This is an open-comment theology blog where I will post various theological musings, mostly in sermon or essay form, for others to read and comment on. If what I say here interests you, you may want to check out some of my books. Feel free to criticize, to critique, to comment, but keep comments to the point and respectful. Many of these posts have been published elsewhere, but I wanted them collected and made available to a wider audience.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Question of the Day
What is the most troublesome or difficult part of the Bible, for you?
I have a love hate relationship with Paul just in general. My issue isn't the "women must be subordinate to men" thing that everyone emphasizes with him. I think that is cherry-picking the Bible and an inaccurate interpretation of what the whole of that section is talking about. My problem with Paul is it's hard to figure out what his point is. Some of the time I'm not convinced he knows what his point is. When he does make his point, it tends to be a good one though. "Faith, Hope, and Love and the greatest of these is Love." That's a valid point.
The story of Lot is a hard one for me. A pillar of salt? Really? And were his daughters really so naive as to think that Saudoom and Gammora (spelling?) were the only two cities in the world and so they needed to repopulate it? It's a weird story.
The hardest one I think is what I was thinking earlier today about "famous" Bible stories, the ones we tell kids in Sunday school. Noah's arc, the Exodus with Moses, Adam and Eve, etc. I have really been struggling with the final plague from the Exodus. The Angel of Death seems very contrary to what I believe about God. It's been rocking my world in not necessarily a very good way.
A few things to remember about Paul is that his writings are occasional, and so part of the confusion is that we are only getting one side of a telephone conversation. Another is that is writings are occasional, they are not meant to be general doctrinal statements for the whole church. They are to specific churches with specific problems. Plus, he is writing over time so his views may be in flux on some important issues. There are several scholarly positions on what Paul's main project is, and they are all vastly different. The fact that one writer can produce such varied opinions is proof of what you are driving at. Pauline theology is hard, and that may be why it is one of my favorite subjects (will address in a future post in more detail).
Compare the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to Judges chapters 17-21, which is likely an earlier version of the same story (notice the parallel language). That Judges passage will blow that story wide freaking open for you.
You know what I've said about the Red/Reed Sea parting, how there are two different versions, one likely more historical than the other. We need to be able to do some historical reconstruction when dealing with much of the Bible. I suspect that the story of the plagues is more a story of rough times that hit Egypt which allowed the Hebrews to escape, times that the Hebrews interpreted as the activity of God. Just as the Hebrews discovered God in the moment of the Reed Sea parting, they discovered God in the events that made it possible for them to escape. We can recognize the truth of their discovery, even if we reject the idea that God particularly orchestrated these events.
So perhaps a plague hit the Egyptians and decimated their population even as the Hebrews came out unscathed. This actually happened during the Black Plague: Jews were largely unaffected probably due to their love of cats and the fact that they were forced to live separately from the rest of society. This led to terrible Jewish persecutions in the Middle Ages. Maybe something happened like this in Egypt and gave them a chance to escape. They interpreted these events as the Will of God, because in them they discovered a 'salvation dimension' to life. We can affirm that in any and all historical events just such a salvific reality can be discovered, without attributing the details to the Will of God. That wonderful good can be brought out of terrible situations is the result of God's actions. This does not mean that the terrible situations were His will.
Read Revelation 20:11-15 to see what happens to the Angel of Death at the end, and reflect on THAT in light of your misgivings about the Passover. Another bible-through-the-bible interpretation that can blow open a text.
BTW: Great song, Hank Williams' Angel of Death (off-topic but it is weird you brought this up given I have just discovered this song and decided it is one of the most awesome things ever).
This is a great question. I am not sure of my answer.
ReplyDeleteI have a love hate relationship with Paul just in general. My issue isn't the "women must be subordinate to men" thing that everyone emphasizes with him. I think that is cherry-picking the Bible and an inaccurate interpretation of what the whole of that section is talking about. My problem with Paul is it's hard to figure out what his point is. Some of the time I'm not convinced he knows what his point is. When he does make his point, it tends to be a good one though. "Faith, Hope, and Love and the greatest of these is Love." That's a valid point.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Lot is a hard one for me. A pillar of salt? Really? And were his daughters really so naive as to think that Saudoom and Gammora (spelling?) were the only two cities in the world and so they needed to repopulate it? It's a weird story.
The hardest one I think is what I was thinking earlier today about "famous" Bible stories, the ones we tell kids in Sunday school. Noah's arc, the Exodus with Moses, Adam and Eve, etc. I have really been struggling with the final plague from the Exodus. The Angel of Death seems very contrary to what I believe about God. It's been rocking my world in not necessarily a very good way.
A few things to remember about Paul is that his writings are occasional, and so part of the confusion is that we are only getting one side of a telephone conversation. Another is that is writings are occasional, they are not meant to be general doctrinal statements for the whole church. They are to specific churches with specific problems. Plus, he is writing over time so his views may be in flux on some important issues. There are several scholarly positions on what Paul's main project is, and they are all vastly different. The fact that one writer can produce such varied opinions is proof of what you are driving at. Pauline theology is hard, and that may be why it is one of my favorite subjects (will address in a future post in more detail).
ReplyDeleteCompare the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to Judges chapters 17-21, which is likely an earlier version of the same story (notice the parallel language). That Judges passage will blow that story wide freaking open for you.
You know what I've said about the Red/Reed Sea parting, how there are two different versions, one likely more historical than the other. We need to be able to do some historical reconstruction when dealing with much of the Bible. I suspect that the story of the plagues is more a story of rough times that hit Egypt which allowed the Hebrews to escape, times that the Hebrews interpreted as the activity of God. Just as the Hebrews discovered God in the moment of the Reed Sea parting, they discovered God in the events that made it possible for them to escape. We can recognize the truth of their discovery, even if we reject the idea that God particularly orchestrated these events.
So perhaps a plague hit the Egyptians and decimated their population even as the Hebrews came out unscathed. This actually happened during the Black Plague: Jews were largely unaffected probably due to their love of cats and the fact that they were forced to live separately from the rest of society. This led to terrible Jewish persecutions in the Middle Ages. Maybe something happened like this in Egypt and gave them a chance to escape. They interpreted these events as the Will of God, because in them they discovered a 'salvation dimension' to life. We can affirm that in any and all historical events just such a salvific reality can be discovered, without attributing the details to the Will of God. That wonderful good can be brought out of terrible situations is the result of God's actions. This does not mean that the terrible situations were His will.
Read Revelation 20:11-15 to see what happens to the Angel of Death at the end, and reflect on THAT in light of your misgivings about the Passover. Another bible-through-the-bible interpretation that can blow open a text.
BTW: Great song, Hank Williams' Angel of Death (off-topic but it is weird you brought this up given I have just discovered this song and decided it is one of the most awesome things ever).