The Learning Church series offers a range of brief and accessible introductions to the key themes of Christian discipleship and theology. What do Christians believe the Bible to be, and what are the consequences of these beliefs? For many people, tackling the Bible is rather like sorting the attic: lots of obscure and long forgotten paraphernalia, a certain amount of untidiness and mess ... but perhaps some hidden gems. Seeking to answer the questions which 'ordinary people' might ask about the relevance of the Bible for today's Church, this book aims to equip those who want to find ways of making it more useful, and to help them explore with openness and honesty the difficulties of trying to use an ancient text as a guide for contemporary faith.

About the Author
Andrew Village is Reader in Practical and Empirical Theology at York St John University

Reviews
Andrew Village is Reader in Practical and Empirical Theology at York St John University. His book, in SCM's Learning Church: Theology for Discipleship and Ministry series, seems to me quite brilliant. It deals with all the great issues of biblical authority and inspiration through the metaphor of turning out an attic, in which we might find useful stuff, stuff we cannot identify, tricky stuff, and so on. This deserves to become a standard work for people getting into serious biblical study, whether from an academic or a "devotional" point of view: both are catered for. -- John Barton is Emeritus Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture in the University of Oxford, a Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, and an Anglican priest. * Church Times *
It is an introduction to different questions and approaches that a Bible reader needs to have in mind in encountering this complex and difficult text, and it succeeds spectacularly in this aim. -- John Barton * Church Times *



Book Information
ISBN 9780334053972
Author Andrew Village
Page Count 128
Imprint SCM Press
Publisher SCM Press