What the Bible is.

 Last time I proposed three things I believed the Bible was not. I will review those three things here before inserting what I believe the Bible is and can help us accomplish in our current times. 

The Bible is not a political tool.

The Bible is not a science textbook. 

The Bible is not a self-help handbook. 

I believe this topic deserves a second post because it is not fair to only describe what one is not like but also what one is like. I can say with confidence that I neither like nor am pro-cheese or cats but if this is all you knew about me, you would be dissatisfied. In the same way that I am more than an anti-cheese human being, the sacred texts, I call the Bible, offer something special in our modern context. 

1) The Bible is inspired by God. 

Okay. So this is a tricky one, I admit. And I guess it comes down to defining what I mean by "inspired." Because often when one says the Bible is inspired they mean God predestined (sorry if I triggered any former Calvinist out there) each word to be written down exactly how it is. Word by Word exactly. If God wanted a different word in that sentence, He would have told the author to write a different word. And for some, that's good enough. They see God as a controlling being that "holds the whole world is his hands.." God is sovereign. God is good. God is in control. They like using this "spiritual bypassing" language because then they do not need to deal with the complexity that is life. 

We can get into the weeds a lot on this topic but I'm just going to say that I do not think God forced any of the authors to write down word for word what he wanted them to write down. 

So what do I mean by inspired? To be inspired is to feel motivated to create a work of art. I would say "Casey at the Bat '' was an inspired work of Art. I would say the PNC PARK is an inspired work of Art with the sunding skyline in the background. 

When I say the Bible is inspired, I am saying that God spoke to the hearts and minds of many individuals over many years. He used Matthew, as a Jew, to communicate his Gospel to his Jewish audience while he used Luke to speak to the non-Jews. Luke wanted to share the miracles in such detail because he was a doctor and felt it important to include every detail in his books.

God did not shy away from the personalities of the writers but used them to communicate his love for all people. When we say "we must have a perfect Bible", we are committing an act of idolatry. The Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, not Father, Son, and Holy Bible. But the Bible does not need to be perfect to be sacred. Through the Holy Spirit, God has been using the Bible to speak to people and ultimately draw them back to himself for years. 

The Bible is an inspired work of art because in it we learn about flawed human beings who trusted in a perfect God. We learn of David who was said "to be a man after God's own heart" yet used his power to rape and kill. Yet, he was welcomed back into God's home after a prayer of repentance. We learn about women, poor people, and outsiders welcomed to follow this God of love and mercy. We even learn of a man with a weird sexual idenity called, "The Eypitan enuch" that is baptized and joins the early church. We learn about imcompmentent fisherman and tax collectors that later died for their faith. They went from fighting about petty differences to saying "crucify me upside down, for I am not worthy to die the same death as my Savior."

If our focus is making sure the Bible is perfect and there are no contradictions we are missing the point. The Bible is perfect just the way it is and can inspire us to live the life God has intended for us to live.

2) The Bible’s Climax is the Cross.

When discussing what the Bible is really about we could go a few directions here. 

First Is it a moral code? It is filled with rules and even Ten Commandments. God gave these to his people after all. Not a bad idea really. We need a social contract. I like living in a society where we are not supposed to kill other people. I like a God who tells me I am not a slave, not a machine, and need a day of rest. But some of the laws and rules of the Old Testament, let's be honest, are a little weird. Maybe they live in a context that is different from mine and it made sense to them? If the purpose of the Bible was to make me a better person we could end here. 

Second, is it about following Jesus? This seems right. At least, as a Christian. I can go and cherry pick certain parts of the Bible from the teachings of Jesus and my life would definitely improve. For example, the Sermon on the Mount. Just pick one saying from Jesus and try to actually do it for a little bit and my life may change, "Love your enemy." 

I want to argue that though both of those two topics are good things they are not the primary climax of the Bible. The Bible points to the cross. In the Moral Law, we learn that we are imperfect. Perhaps we do not need God to remind us of our shortcomings but it's there in plain sight. And if that's not bad enough, Jesus doubles down on it. 

Alright God says Do Not admit adultery-

Jesus says don't have a lustful thought and if you do gauge your eye out for its better to lose an eye than go to hell. 

Chill Jesus. Don't you remember what it was like to be filled with hormones?

We fill the power of sin. St Paul describes it as a force that "causes him to do the thing he does not want to do." 

There are many theories on what God accomplished on the cross. Most evangelicals believe in Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Basically on the cross there was a trade. Jesus got what I deserve and I get (if I make a confession of faith) what Jesus deserved. We even hear this in some popular Christian music, "It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished." 

