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cannot be one of those people who just disses social media when I basically built a career from it. It was blogging that got people interested in my books and social media that keeps my readers engaged. I live in a very small town in East Tennessee. My exposure to people with viewpoints different from my own is limited here, so the ability to access that just like that — Wil Gafney is a womanist biblical scholar who I follow on Twitter. I can ask her a question about Hagar and get an answer. It’s amazing. Social media is a tool. You can use it for good or for ill, but for the research for this book and my understanding of the Bible, it’s been invaluable. That’s a theme that seems consistent in your books — that Christianity isn’t about having the answers but about discussing the questions in community. How does this inform how Christians read Scripture? There’s this notion that the white and Western interpretation of Scripture is the default. That when black women interpret the Bible, they’re doing it contextually. We’re all actually interpreting the Bible in a context. We’re all bringing our backgrounds, our gender, our socioeconomic status or race. We bring all of that to the Bible, so we’re limited in how much we can really learn from it because of that, unless we deliberately and willingly and joyfully hear what other people have to say. Somebody coming from a minority community is going to read the Bible differently than I am. The more we surround ourselves with people who are unlike us, the richer the text becomes. You see these shades and contours you wouldn’t have picked up on. It’s such a gift. It is a little unnerving when somebody tells you their take on a Bible passage that’s familiar to you is completely different from yours. But almost every single time, I’ve found it to be enriching and to help me understand it better and bring me into closer community with other people. The best literature always does and sacred literature should especially.
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