.
Contents
1. The Strange Silence of the Bible
2. The Search for a Way Ahead
3. Longing for Enchantment
4. The Contours of Enchantment
5. Hopeful Signs
6. The Enchanting Festival of Pentecost
7. Foundations of the Enchanted Text of Holy Scripture
8. Dimensions of the Enchanted Text of Holy Scripture
9. Re-enchanting the People of God
Index
