There is a popular saying among some of our sisters and brothers in the faith and purports to summarize their understanding of scripture. It goes something like this..."The Bible means what is says and says what it means."

Such sentiment is, not to put too fine a point on it, just stupid.

It is also dangerous.

The Bible is a rich and exceedingly complex collection of writings that should have all of us being wary whenever anyone tries to reduce its complexity down to something you'd slap on a car bumper.

I still cringe whenever someone comes to me and, filled with faithful fervor, declares that they are about to embark on reading the Bible cover to cover. Besides the fact that I am certain once they get to Leviticus their enthusiasm may begin to waver, I also know that without serious study, the Bible's value is markedly diminished. Indeed, without the accompanying awareness of cultural, political and theological context, the Bible has often been seriously misinterpreted and used in precisely the opposite ways for which it was intended.

I don't say all this to dissuade your reading of scripture but rather to remind you of the importance we should place on Bible study if we ever hope to understand the motivations and passions of those pilgrims who have gone before us. As all of us are aware, there is much more to any book than the words on the page. Any piece of literature is enormously enhanced by the reader's understanding of the forces that played upon the author's writing. It's called reading between the lines and it is a necessary, indeed vital, part of informative Biblical study.

For instance, the ancient myth from the garden.

Here is a story that has been twisted and turned in so many different directions that most of us don't pay any mind to it at all. We've heard all the pathetic sermons that sought to prove our guilt or demean women or demand atonement supposedly based on this familiar text. Can you imagine making a case for the pain of childbirth based on this little hummer? It's been done. So have a host of other fallacious attempts. But approaching this same story while trying to read between the lines brings forth a very different message.

We hear this not as prescription but description. This tale describes the situation. We listen as these ancient words reveal what we already know. Here is a story that speaks of our relationship with God. Our relationship, not just good old Adam and Eve's. We are the ones who want to hide from the truth. We are the ones who seek to blame others. We are the ones who are embarrassed when we are fully revealed. We are the ones.

When you read between the lines you know the answer to God's question in the garden:

"Where are you?"

And instead of looking for Adam, you raise your own hand and say,

"Right over here, hiding in the bushes."