I want to argue for a deeper understanding of the cross. Its Latin. Christus Victor. Which means Christ the Victor. Without going into much detail, this view does not pit God the Father vs Christ the Son. Rather it views sin as the enemy. When Christ goes to the cross, his mission is to defeat the power of Sin, Death, and the Devil. 

We could call these the unholy trinity. We know the power of sin. Luring us into wickedness. We know the sadness of separation that is death. And deep down we know there are spiritual forces working in our world to divide instead of unite us. St Paul says about the cross, "He (Jesus) disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."

All of the Old Testament points to the day when Jesus would come to defeat the power of Sin, Death, and the Devil and all of the New Testament is a reminder of how one should live as if this reality is true. This understanding of the Bible has helped me navigate challenging texts and books. How should one read the Book of Revelation? Well, the Dead Sea Scrolls is a good start. But if you don't have time to study apocalyptic literature, just remember that Rome (as is any other human empire) but we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. 

You see it's the blood of the lamb- that’s the cross. 

We do no longer need to stress out about being perfect but loving. Choosing to do the other-giving thing is the way of the cross. The Bible's climax and ultimate teaching is to point people to the cross as a daily reminder of how we should live. 

3) The Bible is God’s children telling the story. 

Did God literally flood the earth saving only 2 of each animal?
Did a giant fish (or maybe a whale) shallow a man for 3 days and he survived?
Did God literally tell the Israelites to kill all of the Moabites and drive them out of the land?

Some like to argue the literary fallacy of slippery slope when questioning if part of the Bible literally happened. The argument is if this didn't happen like it says it did, how can we trust ANY of the text. 

Remember from last time the Bible is not a science text book and I'm not here to prove or disprove miracles or supernatural events. I believe things happen that we cannot explain and we need to be okay living in the tension. 

The purpose of this third point is to say that the Bible is full of stories that shape the identity of an ancient group of people, who many can trace their heritage. We must be okay with these stories being in our text because we do it with our culture today. You know, guys like "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"....

I once heard someone say, "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story."

And as a Parent, I totally get this. My kids tell some strange stories. I thought Neil was the master storyteller until I had a girl. I've heard the same story slightly differently about a "bee" that was attacking Aubrey until her teacher came over and killed it. This story has evolved to her hiding in a doghouse and eventually catching on fire. The truth? It was a fly. And she was under no harm. 

But that's a boring story. I love the way my daughter tells her story. 

And the fact is so does God. He lets his children tell the story and if they miss a few details? It's not the end of the world. 

The Bible is a collection of stories from the P.O.V. of his children. It's them telling the story of God back to him and to future generations. 

In Conclusion 

1. The Bible is Inspired by God.

2. The Bible’s climax is the cross. 

3. The Bible is God’s children telling the story. 

What is the Bible (NOT).

Introduction 

The question one must ask when reading any text is how do I apply a text that was not written to me, to my life? The Western Individual seems to have this issue because we like things spoon-fed to us and filtered through our individualistic mindset. We like to think the world revolves around us. It is a great revelation when we come to know that this is not the case. Perhaps we never "fully know" this. But as we embark on this journey from individual to collective, we must remember a few things. As a Christian, my primary ancient text of choice is the Bible. The First time I tried reading through the Bible was in 2001. My first Bible was a gift from completing my First Holy Communion on Palm Sunday April 8, 2001. Suffice to say, I did not make it very far. Genesis was exciting and Exodus was okay, but when the ice finally melted from “Miles Rocks” and Opening Day came, I set aside my Bible for a few years. 

Giving a 9-year-old a Bible is dangerous. It is almost like giving an 18-year-old access to a loaded gun without any training…. Unfortunately, many church goers are never equipped with how to read the Bible. They are comfortable with the “surface” reading that misuses the purpose of this amazing text. I believe we have misunderstood what the Bible was designed to accomplish. I will use this short essay to detail the 3 things that I believe the Bible is NOT. I will come back to this topic at a later time, and detail what I believe the Bible is but that day is not today. 

The Bible is NOT a political tool

The first thing we must remember is that Jesus, Paul, Moses, or any other "writer" of the Biblical text or any other ancient text has no idea about our current geopolitical landscape. It did not exist. When politicians cherry-pick Bible verses to support their political platforms, we should call them out on it. This is not to say that our Biblical texts do have something to offer to important American issues such as abortion, immigration, etc. But the warning here is using the Bible (or really any other ancient texts) to speak directly to an issue in 2022 that they did not have in the First Century.

