Shaped by the Bible

By William H. Willimon

Book Overview

Shaped by the Bible offers sound information about the ways congregations are formed and reformed by the biblical message and the living Word. William Willimon discusses the ways Scripture can form us, reform us, and challenge us, as well as the ways we hide from, close our ears to, and evade the Bible's claim on us. As Christians, the church is where we listen as God speaks, and where we are taught to speak to God with the conviction that God hears us and cares. The supreme evidence of this divine/human dialogue is the Bible. Dr. Willimon believes that if we are truly People of the Book, our lives will reflect this--individually as well as corporately in congregational life. Willimon maintains that once congregations become confronted by the biblical message, their response will be unique in the life of the community.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 172527468X
• ISBN13: 9781725274686
• Release Date: July 2020
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 98 Pages
• Weight: 0.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Bible Should Interpret Us, Says Willimon

Shaped By the Bible is a cogent book for the argument that the Bible is what makes our churches distinctive from the rest of the world. Countercultural themes rang throughout Willimon's book as he argued for believers to leave any other loyalties even one's own nation and culture for that of the Bible. This leads to a major problem in Biblical interpretation today according to Willimon. Today's church is more concerned about how to change the Bible to fit contemporary people, than it is to let the Bible change people today. The solution according to Willimon is to view the Bible as a distinctive story that shapes us as a people, a community. Willimon almost seemed to over do this people-forming view with his characterization of the Bible as a political document. However, this can be useful for a church to think through. When leaders meet for business meetings perhaps the Scripture could be read according to the Lectionary. This allows them to acknowledge their submission to the authority of God's Word. I believe the Bible can be given higher prominence as Willimon proposes by seeing the Scriptures as alive and powerful. Rather than being an archive, it should be a living prophet among us whenever we read it. This can be modeled by pastors who share the changes in their life recently due to their reading of Scripture. To let the Bible interpret us as Willimon suggests, we could practice Bible meditation. Other than that we could meet in groups that require individual journaling and real `homework.' Bible Study Fellowship is a global ministry that attempts this. Also we could enlist the dramatic arts to `reimagine' the stories of the Bible. Oftentimes music, theater, and paintings can help us see the Bible in fresh, gripping ways that motivate us to dig into Scripture deeply.

Vintage Willimon

This book offers a readable summary of the narrative style interpretation of the Scriptures. For those unfamiliar with the works of Willimon / Hauerwas, this book could be a helpful introduction. It presents the Bible as the church's book, not the book of liberal academia or conservative individuals. As the church's book, the Bible has the power to call forth the kind of people it describes in its stories. This book contains a fresh look at scripture interpretation and performance written with laity in mind, but also helpful for clergy.