MMM | Issue 9
Hi all,
Well, it's Thursday, time for another edition of Monday Morning Musings. I think I'm going to have re-name this thing J. Actually, I had major internet issues this week, so I apologize for the tardiness of this publication.
As usual, you can listen to last Sunday morning's message, "Faith and Hell", on-line at www.rivercommunity.ca. As many of you have already done, feel free to e-mail me with your feedback or questions.
On Monday, I received the following question from a young man who attends The River. He wrote, "My friend has a question, 'Can the Bible be taken absolutely seriously? How should stories such as Noah's Ark as well as chapters like Exodus 21 and Deuteronomy 13 be interpreted?'"
Here's what I wrote in reply:
Thanks for your e-mail. First off, you should know that you are asking a very BIG question about which entire books have been written. However, I'll do my best.
The short answer to your question is yes, the Bible can be taken seriously---in what it intends to teach. That being said, if you try to read the entire Bible literally, you'll get yourself in trouble. Do I believe, for example, that the story of the flood is historical? Well, there are reasons to think that it was, not the least of which is the fact that a flood narrative appears not just in the Jewish text but also in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian texts. Could they all be referring to the same event? Why not?
Now, do I believe it happened exactly as it is depicted in the book of Genesis? Probably not. For example, I think it is highly unlikely that there was a world wide flood. What is going on, I think, is that the Biblical writer is using a story that he's familiar with and crafting it in order to reveal some important truths about God and this world. Actually, it's brilliant writing! Here's what the Hebrew writer wants you to understand.
That human sin and evil will not be allowed to flourish unchecked. God will not allow human evil and the chaos it brings to unravel the "good" of creation. This is precisely why the story of the flood is followed by the story of the tower of Babel in which God thwarts human power and plans.
"a" being said, God will not continually intervene in the affairs of human kind. That is, he will not use direct, "right-handed" power to confront evil as the loss of life would be catastrophic. Neither, will he abandon his good creation. Instead, God will use a more subversive and self-sacrificial means. This is precisely what God initiates in the story of Abram that follows in Genesis 12. (By the way, there is a wholesale change in the Hebrew writing style at this point. It is a style that invites us to read it in a much more historical fashion.)
God remains faithful to His creation (even when we're not). The uninterrupted, flow of life and seasons are a testimony to this.
As for the other texts you mentioned, I'm guessing that the problem your friend has with these texts is that the injunctions mentioned in them seem on the surface to be quite primitive and brutal by our standards.
A few things to consider. First, remember that you are using your 21st century standard of morality to judge a culture that existed in a whole other era. There is no doubt that the era that God was speaking to in these chapters was a whole lot more brutal than ours. There were no police or complex legal systems. Killing your neighbour was much more common. In fact, believe it or not, the legal system that God provided in the Torah was actually (for that time) quite just and even handed. Now, is what God revealed in these chapters (and others such as in Joshua), His good and perfect will for all time and in all places. The answer is no. In fact, Jesus comes to show us the heart of the law. Jesus taught us that in order to do justice, we need a righteousness that goes beyond merely keeping the law (the righteous of the scribes and Pharisees). What we need are hearts filled with a spirit of love; love for God and love for others. This is the fullness of God's revelation in this regard.
The thing that I would advise your friend to do in reading the Bible is to take seriously the genre of literature that he or she is reading (and there are many different types in the Bible) and to ask him or herself, "what is the big truth (the principle) that the Bible wants me to grasp here."
If he or she has any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Blessings,
PB
Well, it's Thursday, time for another edition of Monday Morning Musings. I think I'm going to have re-name this thing J. Actually, I had major internet issues this week, so I apologize for the tardiness of this publication.
As usual, you can listen to last Sunday morning's message, "Faith and Hell", on-line at www.rivercommunity.ca. As many of you have already done, feel free to e-mail me with your feedback or questions.
On Monday, I received the following question from a young man who attends The River. He wrote, "My friend has a question, 'Can the Bible be taken absolutely seriously? How should stories such as Noah's Ark as well as chapters like Exodus 21 and Deuteronomy 13 be interpreted?'"
Here's what I wrote in reply:
Thanks for your e-mail. First off, you should know that you are asking a very BIG question about which entire books have been written. However, I'll do my best.
The short answer to your question is yes, the Bible can be taken seriously---in what it intends to teach. That being said, if you try to read the entire Bible literally, you'll get yourself in trouble. Do I believe, for example, that the story of the flood is historical? Well, there are reasons to think that it was, not the least of which is the fact that a flood narrative appears not just in the Jewish text but also in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian texts. Could they all be referring to the same event? Why not?
Now, do I believe it happened exactly as it is depicted in the book of Genesis? Probably not. For example, I think it is highly unlikely that there was a world wide flood. What is going on, I think, is that the Biblical writer is using a story that he's familiar with and crafting it in order to reveal some important truths about God and this world. Actually, it's brilliant writing! Here's what the Hebrew writer wants you to understand.
That human sin and evil will not be allowed to flourish unchecked. God will not allow human evil and the chaos it brings to unravel the "good" of creation. This is precisely why the story of the flood is followed by the story of the tower of Babel in which God thwarts human power and plans.
"a" being said, God will not continually intervene in the affairs of human kind. That is, he will not use direct, "right-handed" power to confront evil as the loss of life would be catastrophic. Neither, will he abandon his good creation. Instead, God will use a more subversive and self-sacrificial means. This is precisely what God initiates in the story of Abram that follows in Genesis 12. (By the way, there is a wholesale change in the Hebrew writing style at this point. It is a style that invites us to read it in a much more historical fashion.)
God remains faithful to His creation (even when we're not). The uninterrupted, flow of life and seasons are a testimony to this.
As for the other texts you mentioned, I'm guessing that the problem your friend has with these texts is that the injunctions mentioned in them seem on the surface to be quite primitive and brutal by our standards.
A few things to consider. First, remember that you are using your 21st century standard of morality to judge a culture that existed in a whole other era. There is no doubt that the era that God was speaking to in these chapters was a whole lot more brutal than ours. There were no police or complex legal systems. Killing your neighbour was much more common. In fact, believe it or not, the legal system that God provided in the Torah was actually (for that time) quite just and even handed. Now, is what God revealed in these chapters (and others such as in Joshua), His good and perfect will for all time and in all places. The answer is no. In fact, Jesus comes to show us the heart of the law. Jesus taught us that in order to do justice, we need a righteousness that goes beyond merely keeping the law (the righteous of the scribes and Pharisees). What we need are hearts filled with a spirit of love; love for God and love for others. This is the fullness of God's revelation in this regard.
The thing that I would advise your friend to do in reading the Bible is to take seriously the genre of literature that he or she is reading (and there are many different types in the Bible) and to ask him or herself, "what is the big truth (the principle) that the Bible wants me to grasp here."
If he or she has any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Blessings,
PB
posted by Pastor Bruce @ 12:34 AM
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