A Book of Love for Everyone: Part 4, Nudges for Conservatives

In the last post I described locations in The Book of Love where I tried to surprise progressive readers of the Bible. In this post let me point out places where I tried to nudge the hermeneutics of conservative readers.

Big chapters where I had conservative readers in mind were:

"The Vow of Love": A chapter were I nudge readers away from eschatological fatalism. 

"Tell Old Pharaoh, Let My People Go": A chapter where I nudge readers toward the prophetic imagination and a liberationist hermeneutic.

"Saved By Difference": A chapter where I describe how the gospel calls us away from ethno-nationalism.

"Mercy, Not Sacrifice": A chapter where I nudge readers away from a "flat" reading of Scripture to show how the Bible is having an unfolding conversation with itself.

"This Is the Way": Calling readers of the Bible to take the "red letters" of Jesus seriously.

"The Stories Won": Nudging readers to see how, in Acts 10 and Acts 15, the early church allowed the work of the Holy Spirit to change how they read the Bible.

"The Revolution of Grace": Pointing out to readers the social implications of grace, that grace isn't just about the forgiveness of sins and going to heaven.

"When the Man Comes Around": Suggesting to readers that love, rather than "faith alone," is the standard by which we'll be judged ("if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing").

"The War of the Lamb": Nudging readers away from end times conspiratorial readings of Revelation.

In the last post you saw how the Book of Love had a lot of surprises for progressive readers of the Bible. As you can see above, there are also a lot of nudges for conservative readers as well. Again, I tried to write a book about the Bible that was for everyone.