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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Bible: more compost pile than cookbook

See this post by Peter Enns, in which the two metaphors are compared.
You already know which one wins.

The "compost pile" image come from Brueggemann:
The Bible is the compost pile that provides material for new life. I do not use this figure as an irreverent metaphor to suggest that the Bible is “garbage.” Rather, I use it to suggest that the Bible itself is not the actual place of new growth. Our present life, when we undertake new growth, is often inadequate, arid, or even barren. It needs to be enriched, and for that enrichment, we go back to the deposits of old growth that have been discarded, but that continue to ferment and may contain resources for a way to new life. (Texts Under Negotiation, pp. 61-62)

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