 

The Bible is NOT a science textbook

This brings me to my second point. The Bible is not a science textbook. Duh! In a post-Scopes Monkey Trial era, we SHOULD know better than to use the Bible to support or disprove current scientific discoveries. The false dichotomy is between faith and science. On the surface, this seems logical. Science is about "proving" something exists whereas faith is about "believing without evidence." I admit those are pretty weak definitions, but this is merely a short essay so don't throw too many stones from your glass house. Science is more than just proving, and faith is more than just believing but I do not want to use my time to focus on that matter for now.

I want to argue that the "writers'' of the Bible did not think like you, and I think. They didn't think scientifically. AND THAT's OKAY! Once again back to the first point, they aren't trying to answer 21st century questions. If we turn to the Bible and say, "Did God create the world in 6 literal days OR through some type of evolutionary process?'' We are asking the wrong questions. The writer of Genesis (and the rest of the Torah) was writing down the history of his people while in exile. They were far from home. This was a matter of national security and identity. This was a rally cry. This was a reminder of who God was to them when he chose their patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). This was a reminder of who God was to them when he rescued them from slavery in Egypt. This was a reminder of who God was to them when he gave them to the Law. And this was a reminder of who God was to them when they were disobedient, wandering in the desert for 40 days. God was with them through it all. And even now, in exile, though it sucked, God was presence. He would be their light and hope.

So, did God create the world in 6 literal days and take a break to watch the Steelers on Sunday? Idk? I wasn't there. Some like to argue the Bible teaches that. I'm okay if you believe that and I'm okay with you if you have doubts. It doesn't matter. Because I do not believe that Genesis is answering the question of "How" the world came to be but "Who" the world came to be made through.

The Bible is NOT a self-help handbook

The final point I want to make is the Bible is not a self-help handbook. Since the Bible was not written directly to me, I must be careful how I read it and apply it to my life. A key hermeneutic tool is "A text cannot mean something to me today that it did not mean to the original audience." 

Here are some fun out of context Bible verses:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."- Psalm 37:4

"For I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."- Jeremiah 29:11

"I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives me strength."-Philippians 4:13

In the first verse, if you want, you could make the verse say that if I trust in God that he will give me whatever I want. So, if I trust God really hard, he will give me X, Y, and Z. However, when I think of the word "delight" I think of Mary of Bethany. She was a sinful woman. She sat at the feet of Jesus and worshiped him. She poured the anointing oil and washed his feet with her tears. She then used her hair to dry his feet. "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he (she) who is forgiven little, loves little." She delighted in her Lord. And she had her heart met in that moment. 

David, who wrote this Psalm, also knew what it meant to delight both in himself and in the Lord. When he delighted in himself, it led to pride, adultery, and murder but when he delighted in Lord it led to worship, confession, and joy. 

In the second verse: we read about a letter that Jeremiah is writing to God's people while in exile (again). There were false prophets speaking that they would only be in exile for a little bit longer so "hold on for one more day." Sorry, you shouldn't never go full Wilson Phillips. Jeremiah writes this beautiful letter telling them to not listen to the false prophets but to instead build houses, plant gardens, and have babies. Does this sound like exile was ending soon? In the middle of this letter, Jeremiah reminds Israel that God does have good plans for them. His plan was that their situation was going to suck before it gets better, but eventually it does get better. 

I don't want to burst your bubble, but life might not get better. It usually does. There are usually good times and bad times. But it might not. It might get worse and worse and then you die. “
“PREACH IT BROTHER!”- said no one ever….

God doesn't promise to fix all of our problems, but he does promise to be with us. The word compassion literally means "To suffer alongside." He sits with us in the muck and mire. When your child dies, he says, "I can relate. They hung mine on a cross." When your friends ditch you, he says, "I can relate. My 12 best friends were nowhere to be found on my worst day." Whatever the Gospel is, it is not wealth, health, unicorns, and butterflies. And it is not a self-help manifesto. 

But that's okay. It doesn't promise to be. God doesn't promise to fix everything. But he promises to be with us. And that is Good News because it's worth more than a mansion or owning cattle on a thousand hills. 

And finally, you cannot do everything. So, stop trying. St Paul is writing this as part of a letter to the 1st Century church in Philippi. In context, he is basically saying be content. Know how to live when you have a lot of money and when you have a little bit of money because life is more than the things that you have. 

In Conclusion 

The Bible is not

1) A Political Tool

2) A Science textbook

3) A self-help book

 

So, what use does the Bible have in our lives? Some would say, it has NO USE. To those I would say, ha. haha. hahaha. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Literally or metaphorically, bad idea. Stay tuned next week to discuss what purpose I believe this ancient text has in our modern world. 

But what do you think? What role do you believe the Bible has in our lives?