SPIRITUALITY:

ENCOUNTERS WITH GODDE

'Our lives are so short, but there is still time to love'

2. Background: the historical evidence of Encounters

2.1 Making sense of spiritual encounters. It is the experience of most people, when writing about issues of spirituality, to try to "make sense" of encounters - encounters in their own lives, encounters with other people; "events" upon which they can piece together meaning and purpose; or simply "events" that open doors to understanding and awareness that did not exist before.

2.2 Therefore it is not surprising to see the many authors of the bible - who were themselves people like you or me - doing the same thing: trying to "make sense" of profound events and encounters in their lives. And although the authors themselves were undoubtedly fallible, and their accounts exploratory and written in the context of their own time, yet the encounters themselves were often intense, moving and life-changing. They constitute historical evidence of a Godde seeking encounter and relationship with his people.

2.3 The Bible as a series of encounters. So in looking at the bible - and trying to make sense of its meaning - we should look primarily at the actual encounters with Godde that are described (or lurk implicitly), which were - and remain - profound. They are "events" in history, and the history of religion takes place (within the successive moments of time) in a series of encounters, where deeper reality seems to break through upin our lives, and Godde is encountered.

2.4 Learning from one another, learning from other faiths. It is a fundamental principle of this 'Encounter Theology' which I advocate, that such encounters are common to all people in all places at all times - to the extent that people are recipient. Therefore, in defining 'encounter' as the opening door to spiritual experience, I am suggesting that we each have things to learn from one another, whatever our cultural or religious background, and we can learn so much by 'listening' to the encounters and experiences of people of other faiths. For I believe that Godde inhabits everywhere in our lives, and touches us in many and diverse ways, and - indeed - there is so much to be thankful for and encountered, and so many ways in which she reveals her love to us.

2.5 Since I regard all humanity as Godde's people, rather than a specific grouping from a specific religion, I find value in the encounters of all kinds of different people, and how they respond or make sense of such 'events' throughout their lives. However, writing from within the experience of my christian tradition and encounters, I can probably allude most easily (beyond personal encounters I touch upon later) to that record of encounters with Godde that constitutes the consistent theme and reality of the bible.

2.6 Understanding the bible involves a recipient approach to its encounters. For the encounters of the bible writers were almost certainly real, one way or another, and these spiritual 'events' inspired the individuals or communities that described them. In trying to 'understand' the bible, we need to look to the heart of these encounters, and try to be recipient as we do so, to really recognise the deep meaning of these encounters in the lives of the people who experienced them.

2.7 Distinguishing between Encounter and its aftermath. Much of the 'aftermath of encounter' is more peripheral with the passage of time, as the people who experienced an encounter try, in human terms, to apply it to their lives and communities. It can still be significant and informative, but it is not the encounter itself: how faith was applied in social contexts, how the encounters led to what might be called the social expressions of religious communities, and how the personal and social limitations of the authors 'contextualised' the actual encounters that had occurred.

2.8 Encounter is fundamental. People talk so much these days about fundamentalism (and I shall return to this topic) but what is truly fundamental is encounter with Godde. Encounter itself - the encounter of person with person, of the individual and Godde, or collective encounters: these seem fundamental. They are the meeting points in our lives, the 'becoming aware', and from a human perspective, it is the basis of how we "make sense" of Godde. There are, it is true, other fundamentals that go even deeper: who Godde is, beyond what we encounter; and the personal interventions and purposes of Godde, beyond our own experience of him. Godde as servant, Godde as sacrifice, Godde as lover, Godde in unchanging covenant with us, faithful and constant forever. The Godde of loving kindness. The Godde who is Holy. There is moreover the fundamental living out of our encounter in our lives, which is a deep part of the encounter itself, an encounter in flow. But, returning to our fallible, human perspective: 'encounter' is how we come to meet with Godde, and 'encounter' is the story of the bible, as people and communities through history tried to "make sense" of the Godde who wanted to be personal with them.

2.9 The evolution of the human perception of Godde. Turning to the bible, and some of its central encounters, we see the development and evolution of our human perception of Godde. The Godde of some authors is 'interpreted' (and limited) as a male warrior 'God' who fights for their tribe against threats from outside, and smites enemies, and their families and children. 'He' is a patriarchal 'God'. And, in the 'aftermath' of sincere spiritual encounters, some of these authors contextualise their 'God' within the confines of their own societies and preconceptions.

2.10 New and emergent meaning: through history and today. Elsewhere, there are different perceptions of Godde. With some of the prophetic authors, Godde is less institutional and more to do with stirrings, flow, change, and spiritual new things. These are authors for whom the institutions and establishment have been shaken, authors for whom new meaning is emergent, as indeed it is emergent in our own contemporary world, the world we live in. 'Encounter Theology' assumes new and emergent meaning, new encounters, new insights, new contexts - and yet all springing from our encounters - as Christians - with Jesus Christ.

2.11 From remote warrior 'God' to servant Godde of the humble heart. The development and evolution of our human perception of Godde is seen, in history, in the way later writers responded to Jesus and found new insights, as the impact of the person of Jesus broke down the walls of old contexts, and they tried to "make sense" of what they had encountered, and who this Godde was… the Godde they had encountered for themselves… a servant Godde, a Godde of humble heart and passionate love… Godde of compassion and mercy and grace.

2.12 Therefore there is a pattern through history and through the bible, of an evolving awareness and perception of Godde - as people struggled to make sense of their encounters. We are still doing that: trying to make sense of Godde in the context of our lives, our knowledge, our world. It is a continuing evolution, not a fixed and static picture frozen in the 1st Century.

2.13 Our perception of Godde will continue to evolve. The human perception of Godde will continue to evolve, because there is always more to learn about Godde, and the parameters of our society and knowledge change, though She does not. The bible demonstrates a pattern of evolving human perception and behaviour: what is constant is the Godde who is encountered. Each encounter, at each point in history, may be equally profound and deep - including encounters today - because encounter with the living Godde is not constrained by limitations in ourselves. However limited the writers of Genesis were in their scientific knowledge, they could still encounter Godde in profound experiences. The bible works, as a source of inspiration, from beginning to end because the encounters it describes were deep and moving, as relevant and real then as our own may be today.

2.14 The way the bible works, by drawing us toward Encounter today. The bible, then, is inspired by the Holy Spirit in this sense: the Holy Spirit was at work when people opened their hearts to Godde, and encountered him. The biblical expressions of these profound encounters are therefore evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women. Moreover, the bible is also alive and active with the ongoing agency of the Holy Spirit in this sense: that as we read these accounts of their encounters, and open our hearts, we too can be drawn into encounter for ourselves… because the bible is the language and message of encounter, the bible is *about* encounter, and the bible can open us up to encounter as well. To imply that 'inspired, alive and active' means the bible is literally true is to misunderstand its function through history as an earthen channel through which the Spirit of Godde can constantly flow, as readers open their hearts 'in sympathy' and identification with the encounters of others, and are drawn into encounter themselves. *That* is how the bible works, as a vessel, and it makes sense: it is fundamentally about encounter and meeting with Godde, the Godde who wants to be 'with us' always.

2.15 For this reason, I regard the bible as both inspired and active, as an agency of the Holy Spirit, a vessel and container through which the Spirit of Truth can flow, even though it is written by human and fallible individuals, and open to error itself. Its role is not to be the literal truth, but to be a channel for the living truth, the Holy Spirit of Godde. And indeed, I think most Christians who read it can give accounts of the way they have found their own spirit quickened and led into the presence of Godde, through reading it. Because the bible is about *meeting with Godde*, meeting with a Godde who wants to meet us too, because she desires relationship with us - deep, covenanted relationship.

2.16 The bible itself is a vessel, containing truth, but not infallible itself. The bible, then, is inspired and active, and yet written with humanity and fallibility. Therefore we need not regard this 'inspiration' to imply that every word is dictated by Godde or somehow sanctioned by Godde as true. Nor do we need to regard anachronistic practices as relevant or true today. Nor need we believe that the original writers had a monopoly of insight and truth on matters of social conscience, psychology, or science. All these contexts are human and provisional, settings for their own time, just as our own social contexts are provisional today, but the encounters themselves… were, and are, events of Godde's Spirit at work.

