Richard Rohr, from A Teaching on Wondrous Encounters
The Bible is an invitation into the struggle itself—you are supposed to be bothered by some of the texts. Human beings come to consciousness by struggle, and most especially struggle with God and sacred texts. We largely remain unconscious if we avoid all conflicts, dilemmas, paradoxes, inconsistencies, or contradictions. Some people reject religion altogether because they are so unable to come to terms with the Bible and the ideas of Christianity. But we are supposed to be bothered by the Bible. The life of faith is a struggle to reconcile ourselves with the paradoxes and problems we find there. What do we find in ourselves that we know is deeply true that is in conflict with the Bible? What does the Bible tell us that challenges us to go deeper into ourselves? The truth is found neither by accepting all the religious ideas we are presented with nor by rejecting them.
