Abstract

God gave Scripture to his people for many reasons. Two of the most important are the subversive and the therapeutic. This article concentrates on the former. All humans are blind to the extent of their alienation from God, others, and themselves. Christians have begun the process of salvation, part of which includes growth in theocentric self-awareness, and God uses Scripture to promote this growth. Christians, however, face a formidable challenge at this point, because in our remaining sin, we can also distort Scripture for sinful purposes. As a result, God has to use Scripture subversively and indirectly in order to enable Christians to read the Bible to promote the healing of inward deepening. A case for this agenda will be made from the Bible itself and the Christian tradition.