Chasing Mystery

Carey Walsh takes us into the thicket of Scripture, thorns and all, in order to ‘chase’ the divine mystery. Though trained as a scholar, she is less interested in textual analysis than in exploring those moments of disclosure when the Bible breaks open and breaks in. Reading a quirky Old Testament narrative can be aggravating as well as difficult. But for those who persist, she argues, joy awaits, a journey begins—a bumpy movement from disturbance to awe to contentment. Sharing her own experience, Walsh helps us see where the holy may be lurking unnoticed, waiting to be discovered.Peter S. Hawkins, Yale Divinity School, Author of Undiscovered Country: Imagining the World to Come
Chasing Mystery is a wide-ranging exploration of religious faith in today's world. Walsh seeks at every turn to connect her study with a careful analysis of key biblical texts. Unabashedly Roman Catholic in orientation, this book will nevertheless be of great interest to all who seek to confront the challenges of belief in our own age.James Kugel, Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible, Bar Ilan, University, Israel, Author of How to Read the Bible
“With the aim of addressing contemporary spiritual need, this enchantingly written book explores the ways various scriptural passages and genres negotiate, through mystical encounters, the problem of divine presence and absence. Walsh presents scripture’s sly program of wonder initiated in Genesis 1—its library of religious experiences which prompt us to pay attention to our own theologies. Sensitizing readers to the mystery underlying numinous encounters with God, she invites them to notice the burning bushes and humble mangers in our own lives.”                Patricia K. Tull                The Christian Century