It may seem a parochial concern, but the comments on the Revised Common Lectionary post last week have been very intriguing. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the comments of two members of the Consultation on Common Texts, especially. That’s the ecumenical group that puts together the RCL.

Their comments have been enlightening, but they’ve failed to address what several other commenters and I have: The redacted portions of the Bible do not seem to be just for the sake of readability. They seem oftentimes to have a theological agenda behind them.

Why, for instance, is the first chapter of Job excluded? asks commenter Alan K. Or why are verses of Psalms that speak of taking vengeance on enemies or bashing babies heads against rock edited out?

So, I’m asking Andrea and Taylor, and anyone else from the CCT, to explain the theology behind these decisions…