| The Bible's dissonance and harmony | |||||||||
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We read the Bible through lenses — not glasses or contacts — but through our assumptions, beliefs, expectations that may control what we receive. Is the Bible for you a deep source of inspiration and moral guidance with nuances and shades of meaning? Do you see it as:
Consider the Bible a broad range of heights and depths in the experiences of people with whom we can identify and from whom we may learn? Compare the Bible to the book Alcoholics Anonymous that is both inspiring and instructive. It records the experiences of people with whom we identify, so the reader says, "I felt that!" The book instructs us in the nitty-gritty of remaining in recovery. Is this how to read our Bible? "Savoring can turn a book into Scripture as multiple meanings begin to jump alive, firecrackers of insight," writes Carey Ellen Walsh. The Bible is provacative if we let parables, images, the Song of Songs themselves ignite our imagination! For centuries the Bible was read as allegory rather than for its own provacative inherent insights. Some see the Bible as a stockade to protect us from evil out there. I believe the Bible says live in God’s world to explore and learn from the world; to go as the prophets taught, to spread justice, peace, empathy for the downtrodden and lonely. “Life itself — and Scripture too — is always three steps forward and two steps backward.… Our job is to see where the three steps forward texts are heading (invariably toward mercy, forgiveness, inclusion, nonviolence and trust), which gives us the ability to clearly recognize and understand the two steps backward texts (which are usually about vengeance, divine pettiness, law over grace, form over substance and technique over relationship)," says Richard Rohr. What instructions does the Bible have for us?
In the Bible you find almost every kind of literature imaginable, and we must read them accordingly — poetry as images that try to express the inexpressible, drama shows people interacting, letters reveal the heart of a writer. The word Bible comes from the Greek word that means a collection of writings (as 'bibli'ography). Literal? When Elizabeth Barret Browning sang,
Did she mean make a list or calculate a total? She answered her question,
Likewise the Bible usually is not literal, but teases us as it sings and dances with images and analogy. The Bible's variety offers us many possibilities. If you prefer a newspaper like account of Jesus, read the Gospel of Mark with profound insights in teachings and interactions. If you prefer a meditative portrait, read John. For deep thinking read Paul's letters to the Galatians and Romans; for advice about problems and pictures of early churches, read the letters to Corinth, Thessalonians, or Galatians. God's thunder is in Isaiah 1 and his comfort in Isaiah 40. The Psalms have every emotion imaginable. For me the Bible is like mountains with heights of inspiration as Jesus saying the Shema and loving neighbor are the peaks. Lower levels are Death Valleys as Psalm 137 and passages that put down women and say kill enemies. One of the fundamentalist fundamentals is Biblical inerrancy — all the Bible is equally important — like a level plain. Do you think of the Bible as a broad, level plain that is all at the same level? Facts is a modern, scientific idea Bible writers did not know, so ask not whether something happened; ask what it means. Familiarity breeds… Read the Bible the way you look at a work of art. You may study the artist, where and when the artist worked, what school or movement that artist was related to. That is important background, but to “see” the art you look at it in a very receptive mood, trying to let your feelings receive what the artist was trying to “say.” You look to see what you had not noticed before. You look at it up close and at a distance, and from different angles. Above all your attitude is open and wanting to receive from the work of art. Read the Bible in the same way. Read it quickly to get the over view, then read it slowly; if poetry, savor the words; ask what the writer may be saying. An example: when Jesus is baptized, the earliest Gospel writer, Mark, says the heavens were torn apart. Matthew and Luke who often copy Mark, say the heavens opened. Take time to ponder what each is saying and receive as a work of art. We must read the Bible through the lens of the words of Jesus. Parts of the Bible are very militant and war-like; to understand those read them from the perspective of Jesus's beatitudes (Matthew 5). The book of Proverbs suggests harsh punishment, but read that through the lens of Jesus's views about children. Build a bridge We must often bridge from Biblical times to our time. An example is finding the meaning in what we call the parable of the good Samaritan. In Jesus’ day the only “good Samaritan” was a dead one! They felt about Samaritans the way Norwegians of World War II felt about Quisling, or many now feel about terrorists. We must build bridges between the feelings in Bible times and our times before we get into the deep feelings in many parts of the Bible. The healings in the gospels trouble some people, because the Bible claims that demons are the cause of illness. Again bridge from Biblical times. Illnesses struck without apparent reason to those who knew nothing about germs or viruses; illness was demonic! A hymn says about illness:
