Imagine you're visiting a great Cathedral. How are you going to make the most of your experience? I was drawn to this book by David Spriggs’ analogy of likening biblical exploration to touring a church with a friend. The author aims to give us, the 'tourist', background and new perspective to the Old Testament. As we may not take in everything on a first visit we're given key themes on which to concentrate, in the hopes that we will want to continue our exploration after the tour is ended. His aim is to bring these scriptures alive.
Our guide begins by examining the Old Testament as literature, the order and purpose of its books, and the different ways (through story, liturgical tradition, and devotional bible reading) in which we encounter it. He then makes a brief analysis of various scholarly approaches before exploring 'behind' 'within' and 'beyond' the text.
I may admire a church's features aesthetically yet have little understanding of their significance. Likewise while the text of the Old Testament seems familiar, I don't always make the necessary connections with my own life and faith. So I appreciated the author's attempts to bridge the gap by placing its material into historical, political, and biblical context. For instance, I found the section on links between Old and New Testaments and the way in which these point to Jesus well worthwhile. Particularly helpful were the questions for group use. Although, does a homegroup exist with stamina enough to tackle the sheer volume of material?
Some may find 'Connected Christianity' challenging and difficult to get into. Also I'm not sure it delivered on its promises. To be fair, this might be due to my learning style. And trying to swallow the work whole is probably not what the author intended! This book originated as part of a distance learning course and as such succeeds very well if taken in smaller bites.
I'd probably return to it in that context, and would definitely follow up some of the suggestions for further
reading.
Jane Sigrist worships at St Nicolas Newbury
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