The Bible Alone?
The Bible alone? I don’t think so. The Bible should not be the finally authority on everything. In fact, the Bible should not be the final authority on anything. This does not mean that the Bible should not be an authority, but it does mean that it should not be the final authority.
Because the Bible Is NOT Alone!
We have science and experience and history and archeology, to name a few. And then there is philosophy, psychology, geography, astronomy—each of which should be factored into any discussion that we have on any subject. No one source has the ability to bear up under the burden of being God! We should take the weight of that off the shoulders of the biblical writers.
The Helper Has Come
Jesus promised the coming of the Spirit. The Spirit is not so easily tamed and brought to heel. The Spirit is wild and free and liable to make us all squirm a bit in the face of our questions and surely in the case of our ready answers. Of course the Bible is important, but not as important as movements of the Spirit in the midst of community. Jesus did not give the keys to the kingdom to a book, but to a community—specifically, to us!
Christians profess their love of the Bible. I’m in that tribe. But I’m weary of having to pretend that the Bible is a resource that I fully embrace on every matter. I do not. I pick and choose, as does everyone else. And we’re meant to pick and choose. It is our task to take the Bible apart, to consider the writers’ historical time and worldview, their bias and prejudices. That’s our job.
The Scope of Sources
For an easy example, take the Bible’s creation story. I’ve long since given up the idea that God created the Cosmos in 6 24-hour days. One semester of Botany was all it took for me to move on to thinking differently on that matter.
One of the criticisms I have about Christianity is that we have such a narrow field from which we draw our information. There is so much new learning in our world, startling discoveries are being made almost every day. Fields other than biblical studies are broadening and deepening our understanding of almost everything. The James Webb telescope is revealing the formation of new stars and is greatly enhancing our understanding of the expanse of the universe. And geologists are able to assess the danger to our home in the melting of some of the planet’s deadliest glaciers. Like prophets, these scientists are screaming a warning to all of us—“Repent, change, do a 180, the end is near!” Check out this short documentary entitled “Haulout”. It’s about the affect melting ice is having on the walrus population. It will break your heart.
The Bigness of God
Most religious thought is just mulching over the same ground. That’s a problem, but not necessarily a waste of time or energy. We need to retell our stories. It’s important to remind ourselves of who we are and what we profess to believe. The repetition is important. But do we need to be told weekly that God loves us, has a plan for our lives, and is good? Maybe so. The world can grind you down and when it does, it’s helpful to be reminded that you are God’s child no matter how old you are. So I get that.
I remember a black pastor telling of the three-hour service he held every Sunday morning. “All week long my people are told they are second class and worse. So on Sunday I need to put back into them the truth that they are loved by God and made in God’s image. That takes some doing,” he said, “and time.”
The Bible Alone?
Simply put, the Bible is not enough of God! There are other resources that are Spirit-breathed and helpful in decision-making and can serve to both inspire and encourage us. We have Ted Talks and Podcasts and articles in any number of journals that offer creative, spirited, and I would dare say, Spirit-filled ideas and insights on how we might better live as human beings.
Monica Lewinsky’s Ted Talk “The Price of Shame” is 20 minutes of solid gold catharsis while moving the viewer to a new way of seeing both her—Ms Lewinsky—and ourselves as we struggle with guilt and shame. Please tune in as well to Casey Gerald’s Ted Talk “The Gospel of Doubt.” It’s short, poignant and hopeful.
Finally, this podcast from Ezra Klein—“Are Humans Fundamentally Good.” Klein is a non-religious Jewish man with some very religious-like views. He’s smart, but grounded. (If you click on the bold type it will take you to the link for these resources.)
For some time now I’ve been trying to broaden my information sources. I hold a special place for the Bible. But I also realize that the Bible is limited both in scope and in depth of knowledge. The writers were all men. And they wrote out of their worldview which was pretty narrow. Every biblical writer held the view that women were inferior to men. And each of these men believed the world to be flat, and accepted the practice of slavery as a normative social construct. The view of these men was that sexual orientation was a matter of choice. And it goes on and on.
So we need input from other sources.
I love it when you think out loud. You always, well, almost always, give me something to think about. Sometimes I even think about these things out loud. And sometimes with you,. So keep thinking, being bold, being vulnerable, being “out there,” being dangerous. Thinking is a good thing, I think. 😊 Encouraging others to think is an even better thing, I think. Of course, there are those who would disagree and who prefer to think for others and tell others what they should think, even what they must think. That’s not good! Thanks, Brother.
Marlin, the questions you raise are important ones. I’ve wrestled with these and others for a good part of my life, so I’m glad you’re saying them out loud. Thanks for having the courage to do that.
My wrestling has brought me to what I sense is a different place from where you find yourself. I suspect that many of our issues with the Bible have to do with how we’ve been taught to read the Bible, instead of how the Bible actually works. If you or anyone is interested in my thoughts about that, I wrote a series of posts on this, leading to a final post on how to apply all this to same-sex marriage. Speaking of which, I don’t believe the Bible addresses the issue of same-sex orientation at all. Instead, it assumes that most same-sex sexual activity is carried out by heterosexuals. (That would certainly have been the case with Sodom, for example.) As Martti Nissinen demonstrates in his historical survey, Homoeroticism in the Biblical World, the vast majority of same-sex sexual behavior described in ancient literature was carried out by heterosexuals. So as people with the authority to “bind and loose,” we have to decide how much of this applies to the LGBTQ community. And as far as whether or not every biblical author assumes that women were inferior to men, I’d be hard-pressed to say that about the author of Genesis 1, which explicitly states that men and women were both created in God’s image to reign. It would also be difficult for me to put Luke in that camp. We should be careful not to assume that biblical authors believe that whatever they write is right. As Rob Bell says, if you take all the sin out of the Bible, all you have left is a pamphlet. This includes what the Bible says about slavery. Obviously throughout the biblical story slavery is regarded as normal (as is indicated in many of Jesus’ parables, and as it actually was in the ancient world). But nowhere is it stated that slavery (or polygamy or autocracy) is meant to be normative, or how God intends for things to be. So much of this has to do with how God reigns (and consequently how we are to reign). No tyrant, he is shepherding us toward New Creation. His approach has come at the cost of his Son’s death on a cross, the one who said he came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. What I am discovering is that the Bible is a lot more sophisticated and complex than I was taught growing up, even growing up as an adult, and that many of my doubts and questions are based upon assumptions that the Bible itself doesn’t have or hold.
https://www.musingsfromthemargins.com/post/how-the-bible-actually-works-part-1
I sense that you’re on an important journey. I wish you well.
I admire that you use the many gifts we are given: the Bible, theologians, individuals of faith like my parents and your grandparents, our rigorous education, our experiences, our minds, reading and our much thought. How could all that be religious or mathematical prescription? My experience is that it is in the struggle and our gifts comes some insight and then we realize that we are “Children of God, loved beyond measure, sent to serve the world.” Our church motto. And then we human falter again and do it over again. Interesting species we. Thanks be to God.
Much truth in this post.
Who knew that truth could be found even in Marlin Vis? 🙂
Indeed!
This was good Marlin and a bit of a relief to see it in print. I have for years felt that God continues to inspire writers and we can’t let theology sit in the first century (and without the voice of women). Vern & I listened to the Still Processing session on love last night. Lots of good stuff. Disciplined for quoting Rachel Held Evans, one of my favorite voices and a such tragic loss, really? Need to hear more about your Mennonite friend too. We are listening, reading from a distance but look forward to discussion over a beer soon.