There are plenty of different Bibles to choose from. Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Protestants all use different versions of Scripture. But did you know that some Bibles come with more than just differences in translation? As Timothy Beal points out, some Bibles come with “values added” that weren’t in the original text that change the meaning of the Bible. Check out the work of the Conservative Bible Project for an example of this.
“LtQ Clips” offer thought-provoking observations and comments on spirituality and religion from prominent authors, scholars, and thinkers. These excerpts from“Living the Questions” curriculum are designed to spark conversation in questioning the dominant pop theology of American Christianity.
The words of Ken Sehested are adapted and re-visioned in this prayer for the New Year from Living the Questions. May Benedicere be your way in 2012!
Benedicere
By Ken Sehested (adapted)
May your home always be too small
to hold all your friends.
May your heart remain ever supple,
Fearless in the face of threat,
Jubilant in the grip of grace.
May your hands remain open,
Caressing, never clinched,
Save to pound the doors
Of all who barter justice
To the highest bidder.
May your heroes be earthy
Dusty-shoed and rumpled,
Hallowed but unhaloed,
Guiding you through seasons of tremor and travail,
Apprenticed to the godly art of giggling
Amid haggard news
And portentous circumstance.
May your hankering
Be in rhythm with heaven’s
Whose covenant vows
A dusty intersection with your own:
When creation’s hope and history rhyme.
May Hosannas lilt from your lungs:
Creation is not done
Creation is not yet done.
All flesh,
I am told,
will behold
Will surely behold…
Benedicere (“to bless, to praise”) is based on a prayer by Ken Sehested, author of “In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public.”
Concept: David Felten & Scott Greissel
Edit: Scott Greissel
Cameras: Gregg Brekke, Scott Greissel, Jeff Procter-Murphy & Edwin Serrano
Copyright (c) 2012 livingthequestions.com
Pastors David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy, along with the voices of top Bible scholars and church leaders—including Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Dominic Crossan, Helen Prejean, and John Shelby Spong—provide a primer to a church movement that encourages every Christian to “live the questions” instead of “forcing the answers.”
Based on the bestselling DVD course, "Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity" tackles issues of faith, dogma, and controversial subjects that many churches are afraid to address. "Living the Questions" is the most comprehensive survey of progressive Christianity in existence today.
Available at www.livingthequestions.com, through online booksellers, and as a Kindle download!
“A welcome book that is bold (without being contentious) and courageous (without needing to be triumphant), Felten and Procter-Murphy give voice to a faith that provides a profound alternative to the dominant ideology of ‘American Christianity.’ Attention should be paid!”
— WALTER BRUEGGEMANN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
There are plenty of different Bibles to choose from. Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Protestants all use different versions of Scripture. But did you know that some Bibles come with more than just differences in translation? As Timothy Beal points out, some Bibles come with “values added” that weren’t in the original text that change the meaning of the Bible. Check out the work of the Conservative Bible Project for an example of this.
Living the Questions 
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