New daylight, September-December 2012 - Naomi Starkey

New Daylight offers four months of daily Bible reading and reflection for everybody who wants to go deeper with God. It is ideal for those looking for a fresh approach to regular Bible study, and offers a talented team of contributors who present a Bible passage (text included), helpful comment and a prayer or thought for the day ahead.The Editor Writes...I was reading a book on biblical criticism the other day (editors need to keep on their toes, theologically speaking!) and was struck by the phrase 'a responsible reading'. The author of the book was reflecting on the importance of learning to read the Bible 'responsibly' - in other words, taking into account the original context, audience, what scholars have said about it, and so on.It's a helpful concept because it reminds us of the significance of Bible reading and the priority we should place on doing it well, because the way we interpret what we read has implications not only for ourselves but for our friends, family, church and the wider community.My hope is that New Daylight offers encouragement to develop and practise this habit of responsible reading, although there is, of course, a limit to what we can fit into a 'page a day' format. While we cannot necessarily provide a definitive pronouncement on a given topic, the notes can provide a starting point for further thought, discussion and study, especially if the passage covered involves complex or challenging ideas.With this in mind, I am pleased to include in this issue readings on 'Our Creator God' by Rodney Holder, Course Director of the Faraday Institute. This is a Christian-based academic research organisation at St Edmund's College, Cambridge, which also runs courses, seminars and conferences to educate people about religion and science. I appreciated his reminder (on 10 September) that even early church theologians, such as Augustine, did not read Genesis 1 literally. As he puts it, 'It is a literary masterpiece, describing creation from a theological perspective.'It is also good to feature another set of readings in our 'Bible stories rediscovered' series, with Stephen Rand writing on Joshua and the fall of Jericho. While the story is popular in children's story Bibles and Sunday school classes, a 'responsible reading' of the text will inevitably raise some potentially awkward questions as well as providing answers.Finally, I would like to say a special good bye and thank you to John Proctor, who has written for New Daylight for a number of years. It has been good to have his contributions in the notes and we wish him all the best in his future ministry.Naomi Starkey