Back to the Authority of the Bible?

From childhood our sense of worth and values have been powerfully shaped by those in authority: God, our parents, teachers and the like. Respect, discernment, appropriate guilt, healthy choices … all these important things are shaped by our teachers, by Word and living example.

During the past two weeks I’ve had the privilege of watching the video, “Luther” (produced by Thrivent for Lutherans) three times. It struck me during the third viewing that when Luther translated the Bible into German (from the scholarly languages of Hebrew, Greek and Latin) this became a broad source of power behind the reformation of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther had said, “Unless you can convince me by the Scriptures and by clear reason I will not recant (take back) what I have written.” Well, that was just Luther. But when the German people were able to actually read (thanks to the recent employment of the printing press) Luther’s arguments based upon the Scriptures (as he understood them, of course), it became clear to them also that the Roman Catholic Church’s decrees and decisions were not biblically-based.

For example, the Church created the selling of indulgences which provided money for the building of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. People were told that this was such a good work that their loved ones would be liberated from their time in Purgatory (a place of purification between earth and heaven). Luther complained that the Bible said no such thing. When the Germans got the Bible in their own language, they also saw that this was true. Grace was God’s FREE gift, not an item to be purchased.

Yet providing the “authority” of the Bible in languages people could read has not been a cure-all for our world. In that Bible people read shocking stories of heroes’ imperfections. Different notions about God were pulled out. Some found passages that painted God as a vengeful warrior… and justified the Crusades. Others found passages putting their faith on a God full of compassion and mercy!

Today, some people have become weary focusing on all the divisions that have come from interpretations of the Bible. Some have left the Church, discouraged. Doing what seems right in their own eyes, many live with an attitude of resigned detachment. “Whatever!” Yet, moving away from the Bible as our standard has, I believe, left us without the kind of life-giving dialog that we need to keep alive those qualities which protect us against the spiritual evils of selfishness, arrogance, prejudice, apathy, vengeance and fear. We’re hungry for those things which bring life: respect, humility, compassion, courage, kindness and sacrificial love. Is there a way back to the Bible as our foundation for our authority, direction and joy? Can we unite in dialog with Scripture in a fresh new way?

First of all, getting back to a sense of Biblical authority will be difficult, I believe, if we labor under the notion that a simplistic reading of the Bible will somehow do the trick. As noted before, such a reading may well turn us off. Looking back over the past 500 years we’ve seen the rise of many Christian groups who won’t have much to do with each other! Some teachings have become quite exclusive and divisive: “If you’re not a Christian, there’s no hope for your soul. You’re going to hell when you die.” “Things on earth really don’t matter … The end of the world is near! That’s all that really matters.” “You need a special baptism to belong to God’s family… or have the right way of taking Communion.” “God will protect and bless you if you’re a believer.” Might we need a new set of fundamentals that can unite us under God?

A more careful reading of our source of authority, the Bible, shows us that the black and white answers to life’s questions do NOT reflect the best gifts which the Bible brings us. Jesus himself read the Scriptures with reflection and some rejection, too. The Bible is not something that does not require the use of our God-given brains. A new reformation is needed … to RE-FORM our thinking! If we learned that taking certain portions of the Bible literally can get us into trouble, then how can we take a wholesome spiritual harvest from its many pages?

One helpful method, I believe, is to enter into dialog with the Bible in its entirety. Prayerfully, patiently and humbly we can decide to seek to know God’s will in conversation with others as we let our inspiration be shaped by deeper reflection.

On Monday nights, we’ve been reading a challenging book, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, by Marcus Borg. Though challenging, I believe we NEED that challenge so that we may have our authority based upon an inspiration shaped by God’s welcoming, loving gifts to us as thoughtful, growing persons. With a sound, reasoning and searching mind we can and indeed must approach the Bible employing the integrity of science and historical evidence. Such an approach brings us into a greater love and respect for one another, listening to each other as we explore God’s amazing creation. Loving integrity can help us lose some of our fear of those who have been trained to use the Bible as a club instead of a bridge. Come … let us reason together! J

Practical example time! How might such a return to the authority of the Bible actually work?

