Problem Passages

Here is a post by Anthony Le Donne responding to a post by Larry Behrendt about problem passages in scripture. I loved this from Le Donne:

Passages that betray ancient social dysfunctions trouble me because I do not have the liberty to disentangle myself from them.  For those who do not count the New Testament as holy, there is little harm in condemning such passages as outmoded.  It is a tempting move.  But, for me, the Christianity imparted to me by my forebears is not something that I can shed.  It's fused to me, even when it disfigures me.

For me, the truth of Scripture manifests as a disjointed hip.  I’m willing to wrestle till sunrise without any assurance that I’ll get anything for my efforts. (Yes, I’m allegorizing; I learned it by watching Philo.)  More often than not I fail.  And even when I do prevail, it’s painful.  Sometimes I limp away from Scripture and wonder what sort of God I’m dealing with.  Worse, this wrestling match comes with an inherent identity crisis.  The struggle (re)defines me in ways that I cannot explain.