2.17 Seeking the critical evidence at the heart of biblical encounter. In "making sense" of the bible, we need to ask: what was the really profound insight that emerged from a specific encounter or process of encounters (just as you or I might ask of ourselves: "What should I really learn from a certain event in my life when I encountered Godde?"). In "making sense" of the bible in this way, and trying to look to the heart of an author's profound experience, we give priority to those 'openings of eternity' that seem sometimes to break through into people's lives, that originate outside and beyond the time in which they find themselves. In addition, through re-visiting these encounters, we may encounter Godde for ourselves, in our own way, in our own time.

2.18 Let me look with you at some encounters in the bible to demonstrate this methodology:

2.19 Examples: Noah. The significance of the account of Noah is not its factual reality (it is palpably untrue) but its expression of an encounter or relationship with Godde that perceives Godde as someone who will enter into personal relationship with an individual, protect them in crisis, and bring them to a safe place of covenanted love, where new beginnings can occur and there is hope for the future.

2.20 Read in this way, instead of being a stumbling block to a modern reader, the account of Noah can encourage us in turn to envisage this Godde of covenant commitment, hope and a future, and open our hearts in turn for our own encounter.

2.21 To an honest, truthful, open and modern mind - to millions in secular society who make questioning approaches towards faith - this way of handling the bible may "make sense" a little more, and may afford the bible more dignity and integrity than attempts to imbue it with an infallibility that the modern mind may justifiably regard as indefensible.

2.22 Examples: Abraham. When we turn to the ways Abraham is described as encountering Godde, we can see the expression of an encounter or relationship with Godde that perceives 'Him' caring about 'His People', calling them apart to be his, and beckoning them to live in a new land in relationship with him. There is also the expression, from a human perspective, of a desire to follow Godde, to worship Godde, to trust Godde. What we see in the account of these encounters is a two-way relationship, a personal covenant relationship based on promises made by Godde and faith exercised by Abraham.

2.23 Again, regardless of the passage of time, or changes in our perception (such as who constitutes Godde's people) the encounters themselves convey profound meaning, as relevant today as ever: in this sense, the bible is supremely true, at the point of real encounter, at the meeting point with Godde. I am convinced that parts of the bible are untrue, and constitute stumbling blocks to many modern open minds, and yet at the heart of encounter in the bible we find the profound truth that we may also discover for ourselves in our own encounters.

2.24 Examples: Jacob. In his dealings with Jacob, probably reported by the same author, we see the continuation of encounters with a Godde who intervenes and enters into relationship with people. These interventions include dreams, such as the dream at Bethel where Jacob encountered angels and an entrance to heaven, a deep awareness of the presence of Godde. The outcome of this encounter is a conviction that Godde is personally concerned and involved with Jacob: "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go." This Godde who is "with us" and personally concerned for us resonates through the history of biblical and post-biblical encounter. It is an archetypical expression of certain kinds of encounter.

2.25 There is also the episode where Jacob wrestles with the stranger at night, suggesting an entanglement of destinies and a two-way engagement, between an individual or community and their Godde. The story (or history) of Jacob also explores the nature of a growing faith - the way Godde sometimes suspends his outcomes for periods of time, and even leads us away from home and secure places, before fulfilling his purposes, 'realising' the times of faith, and demonstrating faithfulness of intent. It is as if these early writers, in trying to "make sense" of their encounters, recognised that faith led to new ways and sometimes seemed beyond the familiar - though, in truth, Jacob seemed to travel far only to re-unite with family, and the familiar presence of Godde is with us even in strange and foreign lands.

2.26 Examples: Moses. This sense of the 'apartness' of Godde, and the stepping out from purely material existence to encounter the spiritual, to travel with Godde, is seen very clearly in the account of Moses: the idea that, in our dealings with Godde, we are called to new allegiances, drawn to a new homeland, and - in this transient world - may feel like 'strangers in a strange land' on a journey or quest for a land we can truly call our own, the land of Godde.

2.27 The account of the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt - and Godde's intervention to deliver them - as well as being archetypical and a precursor to the intervention of Jesus through his death and resurrection, points also to a specific sense of deliverance that was integral to the history of Israel and the consciousness of its people. Here we read of encounters with a Godde who saves people from seemingly hopeless circumstances; a Godde who can break down the barriers of the world we see and understand, to act supernaturally; a Godde who travels with her people and longs for faithfulness and relationship with them; a Godde who is holy and desires holy living and righteousness… and finally, a Godde who restores people to a homeland, to a safe place, where she will be their Godde and they will be her people.

2.28 The account of the life of Moses, from birth to death, and witnessing mighty acts of deliverance, is profoundly archtypical: in other words, it points to and expresses deep experiences of Godde, experiences of encounter that other people at other times in history find resonating and real in their own ways.

2.29 The most obvious aspect of this archetype is the pattern of 'baptism': the process of passing through ordeal to safety, pre-figured in the 'drawing out' of Moses from water as a baby, and epitomised in the way Godde draws his people through the water of the Red Sea and the death of the wilderness toward a new life in the Promised Land. This sense of an individual and communal encounter with Godde, where there is a sort of 'going under' and being kept safe by Godde, and then a renewed future with him… is also seen in accounts of Noah's Ark, Daniel in the Den and the Furnace, Jonah in the whale, and ultimately Jesus on the cross and in the tomb. I will return to this archetype later, but it expresses something deep about the spiritual encounter and our dealings with Godde. It is a very significant part of "making sense" of these encounters, and deserves separate investigation, as deeply relevant today as it was so long ago.

2.30 And yet, attached to this deep relevance, are peripheral contexts and that 'aftermath' of encounter that tries to interpret archetypical events and apply them to society or religious community. We see, in the accounts of Moses, not only evidence of profound encounters, but also the subsequent interpretation of those encounters and the work of religious institutions and authorities to create frameworks to contextualise (and possibly control) what follows after the encounter.

2.31 So, for example, the people of Egypt are seen as disposable victims of Godde's plagues because their pharaoh is on the wrong side of a dispute with Godde's own tribe. This is just one example of a trend that unfolds in the history of Israel, as Godde protects his 'tribe' at the expense of neighbouring tribes and their families and children. It points to a limited view of the concerns and loyalties of Godde, that does not dignify him to the modern reader, for whom tribalism (like extreme nationalism) can be dangerous, destructive and sometimes vicious in its defence of the 'insiders'. This tribalism can arguably be identified in later, new testament contexts, where Godde's tribe is those who believe in Jesus, and for the outsiders: hell and eternal separation. A tribal view of Godde, and attacks on those outside who threaten the tribe's identity, have indeed been re-enacted through church history, both in the denunciation of other viewpoints, and in the condemnation of minorities who are different, and most strenuously against those who seem to subvert from within, because they threaten to open up truths that do not fit the comfortable patterns, truths that subvert the control and frameworks upon which a religious community may be structured. And so, the burning of heretics. And so, the crucifixion of Jesus. In the story of Moses, the children of Egypt are the disposable commodities, the collateral damage, because the biblical writers of the time had limited viewpoints, and wrote in contexts and perceptions of Godde which Paul would later challenge, though Paul himself insisted on institutional contexts and rules, and maintained an essentially tribal view of christianity, bounded by contexts of hell, patriarchy, and a pre-Darwinian view of the world which enabled him to use a historic Adam and Eve as a basis for his doctrine of original sin which consigned those 'outside Christ' to damnation. The encounter events linked to Moses's life are profound and deeply relevant, but the contextual assumptions made afterwards by the biblical writers are just that: fallible and contextual.

2.32 Similarly, the account of the 'legislation of Godde', written by Godde on tablets of stone, may or may not be historically reliable, but 'feels' like a subsequent religious community claiming authority for its own values by attributing their authority directly to the written words of Godde (very much in the way modern fundamentalists claim authority for their views by claiming the authority of the bible as their sanction). As I say, the tablets of stone from Godde may or may not be true, but I should perhaps be forgiven for calling their historical authenticity into question when it is remembered that the same authors who describe this event also wrote the account of Noah's Ark (rendered incredible by our modern knowledge) and also the creation of a human species in Adam and Eve, separate to the process of evolution that is now recognised by the vast majority of reasonable, educated people who care about the truth including scientific truth.

2.33 Therefore, while the Moses accounts undoubtedly point to profound encounters with Godde - so profound that they deeply resonate today and draw us toward encounter as well - yet, the encounters themselves need to be distinguished from elements that may be described as fallible, temporarily institutional, parts of a structure for living out and 'making sense' of profound encounter events. Indeed, Jesus himself repeatedly points out the provisional nature of these religious interpretations or laws; and the temporary institutional nature of much that is written in the bible is addressed in Jesus's words "But I say to you…" followed by the emergent new insights that he introduces. Thus the bible is not a book of literal truth but an account of encounters with Godde, of people trying to "make sense" of encounters and applying them, and the way they "make sense" is fallible and reported by fallible authors. Evolving social and scientific contexts call into question some people's idealised claims for the bible - this is a serious issue for the modern church to address - and what is really left of integrity are the encounters with Godde that inspired the writers, the individuals and the religious communities.

