Blind Spots in the Bible (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

Adrian Plass is, in my view, one of the best current Christian writers. He's eminently readable, uses humour to point out the foibles of everyone in the church including himself, and makes profound statements without ever labouring his point.

So, over the years, I have collected all his books - at least, I hope so - and re-read them regularly. I had only once read 'Blind Spots in the Bible', about five years ago, so thought it was time for a re-read. It's not the kind of book to sit down and read straight through, so I've been delving into it briefly each day for the past month or so.

In this book, Plass comments on short passages of Scripture that he considers to be either confusing, controversial, or easily misunderstood. I'm not sure there's any real pattern to the passages chosen. It feels to me like rather a random selection. There are some well-known texts, and some which are rather more obscure, switching from book to book within the Bible.

The book itself is loosely divided into six broad sections, on topics such as 'The real nature of Jesus', 'Lessons for the Church', and 'Beyond the veil'. There's also a catch-all 'unclassified' blind spots section. I'm not sure that Plass's blind spots are all the same as mine, but he explains each time why he chose the passage, whether it was because people puzzle over it, or because of something he had not really understood until he happened to read it for the umpteenth time.

There are anecdotes, stories, questions, comments... written with some satire, some dry humour, and some immense honesty. Thought-provoking and interesting. I have to admit that re-reading five years after I first read this, I hadn't actually remembered any of it.. which meant that I enjoyed it afresh this time. I hope that some of what was written has entered my subconscious even if I don't necessarily recall the details.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 25th March 2012