For the month of February, we’re offering an extended opportunity to renegotiate our relationship with the Bible.
For far too long, brittle fundamentalism has kept the raucous pages of scripture on a tight leash of insipid literalism and flat “inerrancy” – and too often it’s been used to control, exclude, and shame.
But the Bible itself never asks us to treat it that way. It’s far more inspired, spacious and wild. As Lewis might have said; it’s not a tame book, you know. 😉
No wonder so many of us get stuck in the cul-de-sacs and dead ends of “but what about evolution?”, or “why is God so angry in these pages?”, or “what’s with all the arbitrary rules about cloven hoofs?”
But what if the problem was never the Bible itself, but our overwrought assumptions about it? What if we’ve completely missed its inherent wild wonder, and found ourselves instead among those who simply “stuff their cups with parchment and critique the taste of ink,” as Hafiz would say.
So if you’ve struggled with the Bible (or avoided it) or been wounded by how it’s been weaponised… then you’re not alone. And you’re right to question what you’ve been told.
This February we’ll be exploring Rewilding the Bible: From Rule-Keeping to Wisdom. Not to “solve” scripture, and definitely not to replace old certainties with new ones, but to learn instead how to read these texts with honesty, humility, and imagination… and to recover them as a rewilded wisdom tradition for the ages.
You’re welcome to join us on Sundays at Harbour in Carrickfergus throughout February as we begin this journey. And if you’re church-wary but still faith-curious, consider this a gentle on-ramp back into conversation.
Each month thereafter, we’ll reflect on a new topic such as God, Heaven & Hell and Body & Desire. If you’re interested in the wider, year-long journey of “Rewilding Faith”, see the link in the comment section.
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