The Bible in it's Context

For many centuries, Christians have struggled with a problem at the core of their faith -- the meaning of the Bible. The biggest problem has arisen from taking the Bible out of its original context. I hope this shed some light on the context, and how to build a faith within that context.

1. The Bible is Story First and foremost, we need to remember that much of the Bible circulated as unwritten stories for ages. That's true of key portions of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Eventually the stories were written down, and edited, and re-edited, and translated, re-edited, and copied, and re-edited some more.

The Bible is the story of how God and God's people learned to understand each other, and how they got along (as in how the people got along with God, and how they got along with each other). And sometimes the people and God didn't get along very well, from the human perspective.

Sometimes the people misunderstood God; sometimes God got annoyed with the people (at least, from their perspective). And sometimes the people didn't get along with each other. Sometimes people experimented with wild, weird, and wonderful ideas -- some of which were helpful, and some of which weren't. You'll see it all. But don't get too worried about that. Most of it is useful in helping us sort out our faith, our understanding of God -- both in terms of what is helpful, and what is not helpful.

2. Respect the Details, but Don't Get Hung Up in Them Given that the Bible is story, there are a variety of literary styles and authors. The literary styles include allegory, legend, myth (which brings us to the myth-truth paradox), poetry, personal and not-so-personal letters, personal and group history, etc. Like any story, the details lead to the "punch line" -- which is the whole point of the story. Read the story from the beginning to the "punch line"; interpret the story backwards from the "punch line" to the beginning, in order to understand the story's details, and see how they fit into the stories.

And if the whole thing confuses you, just relax, set it aside, and come back at another time. Or, if you know someone who might have some ideas to share, someone you trust, go ask. If that person is a good teacher, the first question will be, "What do you think it means"? The Bible is a community book; it takes a whole village to raise a child, and to understand the Bible.

3. The Bible Helps Us Understand God, but Understanding the Bible Isn't the Same as Experiencing God That's a reality that a lot of people miss. And it messes up their potential for a fuller relationship with God and each other. Remember, it's a story about a developing relationship, just the the one we have with God,individually and together.

Happy reading! And happy discoveries/epiphanies along the way!

The Rubber Meets the Road

The space of almost a year between the first two postings is unintentional. But, as St. Anthony learned in the desert, wisdom does not necessarily come quickly, or according to our timetables. Not that I have true wisdom, but I'm moving along on my pilgrimage through the "desert" we call the 21st century.

I have believed for a long time that two key elements are involved when the "rubber" of faith meets the "road" of life.

The first is "hermeneutics." Simply put, that's the way we translate old ideas into new thoughts. God does not change; the eternal wisdom is just that — eternal. But our thought forms and our language do change over time. And since our understanding of God depends on our language and thoughts forms, the way we understand and talk about God changes over time, too. It is especially important to note that, if people who know little or nothing about our faith are going to understand what we are saying.

The second key element is "ethics." This discussion of our values leads to action. The earliest Christians did not just sit around thinking and talking about Jesus. They did not spend all their time in prayer. They were out in the world, going about daily life, influenced to the core by their experience of Jesus. They "talked the talk" about Jesus and what he meant to them. But they also acted on their beliefs, and those actions changed the world.

In the beginning . . .

This blog came to life through my very traumatic experiences at the age of about 60. The immediate result of those experiences was that I have been unemployed since then. I have tried to get back to work on a couple of occasions, but those have never lasted more than a few months.

My life situation forced me to reconsider everything I believed. Now, I am slowly re-discovering my identity.

• I still believe in God, though our relationship has changed, for the better.

• I still trust the wisdom of the Christian scriptures. But I think if we had more respect for the scriptures, and didn't try to make them into something they are not, we'd all be better off. I also realize that there is more to the to the work of the Spirit of God in the world than is (or can be) contained in Christian Scriptures. Which means I can and look elsewhere for wisdom -- and often find it.

• I still think the church is important, as the collection of faithful people. But I think that it has become institutionalized and imperial in its approach. That has become problematic (some might even say "demonic"). The British evangelist John Wesley once observed that, "the world is my parish." If that is true, then Christians need to be active in the world, not just in the church. That activity in the world was a crucial part of the life in the early church (i.e., in the period right after Jesus; indeed, for the first 300 years).

• I believe my identity continues to be ethical, perhaps even "prophetic," as well as thoroughly pastoral (based on a deep and abiding care for others). Part of my work includes discovering places in the world (though not as much in the church) where I can speak God's human and humane truth (in both circumspect and direct language) in ways that "the world" can hear it. For that, I am, and will be, thankful.

That's where I begin.