2.34 These encounters are the heart of what the bible has to say to us, and it is the integrity of these encounters that constitute the real power of the scriptures for the future of christianity and the evolving spirituality of the whole world. However, this does not mean that we should 'bolt on' all the subsequent interpretations of past religious communities as if they were infallible and applicable for all communities in all times. They are not.

2.35 It is the personal encounters with Godde, described in the bible and in the lives of generations of believers, that speak so directly to us and 'quicken' our spiritual awareness, resonating with meaning which we may recognise, drawing us into relationship with a personal Godde. So when Moses was called, the deeper reality of Godde broke through into the fragile reality of his normal life, as he was going about his work - and Moses encountered Godde in the burning bush experience, a Godde who was holy and seemed surrounded by purifying fire, a Godde who was personal and called him by name - "Moses, Moses!"… a Godde who is deeply concerned for the suffering of people, a Godde who intervenes, a Godde who says 'I will be with you'. And in the encounter, Moses meets Godde and gains new insights into who she is: "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be"… and things cannot be the same again in Moses's life… the encounter is like a branding… a mark on his consciousness forever… because encounters with Godde do that, they change us, they become part of us, whatever we do, wherever we go.

2.36 Examples: Joshua. Turning to the nature of encounters associated with Joshua, the immediate successor of Moses, we can see in sharp focus the need to distinguish between the encounter itself and the way it is interpreted by a particular culture at a particular point in history.

2.37 At the time of his succession to leadership, he stood at the threshold of the promised land, and encountered Godde as one in whom he could find strength and courage. For Joshua, as we read about him in the bible, encounter included the faith to lay claim to what Godde promised, in submission to Godde and separation of himself to the service of Godde. In return Godde promised 'I will be with you wherever you go'. Joshua believed that Godde was giving 'his people' an inheritance. And in reading these biblical accounts of Joshua's experience, we can identify today with the possibility - through encounter - of laying claim to inheritance ourselves, to all the good intentions Godde has for our lives, and the power to reclaim the best about ourselves and other people.

2.38 What is almost impossible to identify with, however, is the primitive tribal context of the bible writers' religion at this juncture in history (or whatever time they wrote it). The encounter and engagement of a people with Godde remains resonant and inspiring. But the interpretation of their faith, the manifestation of its outplay, is repellent to most people who read it today. What followed was ethnic cleansing and war-crimes.

2.39 Having crossed the Jordan, Joshua's invading forces attacked Jericho "and destroyed with the sword everything living in it - men and women, young and old". Next they moved on to Ai. The attack and war-crimes, according to the bible writer, were sanctioned by Godde. "Then the Lord said: Go up and attack Ai… You shall do to Ai as you did to Jericho…" First the army of Ai was defeated outside the city. "Then the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day - all the people of Ai." The devastation continued. When Joshua took Makkedah "he put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors." Next came Libnah: "The Lord also gave that city… and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors." The same was repeated at Lachish and Eglon and Hebron and Debir. "So Joshua subdued the whole region… He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded."

2.40 In an age when we see the consequences of fundamentalist Islam when hijacked by the exponents of terror, it is sobering to read these verses and consider the dangers of idealising a bible which some Christians sanction and attribute with unassailable authority. The danger of a specific tribe 'appropriating Godde' for themselves is all too clear. The slaughtered children, the massacred men and women of Jericho, Ai, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon and the lands beyond: what misconstrued warrior 'God', what primitive partisan 'God' is responsible for this horror? Or… is the bible wrong?... are its writers fallible?... sincere and religious, but limited by the small-world tribal vision of their time? This is what I mean when I assert that the human perception of Godde evolves, and the bible is as fallible and contextualised as the ordinary people who wrote it. For this is not the servant Godde and defender of children we recognise: 'Let the children come to me.' Not the children of Ai. Not the forgotten innocents of Makkedah.

2.41 Only if we go to the heart of encounter - the encounter of fallible humans with a loving Godde - can we hope to find inspiration for our lives, and integrity for the bible. To idealise the bible, call it all true, say Godde indeed commanded the slaughters, is the path to insanity, and is to alienate people today in a world that has seen enough suffering of the innocent. A world, too, that has discovered honest truths in science - that call into question the story of Adam and Eve, the impossibility of the Ark, and may even question (since the same community wrote them all) the story of the sun standing still in the middle of the sky for a whole day as Joshua defeated the Amorites. If the writers got it scientifically wrong over Adam and Eve, and the Ark, it is not unreasonable to call into question the freezing of the planet's rotation for 24 hours as well. And beyond that, the perception of a Godde who calls on his armies to slaughter children. And beyond that, we are faced with the prospect that the bible is a provisional document, expressing all sorts of prejudices and limited views, scientific errors and primitive perceptions of Godde - written by ordinary, fallible human beings like you and me, who could be sincere and religious, but could be sincerely wrong as well.

2.42 "You have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake." This is a primitive perception of Godde that has not yet evolved: a masculine, warrior 'God' who destroys those in the way of 'his' will; a tribal 'God' who favours his insiders… and yet Jesus was crucified outside the city walls, outcast and rejected by the religious establishment. The fallibility of the bible and its writers is seen in the dreadfully limited view they sometimes have about the concerns and loyalties of Godde, in relation to the world beyond our own institutions, prejudices and fears.

2.43 The idea that Godde has her own special people, while others are excluded, is perpetuated today in the belief that only Christians are saved. The possibility that Godde has a plan for the redemption and restoration of every child that is born is still difficult for many to embrace, because the theology of a tribal era still permeates the bible and many believers are reluctant to let go of it.

2.44 Perhaps a parable of the prodigal son will take place when we die and people's eyes are opened to the 'so much more' of Godde's unbounded goodness. Then some Christians might complain like the older son, 'But we followed you on earth, devoted our lives to you, while these people turned their backs on you.' But the Godde of the 'so much more' we have yet to encounter may have plans beyond our understanding. Perhaps the unchurched of the world will finally encounter the one they never knew and a restoration will take place when they pass through death - that final baptism - and see face-to-face the forgiveness and love of Godde. Or perhaps some already do encounter Godde in the lives they lead and the unspoken impulses of their hearts… for where there are acts of kindness, there is the Spirit of Godde, and where there is hatred and hurt, there is Jesus with his arms outstretched and longing to heal the broken heart.

2.45 'If everyone is saved then what did Jesus die for?' some Christians ask. The answer may be: he died for everyone and he will save everyone. Why not? Maybe we need to evolve further, to grow deeper in our understanding of a Godde of infinite gentleness and compassion, and look far, far beyond the warrior Godde who supposedly called for the slaughter of the children of Ai.

2.46 Examples: Judges. The Israelites' continuing encounters with Godde are recorded in the bible's account of the judges who led the people after Joshua died. We see encounters with 'the angel of the Lord' in the story of Gideon, and again when an angelic being visits Samson's parents. This is a Godde who wants to meet (in person, or through intermediary) with people and who conveys an experience of - peace, communion, another level of awareness. There is the emergence, too, of an awareness of the Spirit. So, as Samson grew up, "the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him" and gave him insights and knowledge. These are early examples, early recognitions of the Holy Spirit, which point to encounters with the Holy Spirit that may happen in our own lives - so the bible presents encounters that may resonate profoundly with its readers.

2.47 But, at the same time, the writers of the bible and the whole culture which is their context, can be fallible and compromised; our social consciousness has moved on, our perception of Godde has evolved, and there are episodes where what is written seems unacceptable; where the bible seems provisional and temporary, stuck in a past whose values (some of them) have been superceded.

2.48 If we cannot distinguish the profound encounters with Godde from this flawed society and its cultural assumptions, then we are in trouble.

