Reading the Bible

Lay your burdens down? by Jim Cotter

Among the people who lived in biblical times we discern a profound struggle between two points of view, a struggle which has still not been resolved. It is the question of the relationship between 'us' and 'them'. It is easy to think 'we' are superior - or we may have been taught that 'we' are inferior. Or, more usually, we may think ourselves superior in some ways and inferior in others. Where are you on what pecking orders?

If we are not careful we project this attitude onto God, and then we may think we are chosen while others are rejected. Are we chosen for privilege (i.e. heaven) while others who do not respond to God's call are destined for rejection (i.e. hell)? Do we believe God will divide humankind into a small minority that are 'saved' and a large majority who are 'damned'? Or should we think of ourselves only as servants of others, that they are more important than we are?

This really would be to love without condition, even love our enemies whatever they may do. God never rejects. The God shown to us in Jesus does not know how not to love.

Yes, love can be resisted, a loving response can be postponed, there is much misunderstanding and pain to be worked through. Love is costly. Courage is willing to pay. Most of us are reluctant.

In the pages of the Bible you find both points of view. Each of us has to ask which of them we are prepared to embrace. And how do you think most religiously-minded people decide?

Jim wrote a regular column for SCM’s magazine Movement.

Monotheism by Jonathan Clatworthy

If you don’t buy into fundamentalism, what’s so special about the Bible? After all it’s a diverse collection of ancient texts, many of which are incomprehensible, irrelevant, factually wrong or morally repugnant. So what does the Bible say which (a) is different, and (b) matters so much as to be the basis for a religious tradition?

Here’s my answer. For the people who wrote the Bible, what distinguished their tradition from other ancient Near Eastern traditions was their monotheism. Only one God. Polytheism - lots of gods quarrelling with each other - is good at explaining why the world is a mess, and why there is so much illness, natural calamity and tragedy. If life is miserable, that’s just the way it is and there’s nothing you can do about it. Monotheism, on the other hand, begins with a God who doesn’t have rivals, and therefore created the world just as intended. Such a God cannot have any personal needs, so must have created the world for its own sake, as an act of goodness. So declares Genesis 1. Therefore monotheism means the universe operates in regular, ordered ways. It is this presupposition of regularity which made modern science possible. Monotheism also means we have been created for a purpose, our lives have value, and it is possible for all of us to live together in harmony - because that’s how we’ve been designed.

Today it looks different. Polytheism has been almost forgotten. Ordered society has been secularised, so the Bible no longer seems distinctive on this count. The greatest threat to Christianity comes from a science which proclaims a regular, ordered universe with no gods at all. Desperate to reaffirm the spiritual realm, Christians re-read their Bibles. Threatened by godlessness, to establish one god would be good, to establish more seems better. And, since some biblical authors weren’t entirely consistent with their monotheism, it’s possible to discover texts with realist pictures of the Devil and evil spirits. Paul becomes the hero of the century, with all his passing references to ‘powers and principalities’, ‘elements of the universe’, etc. As a result, what Christians now reaffirm, over against secular godlessness, is all too often precisely the pagan polytheism which the biblical authors rejected.

I’ll stick to the old religion. I don’t believe every sentence in the Bible is true, but I do believe that it was absolutely right about its main preoccupation, so I proudly stand in the biblical tradition.

It’s the Bible’s monotheism which makes sense of believing that it is possible for the people of the world to live together in peace and harmony. And that therefore it’s worth working for.

Jonathan is the secretary of the Modern Churchpeople's Union.

A frightening book by Revd Stan Brown

The Bible is the most frightening book I know. I don’t go there for comfort and reassurance – I open the covers with a sense of anticipation close to dread. What challenge will I find next? The scariest moments of all come when trying to work with a Bible passage to prepare a sermon – how can I know what this means, do I really have the nerve to announce what I think I find there? What on earth I am supposed to say about a story of divinely commanded genocide, or of a God who breaches the laws of nature with spectacularly strange miracles and signs? What makes the preacher more than a spiritual entertainer or theology anything more than an intellectual trick to square these impossible circles?

The Bible, as we know, is not one book but a library, written, edited, collated and copied by countless individuals and communities through several millennia of human history. With all its internal variety and inconsistencies, it is held together by a grand narrative – an overarching rainbow story of a universe that has its origin and end in a gracious and loving God. Whatever we find in there – even the strangest and most disturbing things – is hanging upon that story like an ornament on a Christmas tree.

