Scot McKnight reviews Brian Harris' new book The Big Picture: Building Blocks of a Christian World View. The first part of Harris' book looks at the Bible & culture.
Brian contends the church needs to be revitalized and that begins by understanding that the faith itself is poorly understood by its adherents and the church’s experience falls short of genuine Christian experience. There are some gaps between the Bible’s vision and our way of life as Christians:
- When we sweat the ‘how’ of creation instead of the ‘why’ of creation
- When we idealize or villainize humanity
- When grace is trivialized to legalism
- When the Trinity is about mathematical improbabilities instead of transforming community
- When stewardship of the world becomes exploitation, and resisting change is assumed to be virtuous
- When eschatology becomes escapism instead of enticing invitation
- Genesis 1:1 An Opening: We are not alone
- Genesis 1:26-28 An identity: We are made in the image of God
- Genesis 2:19, 20 A task: To build a world with a better name
- Genesis 12:3 A responsibility: Blessed to bless
- Genesis 50:20 A conviction: God can bring good even from evil
- Exodus 1 An understanding: When the choice is between bad and worse
- 1 Chronicles 22:6-10 and 28:1-3 A value: The temple David didn’t build (or, not such a bloodthirsty book)
- Matthew 5:21-48 An investigation: Getting to the heart of the matter
- Mark 12:28-33 A summary: The Jesus Creed
- Romans 3:23 A dilemma: Actually, sin does matter
- Romans 5:8 The gospel: Christ died for us
- 1 Corinthians 13:13 A permanence: Three things that remain
- Galatians 3:28 An irrelevance: Goodbye to the old divides
- Colossians 1:15-20 A reconciler: Christ, through whom all things are reconciled and hold together
- Revelation 21:1-4 A vision: A new heaven and new earth
What do you think of these? Any other passages?
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