As Iron Sharpens Iron: Listening to the Various Voices of Scripture
Author/Editor: Julie M. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved the premise of this collection of essays: Invite several different Mormon scholars to each take two characters from different times and places in scripture, find a topic on which they have opposing views, and invent a dialogue between them respectfully disagreeing with each other. Some of the essays were better-written or closer to my own level of understanding than others, but I loved partaking of this exercise in thinking out of the box.
For those who insist that there are no real contradictions in holy writ--even though these books were penned by often inspired but flawed, as are all human beings, from different cultures over thousands of years, then chosen as canon by other flawed human beings from among other similar writings--I entreat you to take even just the four Gospels and try to make them match, detail for detail. And you know what? It's perfectly fine--in fact, it's wonderful that they don't fit harmoniously together! For these writers, historical or ideological accuracy was an alien concept to them. They had a perspective to share--a story to tell--that helped them make sense of the culturally meaningful stories that had been passed down (mostly by word of mouth) to them.
This collection of essays shows the richness and complexity of the scriptures--as rich and as complex as every human life. Coming to terms with paradox--two opposing ideas that are equally true, like two sides of a coin--is what challenges us to grow up to maturity. Stephen Peck's dialogue between Abraham and St. Thomas about faith and doubt is a particularly effective example. Julie Smith brings Mark and Luke together to express how Jesus honored women in ways that seem to oppose each other. Each of the essays brings out a different paradox for their scriptural characters--and us--to grapple and grow with.
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