2.49 Thus most modern readers would rightly find it obnoxious that Jephthah would sacrifice his own daughter as a burnt offering to Godde. Quite simply, and quite rightly, our perception of Godde has evolved so that we can see how wrong this was, how unnecessary to Godde, how far removed from the gentle and compassionate heart of Godde. Similarly, when the people of Jabesh Gilead failed to assemble before Godde with the rest of Israel at Mizpah, it seems against everything we now understand about Godde, that 12000 fighting men were sent to kill them all "including the women and children". This was compounded by sparing 400 virgins who were given away as wives. In addition, because more wives were needed, the girls of Shiloh were snatched away from an annual festival. "When the girls of Shiloh came out to join the dancing," the men were told, "rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife." What a terrible message this sends out about the treatment of women.

2.50 Once again, there are the continuing encounters with Godde, which are capable of conveying profound meaning, in the present day and in all ages; and then there is the fallibility of the bible's authors, ordinary human beings trying to make some kind of sense of their lives, with limited knowledge, limited understanding, and the baggage of their own cultural assumptions. And we, the readers, have to try to distinguish true spiritual encounter from its transient cultural contexts.

2.51 Examples: David - evolving perceptions. When we turn to the encounters with Godde that occurred during the Davidic period, we see a society and culture that still 'contains' its perception of her within established contexts and tradition, and indeed consolidates this establishment with the inauguration of kingship and the centralisation of power in Jerusalem, the city of David.

2.52 But at the same time, the human perception of Godde continues to evolve through the encounters of individuals and community. In identifying examples of encounter in this 'Encounter Theology' I am not trying to (and clearly could not) be comprehensive - because Godde may be met in such a multiplicity of varying encounters and all the books in the world could not begin to describe the ways beyond number in which people meet with Godde from day to day. Instead I offer examples of encounter that are recorded in the bible that may in some way be demonstrative and, although these need to be distinguished from the contexts and limitations in which they arise, and the fallibility of the human authors, yet striking features of encounter can be identified by the time of David. For, having established a structure and platform for their encounters and beliefs, what we see from the Davidic period onwards is the exploration of Godde at personal and spiritual levels that extend the community's original perceptions of who she is.

2.53 Two of these are a clear sense of intimacy in the dealings between Godde and her people; and a developing awareness of the emergent nature of the Spirit, her almost proclamatory flow, her breaking forth through encounter, and declaration of things beyond the immediate confines and control of the religious community.

2.54 In trying to 'make sense' of their encounters with Godde, we see a development beyond the traditional and institutional, which would be continued in the writings of the prophets and through the ministry of Jesus. During the period of David, these 'openings' are being introduced and perception is broadening: and this would later be invaluable in trying to 'make sense' of Godde when the state and the establishment collapsed.

2.55 What we see in the psalms attributed to David and his contemporaries (and in the subsequent prophets in the bible) are intimacies and spiritual 'break outs' that prepare the way for emergent understanding and future contexts that focus on: the relationship between the human heart and a spiritual reality beyond the limits of worldly kingdoms, a physical temple, or a priestly sect. Something that begins by being personal and intimate, deep in the heart of the establishment, ends up by being bigger and more enduring than the powerbase and establishment that tries to 'protect' and control the perception of Godde. Because Godde cannot be 'contained' and because Godde is deeply personal and intimate - and there is so much of Godde to be encountered beyond the controls and assumptions by which institutions sometimes limit the perception of a limitless Godde.

2.56 Examples: David - and the highly personal nature of Godde . One major characteristic of the encounters expressed in the psalms is the development and exploration of the personal relationship between individuals and Godde, which explains why - to this day - so many people re-visit the psalms again and again, and why the personal encounters expressed in the psalms can be helpful in leading us to encounter with Godde ourselves.

2.57 Aspects of this personal dimension can be seen prior to David: for example in the intimate and highly personal account of Ruth and Boaz; or in the devotion of Hannah, her need, har faith and her prayer; and Godde's personal dealings can also be seen in the way Samuel is called by name. The account of David's life is itself intimate, tender and personal: the way Godde raises up a young and marginal individual - 'There is still the youngest' Jesse answered 'but he is tending the sheep.' The same intimacy and personal emotion can be seen in the relationship between David and Jonathan, and David's heartfelt lament at his friend's death. In the bible we can read of the encounters between David and Godde, a Godde who is intimately involved with David in his life. These encounters over many years are described in deeply personal terms, particularly in the psalms, where what emerges is a new perception of Godde - a Godde who seeks intimate love relationship, a Godde who sees us as individually treasured and precious.

2.58 So in the psalms we find expressed a heightened personal encounter, an attraction to Godde, a desire for Godde: something inside the psalmist that finds Godde so desirable that he wants to seek Godde and Godde's ways, and walk in them. What we see is an encounter and relationship that is more precious and valuable than all the distractions and attractions of the transient world. 'How long will you turn my glory into shame, and love delusions?' In contrast, the psalmist yearns for Godde and the things of Godde - what he calls 'the path of life'.

2.59 This is no facile relationship, where Godde simply 'favours' the tribe, and the tribe carries out ritual sacrifice and adherence to rules in return. Instead, the psalmist's encounter involves challenge, and encounter with his own integrity. Encounter with Godde opens the psalmist to inspection at a painfully honest level. Godde searches the minds and hearts of his people, and they too must search their personal conscience. Encounter at this level involves personal accountability to Godde, not just ritual cleansing. It confronts innermost, hidden impulses and truths. 'Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me.'

2.60 There is vulnerability in this opening up of the human heart to Godde's love and Godde's goodness. The need for forgiveness, and the need for Godde's support and guidance, are honestly expressed and explored in terms of personal encounter and a personal relationship. This encounter involves personal communication, where the psalmist prays to Godde for help, and Godde listens. Moreover, the ongoing encounters and relationship with Godde enable him to hear Godde too and be helped by her and guided by her.

2.61 What we see being explored in many of these psalms is a Godde who is far more than just a wrathful warrior 'God': instead the psalmist has dared to believe that Godde is tender and merciful - full of compassion for the weak, the poor and needy. 'The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' And full of compassion, too, for our own weaknesses, longing to have mercy on those who turn to her for forgiveness. Far from basing relationship upon moral self-righteousness, and ritual cleanliness, the psalmist's encounter with Godde is too personalised and open to hide from awkward truths. He has learnt that the way to the presence and encounter with Godde is a humble heart, a penitent heart that seeks honesty, forgiveness, and restoration: 'Forgive my iniquity, though it is great… turn to me and be gracious… take away all my sins.' And the experience of encounter at this level is that Godde does indeed forgive sins, and offers new beginnings, and restoration. 'Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered'… writes the psalmist.

2.62 What comes across, in the psalms, is the expression of a relationship of trust - and a belief in Godde's unswerving love and good intentions. Godde watches over each individual, and cares intimately, is deeply concerned. The psalmist encounters Godde in the context of a personal and committed relationship where love is always there. He is a Godde who 'delights in the well-being of his servant', and his goodness and love will follow us throughout out lives. 'Your love is ever before me,' the psalmist writes. 'Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.'

2.63 Trust in this deep concern, goodwill and love, results in a sense of peace and a quietness of spirit. Godde conveys commitment and feelings of safety, desiring people to live in trust and know his way of peace in their lives. In the knowledge of his presence in our lives, we can find quietness of mind and spirit; he can bring us to quiet places in our relationship with him where we can be still and encounter and find encouragement. 'He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.' And in encountering Godde, the psalmist also finds a deeper reality to this life - a sense of peace and blessing and a pleasant life breaking out into our world from the One who reigns eternally: an eternal strength, and peace, and love, emanating from a deeper more lasting place.

2.64 The psalmist encounters Godde in a deep, baptismal relationship: baptismal in the sense of feeling Godde close when danger or the prospect of death threatens to sweep over and overwhelm. Godde is the refuge and hiding place, Godde is the Godde who is there, the Godde who is with us. When the time of crisis comes, and we find ourselves 'going under', we can 'find Godde' and shelter in his presence. 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.' Why? 'Because you are with me.' This personal presence of Godde at the heart of encounter brings reality surging in to the transient life of the writer. There is even the possibility of taking this further - that the process of going under, finding Godde, and coming through the ordeal, may extend beyond our transient lives to the more lasting world beyond: the possibility that Godde will be 'with us', even in death… 'and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'

2.65 What has happened - in the psalmist's encounter with Godde - to edge towards this prospect? What has occurred in the encounter to so touch his heart that new horizons open up, new insights, deeper understanding? The answer perhaps lies at the heart of the encounter, an encounter based on relationship, and developed over time: that what has unfolded is "a love relationship", the recognition that Godde has sheer love and delight in us, and we find deep delight as well in who Godde is, in her presence, her loveliness, her integrity. 'You fill me with joy in your presence' writes the psalmist. This is the language of love and true encounter. And it is a deepening, emergent concept. A 'love relationship' that works both ways. 'He delighted in me' writes the psalmist. And 'I love you, O Lord!' In these encounters, Godde has become 'the desire' of the psalmist's heart: he desires Godde and who she is. The real motivation of the heart has become the longing for Godde and the love relationship with Godde. Where, then, do our real loyalties lie?

