How to Read the Bible

The Bible is a marvelous book, filled with all manner of ancient literature. The Good Book is actually a library containing stories and poems, ordinances and letters, aphorisms and songs, and through it all there runs a narrative thread that holds it all together. That thread is this – the Bible tells the story of God’s loving work to save a fallen world. In that thread we find adventure stories and parables, apocalyptic visions and fireside tales, history lessons and romance, tragedy and comedy. What a marvelous read!

Still, the Bible is also a battleground for misunderstanding. People fight over interpretations. Preachers pontificate on prejudiced perspectives. Sadly, these in-house (or should I say “inter-church”) battles lead a skeptical world to remain unconvinced of the Bible’s veracity and relevance. What’s a well-meaning Bible teacher to do?

I love the Bible, but I have often been frustrated by the great divide between the scholarship which was commonly accepted in seminary and the resistance to that scholarship in the local church. I have spent more than twenty-five years in the local church and I am still trying to bridge the divide between seminary and church.

At the risk of oversimplifying, the issue seems to be centered on the questions we ask of scripture. I find in the local church that questions are too often focused on the historicity of scripture, as in, “Where did Cain’s wife come from?” “Have they found the ark on Mt. Ararat?” Where can we find the inn of the Good Samaritan?” Most of these questions have at their root a desire to know “if it really happened or not.” The supposition is, if it happened then the Bible is trustworthy, and if it didn’t happen then the whole of scripture is called into question.

Interestingly, none of those questions ever came up in seminary, because there the questions were not so much about the historicity of scripture, but about the theology of scripture. What we assumed was that this Good Book was written, not to give us facts, but to teach us about God and God’s relationship with the creation, particularly men women. So the questions were more like, “What does the story of Adam and Eve tell us about the nature of sin?” “How does the flood story tell us about God’s attitude toward sin?” “In what way do the people of Israel in their wilderness wandering serve as a picture of the church today?” In these questions we then seek the kinds of answers the Bible was actually written to address. The authority of scripture was never called into question, but the authority was based less on historical accuracy than theological profundity.

Historical questions are important, of course, but they are secondary to the theological questions. And I don’t care if we do find out where Cain’s wife came from because that knowledge will not help me be a better disciple. But if I wrestle with the theological questions, then perhaps I’ll learn more about the nature of God, and gain greater understanding about my own human nature, and God’s desire to illumine the divine image in which I was made.

I’ll go out on a limb. Seems to me it doesn’t matter if God created in seven days or over the course of billions of years. What is important is the faith THAT God is the one who did the creating (and I might add, is still creating (Psalm 104)). In that case, we can accept the science that supports evolution while still affirming the faith story that teaches us WHO is the Creator, and that the creation is essentially a “good” gift of God for human beings to “till and keep,” as good stewards. You see what I’ve done here. I’ve arrived at answers based on theological questions rather than, “how did it happen” questions.

So, instead of asking, “Did this happen or not?” Why not ask, “What does this have to do with God in my life?” Seems to me you will get plenty of mileage out of that second question, regardless of what your opinion of the historicity might be.

John Wesley said that scripture contains “all things necessary for faith and practice.” I like that. It says that scripture doesn’t answer all our questions, only the ones that help us live more faithfully. I’ve never been satisfied with attempts to prove the events of scripture. They always seem to me a misguided attempt to make faith unnecessary. Instead, let’s ask what this story has to tell us that is true about our struggles to live authentically? And how does God offer grace, judgment, hope, correction, and most of all, compassion in the midst of our human condition?

Early on in my pre-seminary days I had the helpful guidance of a mentor, my Father, who helped me ask the right questions of scripture, and in the pages of the Bible I heard the ring of Truth. My prayer for my congregation, and my hope for the world, is that we all discover this Truth in the well-worn stories of our sacred canon.

“Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life.
Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty.”
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”