The Blue Parakeet

I just finished reading The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight.  I can’t tell you how much Phil and I both loved this book.

The title comes from an illustration Scot uses about seeing a blue parakeet in his yard one day.  He said he realized it didn’t belong there.  He says there are many passages in the Bible that are like blue parakeets…they stand out; they make you say, “What is that doing here?”

He goes on to say that we have to decide how we are going to deal with the “blue parakeet” parts of the Bible.  We either have to ignore them (which can stir up the other “birds”), or we have to try to tame them so they don’t bother us.  Another way to deal with them is to learn to enjoy them and understand them.  He then goes on to give instructions on how to read the Bible to get the most understanding out of what we read, and to learn how to apply it to our lives right now.  In a later post I'll give some examples of "blue parakeets" and talk about how to read them.

He says that the entire Bible has to be read as a Story.  That story has the following parts:

1.  God and creation

2.  Adam and Eve, made in the image of God, but then broken by sin

3.  God’s covenant community (Israel), where humans are restored to God, self, others, and the world

4.  Jesus Christ, who is the Story and in whose story we are to live

5.  The church as Jesus’ covenant community

6.  The consummation, when all the designs of our Creator God will finally be realized forever and ever

McKnight taught me that the point of every story in the Bible is to fit into this big Story…and that for my story to have relevance, I need to view it as a subplot to the Story of the Bible.

Many times when I read a book I put significant quotes here for you to read, but I can’t do that this time.  I would just have to quote the whole book.

You need to read this book if you have a desire for a greater understanding of God and His word.  It will give you much to think about.