I have been privileged these past two months to be on sabbatical leave (with July making up the third month of the allotted three months). These two months have actually seemed like a long time (rather than "flown by") and a long time is a good time when seeking some "r and r" from everyday working life.
A long time is also a good time when seeking some uncluttered-mind-space for some writing, which has been the focus of the "study" part of the sabbatical. I cannot tell you how many words I have written (because some writing has been re-writing some writing accomplished during two previous sabbaticals, and some writing has been re-writing what I have written - judged myself to be rather poor and in desparate need of improvement - along with a bunch of new words). Suffice to say, there are now about 100k words washing around in a folder on my laptop. I also should say, for any wonderful but far too eager supporters looking for imminent publication, that while I have perhaps 90% of sheer quantity of words written, the quality estimate is around 60%, so I envisage a lot more work before I have a draft to share with a few trusted friends for comment, and then - hopefully - with a publisher. The book is on interpreting the Bible. Yes, I know this has been done before, and by others. Needless to say, my book will be the last book on the subject you will ever feel the need to read ... :).
Here I share a few thoughts from my work over these past months, though with a certain constraint because I don't want to give away key ideas to another scholar working in a similar way. I have already come across a 2025 book a bit too like mine for my comfort!!
1. The Bible is a very complex book. More complex, to my mind, after forays into some of its nooks and crannies, than I have ever previously realised.
2. In the long run, despite many, many hermeneutical (interpretational) disputes, the church does get things right, eventually. The stand out example is slavery. We have interpreted the Bible correctly on this issue (that is, understood that though the Bible itself tolerates slavery, its overall message re human dignity means slavery has had to end). It only took about 1800 years.
3. Related question: could we have arrived at the abolition of slavery a lot sooner? (I am charting a possible pathway to an affirmative answer to that question.)
4. It is challenging to read the Bible consistently. In my research and reflections, I am struck by how the church has shifted its thinking on some issues the Bible addresses but not done so on others, when it is reasonable to assess that justice in life requires us to read (and apply) the Bible consistently. (Yes, this is a general statement without examples ... I don't want to give much away about the final content of the book!)
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