I have just finished reading a five-page handwritten letter from a person in Huntsville, Alabama who read my essay on AL.COM. He started his letter by saying he disagreed with me, and then proceeded into a litany of quoting verse after verse of scripture. He never really said anything about what he disagreed with, but kept insisting that one must read scripture “as written” since it was composed by the very hand of God. Reading his letter reminded me once again of the immobilizing plague of biblical illiteracy in our culture. Some of it is lack of instruction for which I blame the church; some of it is just plain ignorance, and the frightening thing about such ignorance is that it seems willful: the abdication of good common sense for an illogical, unreasonable, supernatural, and contradictory belief system; and to make matters worse, a belief system emphasizing humankind’s unworthiness and, paradoxically enough, Christian exclusivity. This ethos in the church at large has been responsible for many leaving the church, and with good reason. It is also the ethos which, if it persists, will prevent new generations of seeking souls from discovering a belief system with integrity and relevance, a belief system that embraces honesty, and intellectual and spiritual discovery… and authenticity.
In terms of an approach to reading scripture I would like to offer an alternative. First a brief explanation as to what scripture is: Scripture is not a single coherent narrative beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. It is best described as a library whose shelves are stocked with a diverse genre of literature compiled over different ages and eventually canonized, made orthodox, by the prevailing powers that be. This literature compiled from approximately 500 B.C.E. until the third century of the Common Era, includes poetry, legend garnered from the oral tradition, excurses on liturgical practice and hymnody, delineation and interpretation of purity laws, myth, fanciful stories of love and violence, stories of conquest and defeat. In many cases it is R rated, not suitable for children. It is a marvel to be sure in that it contains within it, despite its many dimensions and contradictions, the story of what it means to be human in the presence of God. Scripture is not history, but the interpretation of history through a theological and sociocultural lens.
As to its authorship, scripture was written by a few men. I say “few men” because the vast majority in the ancient world were uneducated, and women did not have the authority nor worth in the eyes of ancient society to be considered credible scribes. Scripture was written by people under the influence of their age, within the context of prevailing knowledge, attitudes, mores, and customs. When reading scripture we must always consider context in order to properly interpret scripture for our own age. There is no absolute truth engraved in stone. Truth evolves with new knowledge, new experience, new imaginative inspiration. Perhaps the attractiveness of fundamentalism in our culture is that it opts for absolute truth, absolute certainty, leaving no room for doubt. But where is the passionate life of discovery in that? Doubt is an essential dynamic of faith… questions far more important than answers. Scripture then approached rightly is artful speculation, still evolving, still revealing, still becoming…. scripture is forever being written anew on the pages of the human imagination…. imagination sprung from the mind of God.
I am convinced that unless the church treats scripture with the honesty and integrity it deserves, it will continue to languish as uninspiring, irrelevant and false. I believe with all my heart that scripture has much to teach us, that it can be awe-inspiring, but we must take responsibility to become literate in matters of biblical interpretation. Understanding does not come without work. We just have to open our eyes and think, and breathe into scripture with all due passion and expectation the life of imagination. It will come alive; it will feed our souls; and we will not be disappointed.
Way to go, Jim. Just finished Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond and his Breathing Under Water. There is so much to be excited about, yet people continue to insist on belief carved in stone, which, it seems to me, leads us in circles and nowhere. Love to you and Katharine.
Good for you, Jim. Our book study group just finished Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond and his Breathing Under water. There is so much to be excited about that it seems a waste of time to keep insisting that nothing ever changes. Change is good. To quote Rohr from a ancient homily for Holy Saturday: “I order you,O Sleeper, to awake! I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise up, work of my hands, you were created in my image—“. Love to you and Katharine
This column is so true! Want to really challenge the fundies? Publish this one on AL. com! But be mindful of the rare serious enquirer. Your bodacious thoughtful essay might just be what reaches someone and actually “saves” them. So read the responses carefully.
Loved your sermon Jim. Want to share a few thoughts re literality as I have known some very good and smart people (one friend in particular) who believe in a fundamental interpretation of the bible. They too are a product of their upbringing and culture and in my experience their defensiveness is rooted in deep fear. That is what they are taught and any occasion they allow themselves to be placed near that challenges their teachings is a sin to them. And sin is hell. Rational argument never works. Fear overwhelms that. It’s like coaxing a child into the rough seas of the ocean from a very safe island that may be small, but is known. But safe (absolute certainty) is such a small world, and one crack will shatter it. Only patient trust born of love can change anything. So, I am loving going to All Saints.