2.66 Encounter with Godde changes people, changes their hearts, changes motivation, changes their perceptions. And in the bible we see these perceptions changing, developing, emerging. They speak to us as relevantly today as they did thousands of years before to the writer.

2.67 The response - even though our lives can be troubled and this world can seem so difficult at times - may sometimes be a sense of joy and thanksgiving, as the deeper reality and goodness of Godde's truth breaks in upon our lives. The knowledge of being loved, of being valued; the encounter with Godde's unchanging love and care; the experience of Godde being 'with us' and we with her - can sometimes fill our hearts with joy, and gladden us profoundly. Like the psalmist, we may want to give thanks and praise to Godde, and acknowledgement of her in our lives. And along with this, like the psalmist, we may be dazzled in encounter by the majesty and glory of Godde, her beauty and radiant loveliness, and experience the light of life that seems to shine from her, bestowing life and wholeness, and saying 'I am'… eternal reality. Reality, beauty and love. Thanksgiving, joy, and delight in Godde: some of the emotions of this 'love relationship' at the heart of the psalmist's encounter.

2.68 And yet there are other emotions, too. In the interface between the eternity of Godde and the shadowy fleeting world we inhabit, we find also a human honesty in the writer, that can be raw and desolate. As well as the moments of intimate, personal encounter, there is also the aspect of relationship that involves separation and distance. Where are you, Godde? Why do you stand far off? Why do the wicked prosper? How long will you look on? Why do you not answer? Even… 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

2.69 These are also part of the reality of the ongoing encounter, of the 'love relationship'. Anyone who has been in a human loving relationship knows this reality. The times when we don't feel close. When only faith in the person, love, keeps us going. And in these encounters in the psalms we watch the psalmist learning faithfulness… learning to wait… and, most importantly, learning at a deeper level to trust and hope in Godde's own faithfulness, in who Godde is, and the commitment involved to 'keep faith' and sustain love, even at times of despondency and loss. One of the paradoxes of encounters with Godde, is that the relationship of encounter can sometimes actually grow when the time of trouble comes, or when the loved one seems far off, or when we don't seem to know the answers anymore… because faithfulness itself - the digging deep and loving from the depths - is a deep expression of acknowledgement of the person that we love, a very deep kind of encounter. And beyond it all, the psalmist knows, is the unswerving faithfulness and tender love of Godde.

2.70 These, then, are aspects of the evidence of encounter in the psalms: and we see the human perception of Godde evolving as Godde's highly personal commitment is encountered and understood a little more, and received in the heart - as we, in turn, may receive it too.

2.71 Examples: David - the Spirit of Godde and emergent truth. Within the psalms we can also see developing insights and spiritual openings, some understood by the authors, some opening out in directions they could not fully predict or comprehend. In these continuing encounters with Godde, there is an evolution of understanding, and an 'emergent' aspect to the writers' experiences and expressions… an emergent faith of which we still find ourselves a part today.

2.72 In the bible we see signs of this emergent aspect, this unfolding of Godde's purposes, with its prophetic tendency to explore things not yet fully understood. Quite often it is associated with the work of the Holy Spirit or with what the bible calls 'the word' - in both senses, a dynamic and proclamatory disclosure of reality, as individuals and the religious community begin to encounter Godde in ways that they do not control, ways that they may not have travelled before.

2.73 For example, even before the time of David, this aspect of encounter can be seen in various visions, messages, encounters, and unheralded messengers. And we see the evolution of the idea that this Godde not only sets down clear frameworks in words engraved in stone, but is also a Word in flow, a word in the process of revelation and new creation; and we see the growing awareness of the Spirit - that Spirit acknowledged from the beginning (Genesis 1:2), but whose activity becomes characteristic of the way Godde comes to people in their encounters, when they open their hearts to her and allow the flow of Godde's love and presence - to meet them, touch them, embrace them, fill them, and carry them. This encounter with a Godde beyond our total understanding and control, beyond our limitations and assumptions, can be seen in the way emergent insights break through the social and religious frameworks; emergent truth, not fully understood, but flowing full from the eternal Godde. We see this work of Godde's Word and Spirit taking place, even before the time of David, and we see the community's evolving awareness of this dynamic in the prophetic books, and much fuller exploration in the christian era.

2.74 So 'events' along the margins of understanding take place and are reported in the early books of the bible - Jacob's dream at Peniel for example, or encounters with 'the angel of the Lord'. The Word is seen as an unfolding expression of Godde, not simply limited to the safety of what people have written down: 'the word of the Lord was rare' we are told of Samuel's early years 'there were not many visions.' The word in this sense is the continuing revelation of Godde to his people - not just something written down in the past. 'The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.'

2.75 This continuing revelation of Godde, this coming of Godde in person, is also encountered and expressed in terms of the flow of the Holy Spirit: even the dark and moody Saul encountered this unmanageable aspect of a Godde who has new things to reveal, who wants to come and be with us - and who will come upon us or enter within us or flow through us in ways we cannot fully comprehend - like the wind, like a stream or even, sometimes, like fire. And yet always personal, if only we understood. And so, 'the Spirit of God came upon Saul in power, and he joined in their prophesying'; and when David was anointed 'from that day' we are told 'the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.'

2.76 While many of the psalms may only be attributed to David and not actually written by him, a study of these remarkable expressions of encounter show that not only is the understanding of Godde being more fully expressed in personal terms and a 'love relationship', but there is also a sense in which the writers seem to 'receive insights whole' from Godde that may be at the frontiers of their own comprehension - emergent truth, the 'word' of Godde in process of revelation, a continuing revelation of spiritual reality received through the Spirit of Godde at work in the hearts of individuals or a community. So I am asserting that, although the bible is fallible because it is written by ordinary human beings with limits to their knowledge and understanding, yet the bible is also a channel for the living, the continuing, Word of Godde - that continuing disclosure of Godde and desire to be known and to dwell with us; that continuing creative flow and proclamation of love through which Godde's creative purposes journey on.

2.77 Therefore, the various authors of the bible, though fallible themselves and sometimes all too limited in their outlook, still - through openness and faith and the reality of their encounters with Godde - may receive insights that they try to express in words that come… not from their own analysis alone or working out, but direct from Godde.

2.78 There are passages therefore in the psalms and other parts of the bible, passages of emergent truth, that the authors themselves express without fully understanding what the Word is saying, though they recognise the voice and they are open to what it tells them in their heart, and therefore seek to express it, aware of something emergent, something breaking through along the frontiers of their own experience. This 'emergent' aspect of encounter with Godde can, I believe, be recognised in the psalms: insights that have continued to unfold, long after the person who reported them. Because Godde continues to speak, through his Word and Spirit - not just in the past, but in our present, and doubtless in countless future presents to come. What I call 'Encounter Theology' expects and assumes continuing revelation, 'emergent' insights, and looks for them in the bible too. It also looks for the love and faithfulness and relationship - and the presence of Godde - which can be humanly experienced and expressed. We find both aspects: the Godde who is personal and tender and close… and the Godde who we have yet to encounter, the Godde of so much more.

2.79 So what 'emergent' truth can be found in the psalms? In what areas was Godde speaking to the writers, revealing new things, beyond the inherited frameworks and way of life that they were already familiar with? Firstly, there is a sense in which the 'love relationship' with Godde (which we have explored) is itself something emergent. And in this growing personalisation of relationship, we see the emergence of important future themes - the priority of the heart, and of the law being 'written' on our hearts, and not mere external adherence to religious sacrifices and conventions. We also see the 'emergent' longing to open up to Godde, and the way the Holy Spirit is perceived in new 'emergent' ways at these points of opening. This leads one to the growing awareness of this religious community towards the spiritual rather than a religion framed in mostly earthly terms. A future heavenly destiny begins to be conceived, a destiny that may… just may… involve life with Godde in heaven. And then there are some of the most compelling passages - compelling because they seem almost subconscious in their origins - they seem to await resolution or comprehension at a future time. Between humanity and heaven, there lies death, and the psalmists sometimes seem to get 'emergent' glimpses - not easy to interpret - of humanity's dire condition and need for rescue, and of the ordeal that needs to be gone through, and seem to hint at a person in the midst of it going through suffering (though it is unclear whether this is consciously messianic in context, or regarded at the time as an expression of deeply-felt personal agony and rejection). Finally, there are 'emergent' suggestions in the psalms that Godde might be concerned, not only with Israel, but with all the nations of the world; and that this concern begins and ends in compassion, with compelling calls for social justice, that show the way a less belligerent Godde is starting to be understood.

