Another easy way out is to say that if we find a text difficult, the problem is with the Bible. If our contemporary spiritual sensibilities are the only reliable guide to faith and practice, then when certain Scripture texts give us problems, we can safely set them aside. We can keep them out of lectionary cycles and out of the pulpit; we can skip over them in our Bible study groups and private devotions. But writing off or avoiding troubling texts mocks our claims about the authority of Scripture over our lives.

Rejecting these easy solutions left my class confronting the passages that disturb, puzzle, even wound us. But we found, like Jacob in his wrestling with the angel (Genesis 32), that even these texts yield blessings. In the coming months, I invite you to wrestle along with us.

September 2005, "The unfortunate fig tree"
Mark 11:12-24
Jesus curses a tree when it was not even the season for it to bear fruit.

October 2005, "Women in church"
1 Timothy 2:8-15
What a troubling test this is for Presbyterians who have grown accustomed to women elders, ministers and teachers.

November 2005, "Thou shall commit genocide?"
Deuteronomy 5:17; 7:1-8
How can the God who prohibits murder in one chapter appear to sanction genocide in another?

December 2005, "Passages that cause pain"
Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 27:35
We must struggle not just with what they say, but also with how they are likely to be heard.

January/February 2006, "Proof-texts for slave owners?"
1 Peter 2:18-23
Christians today shudder that the Bible once was used to condone the horrendous evil of slavery.

March 2006, "Revenge fantasy"
Psalm 137
Dashing babies against rocks? What is this nightmarish image doing in the Bible?

April 2006, "A 'mean Jesus' story"
Mark 7:24-39
The woman and Jesus were divided by language, gender, religion and politics. Not a promising start to their encounter.

May 2006, "Biblical family values?"
(2 Samuel 13:1–22)
A look at the family values modeled by King David's turbulent blended family.

June/July 2006, "End-times scenario"
(Mark 13:24–37)
Many end-time scenarios suggest that when Jesus returns he will achieve his ends through merciless violence—"no more Mr. Nice. Guy."

August 2006, "Prayer that moves mountains"
(Matthew 21:20–22)
What makes this text troubling is the gap between the promise and our Christian experience.