This Strange and Sacred Scripture: Wrestling with the Old Testament and Its Oddities

The Old Testament can seem strange and disturbing to contemporary readers. What should Christians make of Genesis 1-3, seemingly at odds with modern scientific accounts? Why does the Old Testament contain so much violence? How should Christians handle texts that give women a second-class status? Does the Old Testament contradict itself? Why are so many Psalms filled with anger and sorrow? What should we make of texts that portray God as filled with wrath?

Combining pastoral insight, biblical scholarship, and a healthy dose of humility, gifted teacher and communicator Matthew Schlimm explores perennial theological questions raised by the Old Testament. He provides strategies for reading and appropriating these sacred texts, showing how the Old Testament can shape the lives of Christians today and helping them appreciate the Old Testament as a friend in faith.

• Contents
• 1. Is the Old Testament an Enemy, Stranger, or Friend to the Christian Faith?
• 2. Our Fleeting Moments in Paradise
• 3. Darkness over the Face of the Deep
• 4. The R-Rated Bible
• 5. Killing All That Breathes: Violence in the Old Testament
• 6. Male and Female God Created Them: Gender and the Old Testament
• 7. God Commands Us to Do What?! The Strange Laws of the Bible
• 8. Is the Law Engraved in Stone? The Dynamic Nature of God's Law
• 9. Truth Is Many Sided
• 10. Drowning in Tears and Raging at God
• 11. Great and Terrible Is the Wrath of the Lord
• 12. The Old Testament's Authority
• Appendix: A Literal Translation of Genesis 2:4b-4:16
• Indexes