Practicing Midrash: Reading the Bible’s Arguments as an Invitation to Conversation

by F. Timothy Moore

Have you ever been puzzled by contradictions in the Bible? Or wondered why there are four Gospels, three sets of Ten Commandments, or two creation stories at the beginning of Genesis? Beginning with the first pages of Genesis, the Bible tells most of its stories through multiple versions, which contain both similarities and disagreements. The inherent arguments in Scripture did not seem to bother the Jewish faith. A practice called midrash developed in Judaism sometime before the days of Jesus. Rabbis and scholars sparred over opposing passages, developed theological arguments, and filled gaps in biblical stories with their own understandings. This book will use the threefold prayer of St. John of the Cross to allow the divergent voices in Scripture to speak and practice midrash with each other, enabling the reader to join the conversation. The contradictions and arguments have a divine purpose. Not only did they prompt the Bible's evolution over hundreds of years, but have enabled it to remain a living word for thousands of years. This pluralism in the Bible is good news for the faithful living in a multi-cultural, pluralistic age. "This intriguing book takes readers through the bumpy road of Scripture. They traverse conflict, confrontation, and contradiction. They encounter life and death, blessings and curses, all in the pursuit of more excellent ways. Congregations and individuals will profit from pursuing this challenging journey." --Phyllis Trible, author of Feminist Approaches to the Bible (1995) "Learning to read like rabbis means not seeking to resolve all the apparent conflicts by reducing divergent texts to a single meaning. Instead, it offers the opportunity to confront a fuller sense of meanings. It is a reminder, as Pilgrim Father John Robinson said, that every time we read, 'the Lord has more truth and light yet to break forth out of the word.'" --Curtis W. Freeman, Duke University Divinity School "With insightful questions and a clear writing style the book addresses understandings of the biblical text--which inform how one thinks theologically about God, one another, and our role as Christians in the world today. . . . Those who connect in dialogue with these texts will find themselves engaging in holy conversations, building bridges across divides, and relating to theological difference with newfound understanding and appreciation." --Paula Dempsey, Director of Partnership Relations, Alliance of Baptists "Tim Moore's book . . . is a timely and welcomed resource. He cogently and carefully explains the disparate positions that sit side by side on the pages of the Bible and by helping us to engage in midrash, he makes space for us to hold these texts in tension and to resist the tendency to harmonize them. I hope that this text will . . . help us all to see that our Lord is much larger than the narrow theological perspectives into which we far too often seek to force our God." --Rodney Sadler, Union Presbyterian Seminary F. Timothy Moore is the writer-in-residence and former pastor at Sardis Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. A free study guide for Practicing Midrash is available on his blog, Abelard's Workshop, at ftimothymoore.wordpress.com.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2019

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly helpful and challenging book that pushes for it's readers to approach the Bible with question marks rather than exclamation points. The constant tension that most Bible readers feel to smooth over contradictions is real, and the author makes thought-provoking arguments to see these contradictions as inspired truth from God meant to reach people who are in various stages of life, who may have different cultural backgrounds, and who have different personality temperaments (i.e. introverts versus extroverts). This book kept my attention from beginning to end, and demands a re-read in the immediate future after I have had some time to digest its contents.

[Bill Piercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practicing Midrash

Wonderful read that defines the pluralism of Gods word and how we must have a conversation among Christians as to what is more meaningful to each without judgment.

[Katherine Stillerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful resource for church groups wanting to study the Bible in a serious and critical way.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a creative, well crafted and inspiring work. Moore uses the Jewish concept of midrash - to discuss as sacred text or idea from divergent perspectives - and apply it to a wide variety of Biblical material. The genius of this is to remove the very western and logic driven mentality to try and harmonize all Biblical material (a must held by an inerrancy theology) and simply let biblical material that is directly contradictory be just that: a contradiction. In doing so, one can explore what might be the voice of God trying to teach humanity something that could be a paradox. Bluntly, if we stop trying to "fix" the narrative, we might discover insights within the narrative we otherwise would not see.

Moore does a great job of taking material that seems to pull the reader in opposite directions and uses it well. Whether it is creation stories to Paul vs. later writers, he shows how we can glean wisdom from writers who have a different theology to share.

The main critique likely thrown on this monograph has to do with its academic lean. While nothing in the book was new to me as a seminary grad, it would be novel to most lay readers in the local church (for whom the book was written). That said, Moore often assumed the lay reader would accept as either clear or acceptable Biblical historical critical discoveries about the Bible. If you are a fundamentalist, you would likely reject Moore's undergirding perspective, simply because you reject the premise of the likes of JEDP theologians (the idea of multiple Torah authors rather than just Moses) or "editors" of Paul's letters. I would suggest he needs to be a bit more persuasive by laying more groundwork to draw lay readers into his work.

All that said, the best chapter in the book is the last. There Moore notes the grand divergence in the Christian denominational world can be traced to how persons listen to divergent voices within the Biblical text. Such a broad theological world he is a grand strength rather than a loss of unity. There are souls who sing of an encounter with God because a particular understanding of scripture is where they hear the voice of God....whether it be in a more liturgical or Pentecostal congregation; more conservative or liberal community of faith or in the variety of slices of Catholicism and Protestantism. The world, he notes, is a far better place because of the varity of voices speaking from the sacred text.