Reading Genesis | 
pickThis is beautiful, thoughtful & reflective—just what I‘d expect from Marilynne Robinson! I read it slowly, and found myself referencing it frequently in conversations. I lead an Education for Ministry (EfM) group at my church, and year after year my first year participants have such a hard time with reading the Hebrew Bible—not only because it‘s long & often dry, but because there‘s so much that‘s hard to stomach: patriarchy, violence, legalism.⤵️
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) I found this to offer a refreshing perspective on Genesis—it doesn‘t gloss over the parts that are so difficult, but it brings forward the way God places a high value on human life and human thriving. She points out how Genesis acknowledges the complexity of the problem of evil, and wrestles with it seriously rather than reducing it to supposedly-easy answers. Especially meaningful for me were her thoughts on God‘s covenant with Abraham⤵️ 1w
BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …and Jacob, and the way she characterizes God‘s relationship with humanity as unique among other ancient near eastern religions and cultures of the time. (This was my September #BookSpin, but I took my time and didn‘t finish reading it until November!) @TheAromaofBooks 1w
TheAromaofBooks This sounds so interesting!!! 1w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks It really is! I don't agree with all of her interpretations, but overall, her approach is so thought-provoking. This really enriched my perspective on Genesis. 1w