In chapter 7 of the book mentioned above, Marcus talks about the wisdom literature in Israel’s history. He makes a point that Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job are all saying something different yet complimentary concerning wisdom. We need to let them be in dialog with each other. In other words, if we look at the Bible as an on-going dialog concerning our relationship with God, we don’t have to let one idea dominate another. As they work together we enter the conversation as well!

For instance, Proverbs repeats the classic wisdom that you reap what you sow. Be good and you’ll be blessed; mess up and it will come back upon you. Is this wise? Do we agree? Certainly! In many ways we uphold the conventional wisdom of Proverbs in raising our children. “Better not shout, better not pout, I’m telling you why …!” “Get good grades and you’ll be rewarded.” “What goes around, comes around.” We teach it every day. Who can argue with this wisdom?

Ecclesiastes does. Here we read of Solomon who has everything, is richly blessed and yet is unhappy and depressed. All is vanity. Worse, he’s noticed that bad things happen to good people and many wicked mock the righteous and live long prosperous lives. There are no clear rewards and punishments based upon one’s behavior or obedience. Bad things happen to good people! Life’s sometimes unfair … very unfair.

And when we think about it, we see it, too. Nice people get cancers, accidents happen. We’ve watched many get swept away by forces outside their control. We grieve. Where is God in all of this?

And yet, in the midst of these realities, the writer of Ecclesiastes comes up with a wisdom based on celebrating the moment. God is in every season, good or bad … and we need to be too. Don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow because we can’t change the past or know the future. Carpe Diem … seize the day! Enjoy what you do have … your family, your food, your home, your health … whatever good God has given you … NOW. In short, STOP COMPLAINING AND LIVE! Is there some wisdom here?

But then comes Job. Here is a man who has everything but everything good is wrenched away from him … unfairly. He loses his wife, possessions and even his personal health. Job complains bitterly. It isn’t fair. His friends, nurtured on the wisdom of Proverbs, try to convince him that God is JUST and that he is only being punished because of some sin he must have committed. “Repent, Job, and God will restore you!” they cry. But we know that such is NOT the reason for Job’s misfortune. (The prologue talking about Satan and God creating the negative spin of events in the life of Job is simply setting up the situation and is not to be taken literally.) Well, the book of Job goes on and on. Job wants to meet God and talk about this unfairness. He wants to bring his complaint before God (as if it wasn’t already doing so!).

Yet the book of Job does NOT end with some kind of satisfactory explanation for Job’s misery. There is no excuse or reason like, “Well, Job, now that you’ve experienced such misery and unfairness you’ll be better able to understand or console others who are going through such things.” Nope, though that might be true, no excuses, apologies or explanations are given. Job, rather, is met by God who says, “Where were you when I formed the depths of the oceans, created all the animals and spread forth the wonders of the universe?” In other words, Job is not answered with logic or justice … but rather with MYSTERY. Job, some things are simply going to have to lie outside of your ability to understand. Some things you can’t know, explain or justify. They just happen. And then we muse … is there wisdom here, too?

Yes, God’s creation is filled with mysterious things. Some answers wouldn’t satisfy anyway. “Why did my child die so young?” “Why did my beloved cousin get cancer?” “Why did that tornado (hurricane, tsunami, earthquake) take everything I’ve worked to develop?” “Why did I lose my job in the merger?” Many questions have no rhyme or reason. Period. Must we surrender them to the greater mystery of God’s creation? That’s Job. That’s our “sigh”, too!

Wisdom and the authority of the Bible, is it there? Yes, if we let Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job all have their say. The Bible is a wonderful teacher but it’s kind of like an on-going school. We need to move from classroom to classroom to get the full educational experience. As students we live with unanswered questions, insight and on-going story. The Bible provides a dialog which invites us in. Saved by awesome grace of God we walk together with God in the dirty and glorious business of the living Word.

Pr. Dan