which is an apt description of mental illness and hallucination (written by Thomas H. Troeger). To feel and understand bridging from Bible situations to ours consider slavery. Slavery was an accepted, normal part of first century society, as well as centuries before. The Apostle Paul clearly tells slaves to remain slaves. In Ephesians 6.5 and Colossians 3.21 he says, slaves, obey your earthly masters with enthusiasm. Do we cringe at such a thought? Jesus said nothing against slavery; he apparently accepted that it was part of life, so he used slaves in his parables without criticism of slavery. Now much of the civilized world has eliminated slavery. Is this against the Bible’s clear commands? Consider the significance of this enigma! If we follow the Bible literally, should we enslave people? The relations between men and women are the subject of much of the Bible and an enigmatic problem; how do we bridge from those teachings to our times to know God's will? First, notice Jesus’ attitude; he said very little about the relations between men and women, but he included women among his closest followers from the beginning. Jesus was no sexist; he accepted women and children just like men. All alike were to be respected as humans! I feel certain the living Christ condemns domestic violence and child abuse and heals survivors. When we turn to the Apostle Paul, we may have a problem. In his letter to Galatians he says, "There is no longer Jew or Greek … slave or free … male and female, for all of you are one in Christ." He blesses and encourages women who are leaders in Churches. When in Ephesians 5.22 and Colossians 3.18 he writes, wives be subject to your husbands, we wonder who really wrote that; certainly not the Paul who wrote Galatians! Paul and his religion and his culture were all very patriarchal — male dominated. In our rural past wives were co-workers in the fields. Huge changes occurred during the last century, culminating with "Rosie the Riveter." Women working was essential to our victory in World War II. The women workers at a New England shipyard built one of our submarines — an extremely complex weapons system. Their submarine, the Flasher, was an ace in the Pacific War. After World War II many women returned to be wives and mothers. But before long they became active in professions and trades and crafts. Our economy depends on women working for wages, as over half of wives work outside the home. Parenting and being couples I cover elsewhere on this site. In 1 Corinthians 11.4–16 Paul writes that women have long hair and veils, and men do not. Women now wear pants but no veils. Men wear long hair! Do these violate Paul's teachings? Or do these reflect changes in our cultures? Be open to the interaction of culture and Scripture ancient and modern. Two choices about the Bible |
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One more bridge we must build. Some six sentences in the Bible, out of millions, appear to condemn homosexuals. Actually only three condemn homosexual acts as they were in the first century! Some literalists insist that homosexuals are sinful and must be converted and changed to heterosexuals. Leviticus says homosexuality is only as sinful as wearing blended fabric among many other common acts (18:19, 22, 19:19) as parts of purity codes. If you take Leviticus literally about homosexual acts, then you must eat Kosher! If someone tells you, "I am straight," that says nothing about that person — about personality, integrity, the qualities of that person — nothing! The same is true if one says, "I am gay — or lesbian." Being straight or gay says nothing about the qualities of that person! Some cite the clear words of Jesus, who said nothing on this subject, but said we are to accept and care for and love everyone. In Mark 7:18–23 does he dismiss Leviticus? Bridging to our time, we learn that being gay or lesbian is very complex. Are some born gay as I was born left handed? We are to accept and welcome gays and lesbians, following the clear command of Jesus and Scripture! See the book We Were Baptized Too. Dissonance Many writings in the Bible have great reservoirs of meaning, and assist us in the living of these days. Our feelings are often laid bare in the Psalms, so we can find deep meaning in our feelings. In the prophets we find people agonizing over what is happening in society, so we can find there our mission in the world. Many of Jesus' parables and teachings give us ever new insights. If we bridge from the Bible culture to ours, if we use our imagination to read our selves and our feelings into the variety of Bible literatures, we find deep meanings. As one said, we see our face in the life and actions of a Pharisee or a Sadducee. We make ourselves open and receptive as when we view the work of an artist. See a chart of how the Bible came to our hands. Inspiration First is the manager who receives many letters, and delegates drafting responses to our staff. The boss tells his staff in a few words what to say. The staffer knows the manager's way of expression, so expands the few words into a