David, a Multi-Faceted Character – Christine Valters Paintner

“David was a multi-faceted character. Unlike the hagiographies of saints that tend to leave out the darker aspects of their personalities, the Hebrew scriptures offer us a wide array of figures with their shadows and struggles, as well as triumphs and victories. I appreciate reading about the full spectrum of human experience in these scripture stories.”

— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics 

How does it make you feel when you realize that many, if not all, scriptural figures, along with the saints and mystics, together form a communion of saints and sinners, each one a human being just like you and me? Does this realization encourage you to look again at their lives and stories and see them anew as companions who might accompany you along the pathways of your spiritual journey?