In a certain town, a man walked into a bookstore to return a purchase. “It’s a Bible,” he said, handing to the clerk at the cash register.

“Was it a gift?” asked the clerk.

“No, I bought it for myself,” he said, “and I made a mistake.”

“Didn’t you like the translation? Or the format?”

“Oh no,” the man said, “the format was clear and the translation was fine. I made a mistake.”

The clerk said, “Well, I need to write down a reason for the return.”

“In that case,” said the man, “write down that there is a lot in that book which is tough to swallow.”

There are some passages in the Bible that are tough to swallow. This is one of them. The burden on us is not to believe some astonishing miracle. There are events described in the Bible which stretch our credulity, moments which provoke us …