letter, which the manager signs. I believe the writers of the Bible were as active as those staff people, receiving brief insights, then using their brains and their experience with God to express their insight in what we read in our Bible. One example, when the prophet Amos saw a plumb line, his experiences with God moved him to say Amos 7.7–9. Is God a ventriloquist so Amos and other biblical writers were voiceless until God spoke? Or were they deeply moved by their feelings and awe so they insightfully spoke and wrote what we read in the Bible? I believe they were profound people who worked to understand God's ways then spoke. Second, imagine Paul writing a letter to his church; from his letter to Corinth we know that Chloe’s people there wrote Paul as did others, and some from Corinth visited him to tell him of events in that Church. As a result Paul wrote letters about those particular problems and questions. Paul’s advice to that congregation was so filled with meaning and significance that most of his words continue to instruct and inspire us. But he was very much a child of his paternalistic culture as his words about hair length. So we must bridge from that culture to ours; we must ask is this thought from God or his paternalist culture? In his letters he writes to women leaders in many churches; in one he says women should not speak out. Does that seem out of synch with the many positive comments to women leaders? We know that some sayings were written and people found them so meaning-filled and inspiring that they were considered special and became part of the Bible. Inspiration happens when we are moved deeply in our feelings and in our minds, when we are inspired to love God wholeheartedly and to be a neighbor without borders. Instead of saying the Bible is inspired, ask if it is inspiring you! The following prayer has been used for centuries when reading the Bible:
Four suggestions to enhance your Bible reading First, decide what type of literature it is. Is it poetry, history, law, letters? Poetry in the Old Testament uses repetition; a good example is Psalm 103:1:
says the same thing two ways. Notice how often through the prophets, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Old Testament writers used this repetition. If poetry, the writing is filled with images and pictures, and not to be taken literally; the Lord is like my shepherd. Creation in Genesis 1–3 and Proverbs 8 are poetic images of God's actions. Law and history are literal. Leviticus condemns equally mixing breeds of animals (ranchers depend on that for healthier animals), mixing cloth (as wool Dacron), homosexual acts, menstruating, and tattoos. The second question is what is the situation underlying the passage you consider? Leviticus says all those are equally unclean as a defense against the Canaanite religions. Paul in his letters often is responding to particular situations. The prophets often tell particular situations that prompt a word from the Lord. Isaiah 7 tells vividly how Ahaz the king and the people were shaking with fear at the threat of immanent invasion, and Isaiah tells them why not to fear. When Ahaz still shakes with fear, Isaiah has a word from the Lord: a pregnant woman will bear a child, call him Immanuel, and before that child knows right from wrong those enemies you fear will be gone. When the Old Testament was translated into Greek centuries later the Hebrew word 'young pregnant woman' was changed to virgin! Third, Scripture passages often have two or more meanings. View it as you reflect on a work of art, looking at different angles and implications. Let your thinking and imagination explore many meanings. Finally, if a passage of Scripture seems strange or uncertain, compare translations. In the New Testament Phillips translation often has a revealing way to say it. Translations have biases. The NRSV tried to avoid limiting passages to men, adding women or using words like people; the NIV decided to avoid inclusiveness along with other conservative biases. The first three suggestions are usually essential to deeply probe and understand Scripture, while the fourth often adds meaning to our Bible reading. Suggested Bible reading Copyright © 2003 John F. Yeaman
Slavery as practiced in the cultures of the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans was very different from slavery of African-Americans as practiced in the United States. Those ancient cultures did not separate families of slaves, but respected and supported families. Then slaves were often well educated and cultured who fought for the losing side, but continued using their education. Slaves in America were for menial labor and discouraged from education. Stephen Ambrose in an early chapter of his Undaunted Courage contrasts the slave economy of Virginia with the culture of the nearby German immigrants, whose way of life did not need slaves to get their work done — must reading!
To read one woman's feelings and thoughts as the meaningfulness of her life became emptier as her children grew and moved out on their own, and her struggle to find new meaning in life read Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique. Many women on reading it resonated with her experience.
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