Introduction
It’s time for a Soulcial Revolution!
But in order to get there we must pass through the ring of experiences (the good, the bad, and the beautiful) that led to a complete transformation of my thinking, worldview, understanding of the Bible, and ultimately, my faith.
I promise to tell the story as honestly and as authentically as I can.
I became a Christian in 1992 and for the next 30 years, I was solid in the evangelical church:
I was a member of historic Park Street Church in Boston for nearly three decades
I received two Masters and a PhD in New Testament
I taught the Bible for twenty years at the certificate, undergraduate, and graduate levels in the U.S. and also in Paraguay and Colombia as an overseas professor
I taught within Gordon Conwell Seminary’s Hispanic Ministries division for ten years teaching pastors and church leaders from Mexico, Central America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, to the tip of Argentina, all Spanish-speaking countries of South America.
What I came to realize after a long career as an academic, overseas minister, professor, and twice a pastor, is that the approach to the Bible that I had inherited, studied, and taught for so many years was the cause of the problems I experienced within the Christian church.
I will cover all of these in due time.
I eventually left my teaching post at a conservative Bible college overseas because I could no longer preach or teach that version of the Bible. Why This Substack?
I am starting this Substack for various reasons:
To share my story as an overseas professor and the experiences that profoundly altered my perspectives on the Bible. This is where I disassembled my view of the Bible faith, and spirituality
To give you a front row seat into the spiritual and intellectual struggles I experienced as I studied, taught, and put that version of the Bible into practice in my life and in the life of my students and their churches.
To facilitate honest, vulnerable, and courageous conversations around a book that few people understand but which has incredible power to define every aspect of their lives.
To start building a more radical and open spirituality based on a reengagement with the Jesus narratives on their own terms. This is where I reassembled my view of the Bible and spirituality
Critically Important Distinction
I want to make one thing abundantly clear. My thesis for everything I will write is that the approach to the Bible that I inherited, studied, and taught for twenty years is deeply flawed and problematic.
This is what I am deconstructing.
It was the interpretation of the Bible that I inherited from my pastors and professors, and which they inherited from Edwards, Luther, Augustine, plus ancient church councils and theologians.
There’s a big difference between the biblical stories and the doctrines that have accumulated around them for 2,000 years. Just like there is a big difference between “official” Christianity and being a follower of Jesus.
The biblical literature, if allowed to speak on its own terms, has incredible beauty, depth, pathos, and insights into every aspect of the human condition. This is especially the case with the Jesus narratives in which he takes on two empires, one political, and the other religious, and turns their values upside down.
That message of Soulcial Revolution (#4 above) is what I want to live out and teach going forward. It is where I reassemble my view of the Bible.
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NOTE: All of the illustrations on Tuesday’s with Doctor G. are original. No AI was used unless you count the iPad and pencil.
Thanks Docca G. Great to find you, peering over a few decades to reconnect. Andude