2.80 It is easy to forget, with the benefit of hindsight, that the actual authors of the psalms had little idea of the way later Judaism and christianity would develop - and to underestimate the true 'emergent' nature of some of their encounters with Godde. The later gospel writers would attempt to 'make sense' of the psalms, and demonstrate the way their emergent truth found fulfilment in the life of Jesus. But the people who wrote the psalms were simply responding to their own encounters, making sense in their own time, in their own way - yet sometimes handling impulses and insights at the frontiers of their own experience and beyond. Their psalms seem deeply resonant because their encounters were deeply resonant, and through these encounters with Godde they became attuned to feelings of Godde, personality of Godde, and messages from Godde: all 'packaged' within the constraints and conventions of their own society and their limited understanding of who Godde is… just as our view of the Godde of so much more is limited still today.

2.81 The opening point of emergence in the psalms - from which everything else probably follows - is the highly personal 'love relationship' with Godde which seems so much more intimate than the way that Godde is portrayed by earlier biblical authors. It's fair to say that Godde's personal concern for individuals is reported from the book of Genesis onwards and is a consistent aspect of encounter: but in the psalms we find this relationship explored and expressed in 'emergent' language that suggests a 'moving on' beyond the community's rituals and conventions to a spirituality that is highly personal, deeply vulnerable and exposed. Religious protocol cannot be hidden behind: the psalmists encounter a Godde who wants a 'love relationship' - 'he rescued me' (Psalm 18) 'because he delighted in me.' This idea of Godde's delight in us, a kind of ardour, is emergent and powerful… and it was an 'emergent' insight that would grow even more powerful and compelling in the future.

2.82 The implications of this highly personal kind of 'encounter' with Godde were considerable. It raised question marks for the efficacy of the religious 'status quo' - with its centrality of law and sacrifice - unless accompanied by something more. This seemed to be the message of the Godde of so much more. In Psalm 40, we read: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire… burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said: Here I am, I have come… To do your will, O my God, is my desire; your law is within my heart.' This is 'emergent' insight. 'Here I am': the individual seeking face-to-face relationship. And the idea of the 'Law in the Heart' (which others would explore further in the future) as opposed to mere adherence to external ritual and conventions. The honest exploration through encounter leads these writers towards conclusions that others would explore more fully in the future: 'You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise' (Psalm 51). The integrity of some of these encounters with Godde open up new prospects, new possibilities - they are 'emergent', not fully realised at the time - and Jesus of Nazareth would one day take these emergent revelations of Godde and turn them into a revolution.

2.83 We have previously discussed the way that personal encounter led the psalmist to honesty about his sins, and deeper self-awareness of his needs and need of Godde. Out of the same relationship came a desire for restoration, and a longing to fulfil potential and really embrace the goodness of life with Godde. But there is a strong recognition of our weakness and our need in some of the psalms, and 'emergent' glimpses of the role of the Holy Spirit to bring us help and wholeness and renewal. 'Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore…' We may have a deep-rooted capacity to be selfish and sinful, but there is also a longing to open up to Godde, and Godde's Holy Spirit. The psalmist uses the language of thirst and parched places in our hearts, our need for refreshing, vigour, forgiveness, healing, life… our need for Godde herself… and the idea, as yet nascent, that the Holy Spirit is an agent of encounter and renewal who can flow into our lives, and meet our deepest needs, and bring us life (as the gospel writer later said) 'in all its fullness'. 'My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you' writes the psalmist 'in a dry and weary land where there is no water' (Psalm 63). 'As the deer pants for streams of water… my soul thirsts for God' (Psalm 42). And yet, 'There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells' (Psalm 46).

2.84 Isaiah would later develop this association of water and the Holy Spirit when he wrote: 'Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing… I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland… to give drink to my people' (Isaiah 43). 'I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit…' (Isaiah 44). And Joel would prophesy: 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people.' The 'emergent' yearning and thirst for Godde in the psalms would find further revelation in the words attributed to Jesus in John's Gospel: 'If anyone is thirsty, let them come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.' By this, John explained, he meant the Spirit. It is interesting to note the way Jesus says 'As the scripture has said' attached to emergent passages from the bible. It is as if he wants to demonstrate the way Godde unfolds meaning and understanding through fallible men and women, their encounters, and their efforts to make sense of a Godde of so much more than they can ever know. And yet Godde discloses deep and deepening insights, discloses - in the end - much more, is disclosing still to you and me… is still 'emergent' at the point where we encounter her.

2.85 The evolution of the human perception of Godde can be seen in process in the psalms… both the transitional nature of religious conventions and the emergent nature of new insights into Godde point to a bible and community which is both fallible and sometimes prophetic at the same time. The psalms, the bible as a whole, and those of us who live our faiths today: all can be seen as trying to 'make sense' of experience and encounter as it unfolds in our own time, and in Godde's good time. The Holy Spirit today flows through our lives, engages, comforts, renews us. Not just us. Even the psalmist, struggling to comprehend the Spirit's elusive nature, could write - in words that are resonant still today: 'You have sent your Spirit, to renew the face of the earth.'

2.86 This 'emergent' understanding of Godde, this unfolding and evolving perception of Godde, beyond society's limits and assumptions, beyond the full understanding of the psalmists themselves, can also be seen in the developing recognition that humanity may have a future heavenly destiny and potential… 'What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings, and crowned him with glory and honour' (Psalm 8). Here the writer seems to be peering into the future, and seeing a potential and prospect - an emergent insight for humanity that new testament writers would later associate with Jesus. This insight (also glimpsed in Psalm 82) would evolve one day (Romans 8) to a view of humanity as sons and daughters of Godde who might reclaim their full humanity and truest identities, and enter into a heavenly inheritance.

2.87 This shift towards a spiritual and eternal perspective is explored tentatively by the psalmists - tentative in the sense that they seem to have glimpses of eternal life and a future beyond death but do not have all the answers. So, for example, far from being a Godde enshrouded in cloud and hidden from sinful people, there is the emergent concept of a Godde who will be encountered face-to-face in the future. 'The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne… upright men will see his face' (Psalm 11). Or this imagery of resurrection: 'And I - in righteousness I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness' (Psalm 17). And more explicitly reaching towards the idea of eternal life: 'Afterwards you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?... God is my portion forever.'

2.88 The psalmists themselves were writing from limited perspectives - with no knowledge, for example, of the resurrection of Jesus - and with no previous teaching in the existent writings of their community about resurrection, heaven, and eternal life (beyond the expression ' being gathered to his people'). Nevertheless, there is an emergent expression of future life, arising out of the highly personal encounters with Godde at this time: 'You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand' (Psalm 16) - words echoed in Psalm 23: 'You prepare a table before me. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows… I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever' where Godde is seen to lead the individual 'through the valley of the shadow of death' into his eternal presence. The transformation of perspective may also motivate the language of Psalms 30 and 126. This 'emergent' consciousness of heaven, and continuing personal relationship with Godde, seems to arise out of the relationship and encounter itself: the Spirit seems to take the writer's heart desire and point beyond… 'One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple' (Psalm 27)… although written by the psalmist in temporal terms, Godde seems to reveal something more, something beyond the psalmist's full understanding: the prospect of an eternal dwelling place with the one he loves. In this sense, the human perception of Godde is evolving, and encounter is leading to emergent glimpses of a Godde of more, a Godde as yet - in many aspects - unknown.

2.89 There is a sense in which this 'emergent' awareness of eternal life enables the writer to re-visit the resonance and emotions of the Exodus, where God cried 'Let my people go' and intervened in an act of rescue and deliverance. Just as the Israelites under Moses had been pursued by an enemy of overwhelming power, so - faced with the prospect of eternal death in a vast universe and millions of years before and after us - we confront forces that are too strong for us. And yet, in his growing awareness of a personal Godde, the psalmist begins to believe in a Godde who might intervene even in the face of death, a Godde of rescue: 'You rescue the poor from those too strong for them' (Psalm 35). Faced with the imminence of eternal death, we are like the poor, and although the psalmist has no knowledge of Jesus, and few answers or explanations, we can identify 'emergent' insights about the Godde he encounters, and even (arguably) unknowable foreshadowings of the rescue act of Jesus: 'No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him - the ransom for a life is costly - that he should live on forever and not see decay… *But* God will redeem my soul from the grave; he will surely take me to himself' (Psalm 49).

