From Stone to Living Word: Letting the Bible Live Again

To many readers, “bibliolatry” is a new and frightening word. It describes the phenomenon of the Bible itself, rather than the God of the Bible, becoming an object of worship. Blue, a pastor, author and teacher who is part of the ministry team at the House of Mercy in St. Paul, Minn., believes that such a worshipful attitude toward the Bible is a form of idolatry, and that the sacred volume needs to be freed from the clutches of biblical literalists. In this rich and satisfying study, she draws from both her own life’s journey and from the stories of those to whom she ministers, to explore some of the better-known biblical accounts in a new way, enabling the casual reader to find value in a book that some consider filled with fables and morality tales. Indeed, Blue displays not just knowledge of the book but an intimacy with its underlying meaning. Her prose is clear and precise, written for the lay reader who is interested in many of the questions raised by the emerging church movement. Faith itself, she insists, becomes “a freaking crazy and beautiful thing” when the Bible can be liberated from the literalists. (Jan.)