New 'Postmodern' Bible Targets Seekers, Evolution Advocates
American culture has been "hijacked by extremists" - atheists and fundamentalists - one author believes. That leaves a lot of people in the "middle ground" where although there may be a belief in Jesus, their interests are far from conventional Christianity.
A new Bible series is now targeting that middle ground. The first volume of a "postmodern" edition of the Bible was released this week, reaching out to seekers and skeptics. And it also invites people of different faiths and those who believe in evolution.
"You see, I believe that if Jesus was alive today, he would understand that his ancestors, just like ours, were beasts," says Ruth Rimm, author of the new The Lost Spiritual World series.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
When Rimm, a high school teacher in the Bronx borough of New York, became a Christian, she wanted to give believers who are in "the middle" a place to go – a place not threatening and of comfort. Rimm professes belief in Jesus and in evolution, which some Christians are debating as theory and not scientific fact.
Coming from such a controversial standpoint, Rimm also recognizes that her new Bible series is controversial. "I would have been burned at the stake for this book … had I lived in another time or place," she says.
But Rimm argues that her book is appropriate for this era. "At no other time in human history was a book such as this possible."
Rimm is one of many people more interested in spirituality than traditional religion in the postmodern era.
A UCLA study had shown that the majority of college students said they have an interest in spirituality and believe in the sacredness of life. The high interest in spirituality, however, did not necessarily amount to highly religious students. A 2006 Barna study found that the majority of young adults have become spiritually disengaged, not attending church or reading the Bible. And movements outside of the traditional forms of church, such as the emerging church movement, are growing.
"Most Americans would rather discover the spiritual truths behind the religious metaphors, especially given how fundamentalism is impacting public life with a narrow view of religion," Rimm says.
Chris Seay, a leader in the emerging church discussion, says followers of Jesus are not going to take this new Bible series "very seriously."
And although it markets a "postmodern" edition and has a postmodern feel, Seay says that it does not fit the "emerging, new sciences, quantum physics" but rather is mostly about the "old sciences" such as evolution. He also notes that "spiritual people" are most likely to say that the miraculous is possible, as opposed to what Rimm presents, which is not to take the miracle stories literally.
Such perspectives are a "modern argument," says Seay.
Still, Seay, who recently spearheaded a new Scripture translation project (The Voice) for the postmodern culture, recognizes that Rimm's work caters to a large need in today's culture.
"I think that the understanding that there is this need for middle ground and a place for dialogue - not just a place where someone who would tell you what they believe - is really important in a postmodern world," he says.
Martin Kierschenbaum, director of marketing for the Global Renaissance Society, Rimm's publisher, explained that the intent of The Lost Spiritual World is to invite people who come from different traditions, including an evolutionary perspective, to just look at the Bible.
The first volume on the Gospel of Mark, released Monday, features the complete gospel in the Scholars Version, which Seay notes is a largely unfamiliar translation, and adds artwork and commentary. The additional side commentaries cater to audiences that may not view the Bible the way it is presented in its many popular translations.
Miriam Therese Winter, a bestselling composer and professor of spirituality at Hartford Seminary, says the new series underscores how younger artists and writers are exploring the world's religions "not as traditional believers, but as spiritual seekers. They are rediscovering the spiritual and mystical core common to all traditions," according to a news release.
"Even though I disagree radically on a lot of their conclusions," Seay says, "anything that encourages people to talk about who Jesus is, I'm ultimately for. The way Jesus put it, 'those who seek will find.'"
Along with the gospels and the first two books of the Old Testament, later volumes will present other faith traditions including the Torah, Buddhist sutras and Sufi mysticism.