2.90 This ransom and this rescue act seem to shudder through certain psalms, in words so resonant of Jesus, that a modern reader easily applies them to him retrospectively. And yet the psalmist knew no Jesus, at least at a conscious level, and the words of the psalms sometimes seem emergent, like unexplained meaning unfolding and awaiting full understanding… emergent insights of a Godde who has more to reveal, more to disclose: 'Save me, O God… I sink… I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me… my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God… I am forced to restore what I did not steal… my guilt is not hidden from you… I endure scorn for your sake… for zeal for your house consumes me… those who sit at the gate mock me… do not let the floodwaters engulf me, or the depths swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me… answer me quickly, for I am in trouble… they gave me vinegar for my thirst… I am in pain and distress…' (Psalm 69).

2.91 If these words could equally apply to the psalmist's own psychology or situation, there is enough elsewhere in the psalms that is proclamatory to prompt us to consider that these words may disclose, as well, insights of who Godde is and an, as yet, unrealised future Exodus. The extraordinary prophetic resonance of Psalm 22 (though we read it with the benefit of hindsight) appears to present us with a situation of seeming disaster that leads to unexplained triumph and a future for humanity that extends far beyond the psalmist's own horizons or the tribal contexts of Jewish convention.

2.92 The psalm begins with the words later attributed to Jesus on the Cross: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' These seem to be words of defeat and abandonment, portraying one who is 'scorned by men and dismayed… All who see me mock me… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint… my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth… A band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet… People stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing…' And yet, if Jesus chose to quote this psalm, he would know as well its triumphant outcome: 'Before those who fear you, will I fulfil my vows… all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord… all who go down to the dust… those who cannot keep themselves alive… future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it!'

2.93 In this psalm, the writer seems to open up his heart and mind in a sort of recipient mode - in trust and faith in Godde - confronting ordeal but seeing by faith beyond it… far beyond indeed, as 'emergent' ideas about the scope and concerns of Godde unfold and flow: 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him.' This openness and recipient faith - the result of encounter - seem to raise new considerations of what Godde is really like, that may call into question the limited assumptions of the religious establishment - as, indeed, they do to this very day, in the interface between tribalism and a universal humanity.

2.94 There is a strong tendency in most religions - driven by sincerity - to defend, 'corral', fence in, and contain what is seen as truth and revelation… to the exclusion of other views, other values, other communities of faith… to the exclusion, sometimes, of Godde herself. The conviction that 'our' religion and 'our' community possess the truth tends to lead to 'tribalism'. We can see this in the concept of Godde's 'chosen people' in the old testament - a people defined by racial identity and belief. The new testament extends the 'tribe' to people of all nations and race, but remains 'tribal' in the sense that those who embrace the new faith are the new 'chosen people' but everyone else faces exclusion, perdition, and to use the new testament's own language: hell.

2.95 There is, however, a tension between the desire of the religious establishment to 'protect' and 'fence in' the truth - and the emergent insights that individuals gain of Godde through encounter… that suggest a Godde of deeply personal love and concern, a Godde who made every single human ever born in her own image, his own image… whose concerns and interests extend beyond the tribe, and whose Spirit blows where she will, beyond the temple, beyond the conscious faith and dogma, wherever love and kindness shows its face… these emergent insights continue through all time. We get glimpses in our own encounters with Godde. The psalmists - who, as we shall see, could be highly tribal at times - also caught glimpses, expressed possibilities, of a Godde of greater scope and greater mercy.

2.96 Godde's interests beyond the 'tribe' of Israel are already defined in the roots of Judaism: for he said to Abraham 'all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.' And the psalmist is so moved by his own encounters with Godde that he longs for Godde to be shown to others: 'Make known among the nations what he has done' (Psalm 105). This desire is also expressed in Psalm 9: 'Proclaim among the nations what he has done… let the nations know they are but men.' What we see here is the impulse - an impulse originating in the longings of Godde himself - to be known and revealed not only in Israel but across the whole world. The context is still 'tribal' from the human perspective, but the insight is an 'emergent' one, an insight that broadens further in Jesus's teaching on the Good Samaritan, and is also broadened by Paul's promotion of a gospel to all nations. In the reign after David, Solomon also expresses this concern for Godde to be revealed beyond the tribe: 'As for the foreigner who does not beling to your people Israel… when he comes and prays towards this temple, then hear from heaven… so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you' (1 Kings 8).

2.97 Godde's concerns for the whole world, Godde's personal interest in each individual within or beyond the 'tribe', find expression in his personal intervention through Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus, the outpouring of a life and life blood as an act of total commitment and love, can be seen as the pivotal demonstration of Godde's concern for all humanity and not just 'some' of humanity. The psalmist (and other early writers) seem to feel this impulse and characteristic of Godde. It is an impulse that 'emerges' and continues to 'emerge': encounter with a Godde for whom there are no favourites, and no 'chosen' few - the 'emergent' understanding that Godde is not 'tribal' nor contained by religious establishments… but simply uncompromising and ever faithful in the outpouring of love. In the spiritual reality of Godde, it is not which 'tribe' we belong to that matters, but… love and kindness… recognition of Godde and response.

2.98 Although the psalmists were writing from a tribal context (and, later, the new testament writers still wrote from a context of 'them' and 'us'), their encounters with Godde revealed to them the nature of her deep compassion and mercy, a compassion that subverted and continues to subvert religious protocol and conventions if separated from love in action. One of the great 'emergent' insights expressed in the psalms is the priority of good deeds, of love in action, over religious ritual. The priority of the heart inside us, rather than the external frameworks of religion. The priority of the continuing flow of Godde: which is kindness and love.

2.99 Kindness, love… these are always at the heart of spirituality - for they are the Spirit of Godde in constant flow through all humanity and creation. Kindness, love… these are always at the heart of 'emergent' understanding of Godde - for they are so great a part of who Godde is.

2.100 In the psalms we see how encounter with Godde accommodates the tribal, and the institutional, but also leads to compelling calls for social justice: 'You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit…' (Psalm 51) and the product of a contrite heart is a life that lets Godde into our hearts, so that we hear his concerns and reflect his deep compassion. The psalms are full of this compassion and 'emerging' insights of who Godde is, a Godde of mercy and social justice: 'He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy… he will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight' (Psalm 72). Here is the 'emergent' awareness of a Godde of kindness who values everyone so highly, treasures each person as 'precious'. Reading Psalms 68 and 82, we see how Godde longs to be a 'father' to the fatherless, a defender of widows, to set the lonely in families, to provide for the poor, to rescue prisoners. And he calls on us, as we open our hearts, to do the same: 'Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy (Psalm 82).

2.101 This is the Spirit of Godde crying out - in David's day, in our own day… this is Godde seeing the suffering and the helplessness… this 'emergent' impulse in David's day is also a prophetic challenge for us… perhaps the greatest prophetic challenge in our world today, a world of wealth and poverty, obesity and hunger… a world, too, of loneliness, sickness, and old age on our doorstep. It is not sacrifice that Godde requires, in terms of external religious functions, but a contrite heart and… kindness. Psalm 146 lists some of the people on Godde's heart - 'the oppressed', 'the hungry', 'prisoners', 'the blind', 'those who are bowed down', 'the foreigner', 'the fatherless', 'the widow'. And he hears us, too, when we call to him. Psalm 86 begins: 'Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy'… and concludes: 'You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.'

2.102 This last 'emergent' insight into Godde, arising out of the psalmist's encounter and personal relationship, is perhaps the greatest of all, the most prophetically charged for our own day and age. Surely, as our religious consciousness evolves, we are invited to embrace this emerging insight, and look beyond the ritual sacrifice of the religious tribe… to simple acts of kindness and of love in a world crying out for help.

2.103 'Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right' writes the psalmist (Psalm 106)… 'Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are the merciful' says Jesus… contrition and kindness. Godde calls for kindness for its own sake: 'When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret' says Jesus. Not religious rules or demonstrations of piety, but simple goodness, gentleness, and kindness. True spirituality.

