Book sparkles with insight

Dr. George Shillington, Professor Emeritus at Canadian Mennonite University, offers the church and academy a “retirement gift” in Reading the Sacred Text.

The book is divided into three sections: the first, relying heavily on the cognitive theory of Canadian philosopher Bernard Lonergan, examines the method by which human beings come to know and understand the world, including the world of texts; the second surveys how the Bible came to be written, printed, and translated; the third outlines different strategies and methods for understanding the meaning of Scripture. Throughout the work Shillington helpfully illustrates difficult ideas with anecdotes from his pastoral and teaching career.

While the book provokes Bible readers to think critically about how they interact with the Scriptures, and encourages the church to engage the thought of the sacred text at the deepest level, it lacks a clear argument for why these particular texts are sacred. More needs to be said in an introduction to the discipline of biblical studies about how and why hundreds of millions of people consider these writings to be the primary existing witness to the thought of Almighty God.

This book by a dedicated Mennonite Brethren scholar with decades of teaching and preaching experience sparkles with insight, intelligence and wisdom. Reading the Sacred Text is an invitation to all serious Bible students to meditate on the act of reading and coming to understand so that the meaning of the Scriptures might animate all aspects of faith, life, and thought.

Matthew Neufeld lives in Edmonton.