Engaging the Bible

What do you make of that collection of stories, poetry, parables, prophecy, historical narratives, miracles, good works, wise words, and misanthropy and mayhem that is the Christian Bible?  Is it the literal word of God for you – which was dictated by God to the scribes who put it together into what is considered the canon – the official collection of God’s word of the Christian Church.  It is actually sixty-six or more books (depending on the version) which have been brought together in what is called the Holy Bible by Christians. 

Take a moment and reflect on what how you understand it and what it means to you.  Is it holy scripture which was delivered verbatim from God to those who recorded it?  Is it the inspired word of God – if so, what does it mean to be inspired?  Is it just a book that records myths and legends as well as attempts to explain how the world began and how people have tried to understand what or who they identify as God or the gods interact with them and the world?  Those are just a few ways that the Holy Bible is understood by people today.  Northrop Frye, the great Canadian literary critic considered the bible to be the Great Code which has had a foundational influence on the literature and culture in the Western World.

The Bible has been used and misused by those who hold it to be the word of God.  Sometimes the canon is used as cannon fodder.   Pause and consider how you use it?  Do you have passages and saying and stories that you were taught in Sunday School that come to mind in particular circumstances.? Do you draw unconsciously on the bible stories such as David and Goliath when you are faced with an insurmountable challenge?  Do you think of one of the parables of Jesus such as the Good Smartian when faced with someone asking for a handout on a street corner?  Are you the older son or daughter who has the irresponsible younger sibling who is not behaving as you think they should?  Do you pull out a particular passage which justifies what you want to do or to justify a particular attitude you have – what’s your attitude to the truckers’ “freedom” protest in Ottawa.  How does that fit with the commandment for Christians to love our neighbours? 

Yes, the Holy Bible can be all things to many, if not all people - at least unconsciously if not consciously.  If we Christians want to take the Bible seriously, we need to engage with it and not just take it as it has been presented to us – however that is.  Brian McLaren, a Christian theologian, teacher, and author addresses how we might do this as noted by Richard Rohr:

Brian McLaren suggests that God’s revelation through the Bible comes from the ongoing dialogue and relationship the Bible inspires between God and ourselves. He teaches:

To say that the Word (the message, meaning, or revelation) of God is in the biblical text, then, does not mean that you can extract verses or statements from the text at will and call them “God’s words.” It means that if we enter the text together and feel the flow of its arguments, get stuck in its points of tension, and struggle with its unfolding plot in all its twists and turns, God’s revelation can happen to us. We can reach the point that Job and company did at the end of the book, where, after a lot of conflicted human talk and a conspicuously long divine silence, we finally hear God’s voice. . . .

Whatever your understanding of the Bible, it is worth exploring with an open and discerning mind which is what I believe God has given each of us.  Something that is worthwhile to read on your journey.  Blessings.