Table of Contents | A conversation I am having with a guest elicited this response. The original question was phrased so candidly that it may seem to be scandalous. So, before I even set down the question, it needs to be recognized that the language and behavior that upset Emily Post and Martha Stewart and Amy Vanderbilt aren't necessarily the language and behavior that upset God. Honest and candid questions may upset some but they are acceptable to God. You see, the nature of our relationship to God is personal. Therefore, words and questions and dialogue are at the heart of the way one relates in such a situation. Indeed, dialogue and questions are essential as well as appropriate. Even Jesus flung his questions at God. For example, while dying on the cross, he asked, "Why, O God, have you forsaken me?" The question takes this shape. "I find it difficult to believe the Bible sometimes. I wonder how the minute details of an event can be accurate when the experience being described is usually an earlier one. It seems to me that details were probably embellishments if not fabrications since they are so easily forgotten. In addition, some of the things in the Bible are well-nigh impossible for me to believe. For example, Exodus 35:2 says that a person who works on the Sabbath should be put to death. Exodus 21:7-11 seems to teach that I am permitted to sell my daughter into slavery. I find it hard to believe but some people seem to think that you must take the words of scripture at their face value. Can you help me understand and believe the Bible again? Am I expected to take it as inerrant history?" The heart of this concern is rooted in the nature of inspiration and the nature of the Bible. There are two major theories about this question of inspiration. One theory represents God as sort of dictating the Bible through a secretary. This is sheer nonsense from my perspective because it violates human freedom. But it is the root conviction back of the "inerrant scripture" controversy or "taking the scriptures literally." If God dictated the Bible then how do you account for the changes of style between Genesis and Revelation? God certainly contradicted himself repeatedly if this were the case. For example, there are two stories about Noah's ark. In one God orders Noah to take into the ark two of every animal and in the other seven pairs of each. Did God dictate Psalm 137 which says, "Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock?" No is my answer and the dictation theory is incredible as well as immoral. Inspiration means something other than that. I think that inspiration is to be seen as a process in which God was at work revealing the divine nature. However, God has always chosen to work through human agency. The Bible, as a result, represents a maturing and progressing understanding of the nature of God. I turn to the Bible for spiritual illumination, to perceive the most influential development of religious ideas in human history, to be grasped by divine deeds that have shaped human destiny, to sit at the feet of the great prophets, to learn from the insight of the seers, to find guidance in moral matters and, above all else, to come under the saving influence of Jesus. When scripture is understood as the dynamic record of God's concern for the entire created order then it doesn't matter if details are embellished or not! A record that is human words, not God's words. You need to remember that the ease with which one tends to forget the minute details is in inverse proportion to the unforgettable nature of the experience itself. Although I don't remember the details of my qualifying exams when I was studying for my doctorate at Vanderbilt, the fact that I was "grilled" by my committeee isn't in question. However, what I remember about the ocasion and what the chair of the committee remembers could be contradictory! My perception of my eloquence and his perception of my ignorance seem to be different. Does this mean that my meeting never occurred? Far from it! You begin to doubt an actual event when every detail of every witness agrees. It begins to sound like a fabrication. In my judgment, the incongruity of details lends support to the conviction that the central event actually happened. The validity of the core event isn't called in question by the nature of the details. I suspect that there are special events in everyone's family history remembered differently. I also suspect that they have been given a few embellishments by those who "tell the story." But the fact that some of the details have been given rhetorical exaggeration doesn't mean that the events never happened. I have an illustration. Laurie, our younger daughter, was born on July 25, 1967. I had to officiate at a wedding at the precise moment of her birth. I hurried from the wedding to greet her still wearing my wedding tuxedo. You can guess that this central event has been embellished in incredible ways and is recited annually as part of our family lore. I have somehow been encountered by God in Jesus and this central event drives me to the scriptures for interpretation of who he is. The scriptures are the instrument through which I come to understand who Jesus is. I am always incredibly surprised by the way God continues to make clear new and fresh insights from the scriptures. This is why I see the Bible as inspired and authoritative. This is why I understand the Bible as instrument. This is why I see the Bible as compass, not map. Thus, Jesus is the center of my faith and the Bible keeps me on track "exploring what it means to follow Jesus." A recent book by John Shelby Spong entitled The Sins of Scripture captures what it means to call the scriptures inspired and authoritative. "The inspiration of the Bible is not found in its...narratives that speak of divine intervention or fulfilled prophecy. Its inspiration lies rather in those parts...that probe the inner recesses of the human heart and tell us something about who we are, what our values are and what it means to touch the holy. In its pages we listen to the wisdom of the ages even in its dated forms, in search of meaning, transcendence and ultimately God. This book...is not the ultimate court of appeal on all human questions nor does it contain the final answer in the attempt to discern God's will. It is rather a call to walk in the faith tradition it reflects, to be part of this ongoing story and even to write the next chapter in this ever-expanding epic so that you and I can see ourselves as the people of God, always in an exodus from that which binds us, always in exile from the faith of yesterday, always listening for the voice of the holy both in the life of the world and in the depths of our own being." What are the implications of this perspective? One implication is at the heart of my vision of faith. It is absolutely and utterly life-changing. As long as you understand that Jesus is "the center of your faith" and the Bible is the instrument through which you understand just who Jesus is then you are involved in change wherein you become like a person, even Jesus. Your life and values are rooted in gratitude for the gift of grace that comes frorm God through Jesus. That is a challenge but it is so life-changing that I yearn for a way to offer that vision to others. My pilgrimage of faith began with faith in parents then changed to faith in the Book and then became faith in Jesus. A change took place in my life as I moved from "faith in the Book" to "faith centered in Jesus." As long as I measured my religious life by the Book, I was engaged in seeking for the rules and obeying them. Boy, did I spend time scavenging the scriptures! I was critical of those who fell short of the rules that my search discovered. I looked like a book and acted like a judge and jury and was rigid and inflexible in every way. In my perspective, the people who insist on "the Bible as central to their faith" today can be described in this very fashion. My guess is that they are still passing judgment on those of us who are determined that Jesus is the center and the Bible is an instrument that points us to him. And they look more like a book then they do persons of compassion, love, joy, openness, acceptance and grace. I am prepared to be misunderstood about my vision of faith but I am utterly determined to keep "my eyes on Jesus" rather than "my nose in a book," even a holy book! But the light that comes from "the good Book" is important. If you hear this as a grand put-down of scripture then you haven't read carefully. I am saying that the emphasis is on Jesus and that the Bible is the instrument that gives you understanding and insight into this One. Then, when I turn from my venture of exploring the gospels, there is Jesus luring me on. And there is a smile on his face. He's not scowling because I can't remember his exact words from the gospels about good news for the poor and recovering of sight to the blind and setting free the oppressed. He's heading in the direction of some folk who need his help and is urging me to join him. And I am running as fast as I can! |