2.104 Examples: David - contextual limitations and fallibility. The psalmists encounter a deeply personal Godde. Through this encounter, they gain emergent insights about the need to open our hearts to her, about the Holy Spirit, about our spiritual destiny, our need for rescue from death, and even glimpses of Jesus. Along with these 'openings' there is also a growing awareness of Godde's care for the poor and needy… and there is an emergent sense of Godde's concern for all people, not just the tribe. And yet, these writers are fallible, their insights have limits, their thinking remains partisan at times, and sometimes plain wrong.

2.105 In what senses are they fallible? They are fallible firstly because they assume special privileges for their own 'tribe'. They write from within a religious tradition, inheriting its prejudice and assumptions. This in no way invalidates their profound encounters with Godde. However, in the 'aftermath' of their encounters, where they are trying to interpret and make sense of everything, they express themselves in the context of their time, their culture, and its limits.

2.106 The first context which limits their perception of Godde is the idealised view they inherit of their nation as a 'chosen race' with special privileges and favours. This 'partitioning off' of the love and care of Godde prevents them from exploring the full scope and love that Godde extends to all people, and which he expects to be extended to all people.

2.107 Instead, we are presented with a tribal and partisan view of Godde, who favours his people, promising them a trite prosperity and immunity from poverty as a reward for their faithfulness. This is a concept which later fundamentalists have picked up on in their preaching of a 'prosperity gospel'. It reflects the idea - also held by the psalmists - that some people are more special to Godde than others. It is the outcome of a 'tribal' concept of religion. It raises problems not only in the value and respect we attach to different groups of people, but also introspectively, raising questions about our own faithfulness when 'bad things happen to good people' or when - like all other people - we may face poverty or prosperity does not come.

2.108 For example, in the idealised viewpoint of Psalm 18: 'I have been blameless… the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness.' This over-stated sense of moral self-righteousness is also expressed in Psalm 26: 'Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life.' In contrast, the psalmist sees some people who should be kept at a distance: 'Men of perverse heart shall be far from me… he whose walk is blameless will minister to me' (Psalm 101). This is very far from the rabbi, Jesus, who would later eat with drunkards and prostitutes, and challenge the self-righteous, and seek to draw close to the sinners. It is also in tension with the self-awareness shown in some other psalms.

2.109 The perception goes further than self-righteousness though. The psalmists express promises of favour from Godde which seem idealised and simplistic: 'You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children' (Psalm 17). This seems to portray a two-tier world, a 'them' and 'us', where in a famine Godde's people will have food and the outsiders go hungry. It suggests that famine does not happen to the Israelites - or by extension in our era to Christians. The view limits the scope of Godde's love and is potentially dangerous since by implication some people are being presented as 'different' and 'specially favoured'. Psalm 37 re-asserts this view of 'the blameless': 'in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.' The psalmist's view seems simplistic and partisan… even if Godde did favour his chosen ones in that way, why would that be good for the millions who still do starve? 'I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.' This formulaic view of 'good' = 'bad things won't happen to you' seems driven by a dogma and a conservative view of Godde that avoids more far-ranging questions or awkward realities. Good people *do* suffer, and not because they're not good, and not because they're not faithful.

2.110 This limited perspective - contradicted at times, even by other psalms where more emergent views begin to be expressed - extends beyond the 'good treatment' of Godde's chosen to the devaluation or 'bad treatment' of people who are 'them', not 'us'. We are presented quite frequently with a wrathful and vengeful 'God' who does not take mercy - the continuation of that belligerent warrior 'God' who ordered the slaughter of the inhabitants of Canaan at the time of Joshua.

2.111 Of the enemies of Israel, we are told: 'In his wrath the Lord will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them' (Psalm 21). This wrath is not merely dispassionate justice of some kind: 'As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will *despise* them as fantasies' (Psalm 73). No mercy is expressed - no value attached to them - they are swept aside and disposed of: 'Do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life' (Psalm 69). However profound the psalmist's encounters with Godde, however pregnant with new and emergent insights, we see here the religious limitations of the contexts within which they live and write. The idea of a Godde who blots out those outside the tribe is extended from the slaughter of the Canaanite children in Joshua to some kind of eternal obliteration - a concept that is profoundly 'tribal' and profoundly limiting in its portrayal of Godde: a concept that christianity would itself inherit, with its teaching on hell, and the removal of all those outside the 'tribe' of Godde.

2.112 The attitude of the psalmist to this obliteration is both partisan and primitive. No mercy or compassion is expressed: 'Let them vanish like water that flows away… the righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked' (Psalm 58). Or again, in Psalm 68: 'The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people… Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies… that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.' Language like this is hugely problematical, and - taken with other limitations we can find in the bible - lends support to a mature understanding of the bible as an expression of profound encounters reported by ordinary, fallible people whose contexts constrained the way they wrote, the way they viewed Godde, the way they viewed (and valued) other people.

2.113 These limitations extend to the endorsement of earlier limitations in the bible. So for example, in Psalm 104, the writer endorses the flood of Noah as a historic event; in Psalm 78 he re-asserts the view that Godde slew the children of Egypt: 'he struck down all the firstborn of Egypt… but he brought his people out like a flock.' This 'partisan' perception of Godde is also expressed in Psalm 136: 'Give thanks to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt. His love endures forever.' Then, when the Israelites approached Canaan - the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 106 - they were reproached by Godde because 'They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them…' When they finally reached Canaan, Joshua was more obedient and more ruthless.

2.114 What we see here are writers who have clearly inherited the prejudices and limited views of their society, and this in turn limits their perception of Godde and what Godde is like. If Godde is a wrathful and vengeful Godde, then the psalmist can be vengeful too: 'May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow' he writes in Psalm 109 of the one who attacks him. 'May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes… may no-one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.' This sounds disturbingly like the Godde who called for the death of the Canaanite children, the Godde who blots out those whom he 'despises'. The link is concerning: a limited perception of Godde may result in serious consequences for the way we live with others. History has shown how sadly true this can be.

2.115 The writers of the psalms - however profound their encounters with Godde (and they were) - limit their view of Godde to the religious and social assumptions of their own time. Their words can be inspired, their insights deeply personal or emergent, and yet their own historic contexts limit them. Theirs is still a 'tribal' Godde who will bless her 'chosen people' for generations and yet appears to have an entirely different set of values for the children of others. Not all the psalms were written at the same time, but this Godde of 'them' and 'us' endures, even to the time of exile: 'O daughter of Babylon, happy is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks' (Psalm 137).

2.116 'Let the children come to me' said Jesus at another time.

2.117 Awareness of Godde evolves. Human insight - and its expression in the bible - can be limited and fallible. The danger, if we are tempted to take the bible literally or attribute it with authority in places where it is wrong, is that we risk perpetuating the 'tribal' view of Godde and inheriting a mentality that sanctions who we are and what we do, on the basis of values that were wrong, even at the time they were written. 'With God we shall gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies' writes the psalmist in Psalm 108. These are words which may have spiritual application, but they are also words that can be dangerously misapplied by people who embrace this kind of 'partisan' mentality, or seek authority for their own cause from the words of these bible writers.

2.118 In contrast, the 'chosen' aspect of Godde's relationship with each one of us leads us logically in the opposite direction: to value everyone. 'The Lord has chosen Israel to be his treasured possession' writes the psalmist in Psalm 135. We have seen how the psalmists took a limited and tribal view of who was 'chosen', who was 'treasured', and who was to be blotted out. Later - in the christian era - we can see how this 'chosen' aspect of Godde's relationship was extended all over the world to 'some' people from all nations. But the logic leads us gently further on in this direction: draws us to open our hearts and see how a tender and compassionate Godde treasures every single human being, without any favour or partisan preference.

2.119 The psalmist's idealised view of Godde's chosen ones, their rewards, and Godde's attitude to their enemies: all these perceptions seem limited, and limiting. Either the psalmists were right to perceive Godde in this way - or they were wrong, victims of their own culture and its prejudices. To treat the bible with respect and integrity is to affirm the profound encounters and insights that occur (as I have, particularly in the context of the psalms) but to acknowledge the limitations with honesty, and accept that the bible's authors were ordinary and fallible human beings like ourselves, trying to make sense of Godde and their lives… sincere, but sometimes sincerely wrong. In this way, we can encourage people to respect what is profound and capable of changing us all for the better, without losing their respect for the bible because of its contexts, its limits, its fallible errors. Presented this way, the bible may appear more human, more real, more astonishing.

(This chapter to be continued...)