Re-Formed
(Guest Post by Journey Community Member Laura Baker)
I carry my father's voice in my head. And he's saying we're playing fast and loose with the Bible, inerrancy, and the holiness of scripture.
Now, I'm not saying I agree with him, I can just hear him leveling these criticisms in my head.
Is Paul's letter to the Colossians written for us? And if it is, what might it be saying to us? These are the questions Danielle asked this week. How does a reformed Reformed Christian (that would be me) even think about answering them?
God help me if I know.
I heard a lot of helpful things on Sunday. Ideas like putting Paul's writing in historical and cultural context to understand why he may have focused on the things he did. Or, like focusing specifically on what Paul says about Jesus, since he was an apostle and all. Or, even, like being careful not to use "cultural context" as an easy way out of dealing with difficult elements of these passages.
But I can't help fighting this nagging voice in my head that says, "Are we really allowed to choose how and what to believe in the Bible?" I suppose I learned my conservative Christian lessons really well because I can't seem to break myself of this all-or-nothing, knee-jerk theology. You know how it goes: either it's all true or none of it is.... If you start throwing some scripture out, who's to say you can't throw it all out?... Where do you draw the line? (another of my father's signature statements).
I don't know how to reconcile these gut feelings of mine. Because they really are just feelings--I know better than to think that the Bible is literally true, all the time, in every way. But at the same time, I place so much hope in the fact that the Bible is still a source of Truth--one that I desperately need in my life. I like to tell myself that I'm more sophisticated than this black and white, oppositional view of faith, but I think I'm only just beginning the journey.
I carry my father's voice in my head. And he's saying we're playing fast and loose with the Bible, inerrancy, and the holiness of scripture.
Now, I'm not saying I agree with him, I can just hear him leveling these criticisms in my head.
Is Paul's letter to the Colossians written for us? And if it is, what might it be saying to us? These are the questions Danielle asked this week. How does a reformed Reformed Christian (that would be me) even think about answering them?
God help me if I know.
I heard a lot of helpful things on Sunday. Ideas like putting Paul's writing in historical and cultural context to understand why he may have focused on the things he did. Or, like focusing specifically on what Paul says about Jesus, since he was an apostle and all. Or, even, like being careful not to use "cultural context" as an easy way out of dealing with difficult elements of these passages.
But I can't help fighting this nagging voice in my head that says, "Are we really allowed to choose how and what to believe in the Bible?" I suppose I learned my conservative Christian lessons really well because I can't seem to break myself of this all-or-nothing, knee-jerk theology. You know how it goes: either it's all true or none of it is.... If you start throwing some scripture out, who's to say you can't throw it all out?... Where do you draw the line? (another of my father's signature statements).
I don't know how to reconcile these gut feelings of mine. Because they really are just feelings--I know better than to think that the Bible is literally true, all the time, in every way. But at the same time, I place so much hope in the fact that the Bible is still a source of Truth--one that I desperately need in my life. I like to tell myself that I'm more sophisticated than this black and white, oppositional view of faith, but I think I'm only just beginning the journey.
posted by BU at 3:05 PM
5 Comments:
You ask some legitimate questions.
But I wonder if we ever really think about our questions in relation to the God they are supposedly about.
Such as : If God is worthy of our Praise and worship, shouldn't He be able to preserve His Word in its entirety to the point where we aren't left to make our best educated Guess? After all it's supposed to be God's Word and not our own, isn't it?
And...... does the cultural context determine the message? Or does God present Truth that transcends any and all cultures.
And.....do we really believe God when it comes to certain promises and statements about His Word and understanding it and Him. After all, it's His reputation at stake. We many times act as if He's not up to the task.
So, do these questions make God weak? Or are they simply a sign of our inadequacy?........and our need for HIm in all things?
Maybe the statement that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" is literally true.
Great post Laura. I can totally see and relate to the struggle that is going on with this issue. This series so far has helped me feel better about Paul and his letters.
Ben,
The question isn't whether we think about our questions in relation to God. Of course we do! The question is HOW we relate our questions to God, and what impact it has concretely in our lives. We rely on the Holy Spirit and the worshipping community of faith to guide us as we read Scripture and ask these questions.
I do not think Laura was asking questions about God's capabilities. In fact, I think it is just the opposite. It's wondering and struggling to make sure WE are capable, that we are truly asking ourselves the right kinds of questions about the Bible and what it says. We do this in the hopes of becoming more faithful, not less so.
Thanks for the post, Laura. You’ve touched on a topic that has been on my mind almost every week that I’ve been at Journey.
There seems to be an unspoken question underlying every conversation we have- an elephant in the room that no one wants to discuss: How are we supposed to interpret the Bible? This question underlies everything else we discuss- whether it’s Paul, or the kingdom, or heaven, or Moltmann.
And yet, surprisingly, it doesn’t come up.
Maybe its only surprising to those of us who have the voice of our fathers in our heads. I certainly do, along with countless voices of pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, professors, friends and foes. I absolutely love being in the environment Journey provides- a place where open and honest discussion can take place without the constant rebuttal, “But, the Bible says…”
But, I too, am haunted by the voices of the past. I’ve chosen to step out of the circular reasoning that has established the traditional evangelical view of the inerrancy and authority of the Scripture which is based on what it says about itself, or what it might say about itself if we actually had any of the original documents and we all perfectly understood ancient Hebrew and Greek.
Unfortunately, I’m way too comfortable in a black and white world to feel very good about where I’ve landed now- in this quagmire of uncertainty, this tangled mess of story and poetry and prophecy and letters and apocalyptic madness that we call our Holy Scriptures.
Seriously, if the Bible were meant to be as perfect and accurate and useful as so many people believe it to be, don’t you think God would have either simplified it a bit…or at least given me a higher IQ?
So, Danielle, maybe we could spend a few weeks discussing this question of how to approach Biblical interpretation? If nothing else, it would give you good reason to delay that series on prayer a little longer…
Just a note: We're currently doing a series of conversations on Scripture. Thanks for the idea, Matt!
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