Reading the Bible in a World Context

Stephen Prothero has argued for the importance of our being literate religiously -- including biblical literacy -- German biblical scholar Gerd Theissen argues something similar, but from a very different point of view. I'll be putting up a review of the book , The Bible and Contemporary Culture, shortly, but I wanted to post this interesting paragraph from the book that I think opens up the way we read the Bible. I'd be interested in hearing how you feel about what he says:

In the modern world we must continue these internal dialogues of the Bible. For the Bible is no longer the book on which our culture builds consensus; its reception differs widely in various subcultures. It competes with other traditions. It has been a long time since the younger generation entered a world with no alternatives. Young people are confronted with religionless interpretations of life, non-Christian religions, and other Christian denominations. In this situation, the relevance of the Bible must be demonstrated in dialogue with secularization, interfaith dialogue, and interconfessional or interdenominational dialogue. An appreciative study of the Bible cannot conduct these dialogues in a vacuum. These kinds of studies make it clear that participation is meaningful because such open dialogue can shed new light on the Bible. (Theissen, Bible and Contemporary Culture, Fortress, 2007, p. 76).

Just a couple of things to point out. Theissen is keen on the importance of dialogue, open conversation with others that has real integrity. He also believes that in this new climate, knowing the Bible is even more pertinent because by knowing it we are provided with a language by which we can speak to others who are religiously inclined. But more about that later, now, it's the question of how we read the Bible in a context of religious and secular diversity.