I'm looking for recommendations for a Bible self-study guide that is consistent with a TCPC perspective. Any suggestions?

I think it is a weakness of progressive Christianity that we haven't been able to answer this reasonable question with a good resource. I can't think of any. Maybe I need to write such a book!! Or someone!!

Not taking a hard-lined approach to the bible makes such a thing difficult.

Studying the bible takes intelligence and time. Work at understanding the culture. I found I gained more from visiting Israel than any book could teach. I imagine, if it were my life's work, I'd spend much more time there. Read books and books about the culture. Study the languages and the history of how the bible came to be.

Well as far as a whole guide I don't know. But you should get Marcus Borg's book "Reading the Bible again for the first time".


--des

They may not be laid out like your typical chapter by chapter, verse by verse commentary, but we have several books by Spong, Crossan, Borg, Funk, and others dealing with Scripture and giving a pretty good start to onyone wanting to become biblically literate from a progressive Christian perspective. Add to the Borg title mentioned above: The Last Week co-authored by Borg and Crossan, about which I began another thread on the book discussion board, Spong's This Hebrw Lord and Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, and Bruce Bawer's Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity. Those are certainly good for starters!

I'd say, "Go for it! You're a retired pastor!" But most of the ones I know tend to be busier after retirement than they were during their time in the parish.