The key to understanding it all is to accept that you and I are also a part of that story, our lives, stories and experiences are continuous with those of the Bible. I hate it when people say 'your faith must be a great comfort to you'. It is not my comfort: it is the eyes through which I see the world, the language I speak to communicate in the world, the community which holds me, the culture through which I experience the world, and the story which both shapes and challenges all that I do. Comfortable it is not.

Stan is Ecumenical Chaplain at Kingston University.

Why trust the Bible? by Susannah Rudge

The Bible consists of many books, of varying genres, written, rewritten, and amended by different people living in different contexts at different points in history. It speaks of love, justice and peace – and yet seems to condone, even encourage, capital punishment, misogyny, homophobia, blind nationalism and a host of other evils. So how can it be authoritative? Can we recognise its diversity and questionable morality, and yet continue to give it a central place in Christian discussion and devotion? Or must we either try to ignore the difficult parts and pretend the rest speaks uniformly of whatever suits us, or dispense with the whole book and consider it nothing more than an interesting artefact?

I have come to believe that the Bible’s multiple voices, far from undermining its importance, actually help to justify its prominence in the Christian faith. For through them we discover the story of an authentic relationship between God and humanity, one which is not all sweet agreement, but which encompasses everything from the deepest anger and doubt to the most sincere forgiveness and reconciliation. In the Bible’s pages, we read of countless people caught in the complexity that is real life. Sometimes, like us, they are unsure who God is, or what they should do, sometimes everything does go horribly wrong, but nonetheless they persist in their conviction that God is at work in their situation, guiding, loving and forgiving them despite their confusion and their failings. It is not a straightforward story, but, that, I think, is all the more reason why we should read and trust it.

Susannah is a former member of SCM's General Council, and was on the editorial panel that planned our Reading the Bible resource.

In the beginning by John Baxter-Brown

In the beginning.

Some of the most stimulating words ever written, words that have inspired controversy and poetry, courtroom battles and polemic, words that have filled shelves with miles of commentaries and prose.

In the beginning, God.

The source of it all - time, space, cosmos, creature and controversy.

In the beginning God created.

God, the active agent that gets everything going, including atheists and fundamentalists (who can sometimes be the same people!)

Every time I read these words and the following three chapters of Genesis I am overwhelmed by the power the words contain. These chapters are so rich in insight and so well crafted that I can be taken on a journey beyond my own life with all its foibles and struggles and joys, even beyond the knowable universe to glimpse the mind of God. Across the millennia these words show us something about the foibles, struggles and joys of the author(s), of the editors, of humanity, and give us a fleeting glance into the nature and character of God who makes all things 'good'.

Getting the most out the words is not simple. There are layers upon layers of digging to do. I need to get beyond the simple (and wrong) science against religion arguments of our own times. I need to appreciate how other people over thousands of years have understood these words. I need to study and think and pray.

And always I am drawn back to the words, 'And God said'. And I believe He still says. Therefore I have a responsibility to listen. And so do you.

John Baxter-Brown is Exectuive Officer (Youth) for Churches Together in England.

When God Was One of Us… by John Cooper

The Bible is an imposing book. Before an examination of the contents, a barrage of stereotypes appear to remind us that it has been both the source of liberation from, and the cause of, suffering around the globe. From ‘Dr’ Ian Paisley to Archbishop Desmond Tutu it’s easy to name people who have used or abused the book to seek their ‘truth’. Yet for someone like me, with no formal theological training (just a want to explore) it is a difficult read. I have often struggled to want to read it, let alone manage to get anything meaningful out of it. It is often seen by many as the source of all truth yet all I enjoyed were the pictures.

Recently I came to realise that the difficulty stemmed from its ever-changing nature. Ever-changing in both translation and personal perception. How can you learn from it if it never stops changing? Many of my friends read Bibles such as The Message which I view as awful and yet I can easily pick up the NRSV or sometimes the King James and connect instantly. Did that just make me odd? Were they all right and me wrong? Were we all wrong and there was a true version out there? So many questions before I had read a page! Yet, after many years of this contradiction, I have learned to step back and see what the Bible is.

The Bible is theology.

‘Theology’, writes Richard Holloway, ‘is a human activity, something we do, but we also acknowledge that it is done in different ways.' This perception cleared up my problem outlined because by embracing the concept you can doubt and challenge what is written (because it is human-written and we are fallible) you can come closer to the real truth contained within. Once the debate is moved beyond full stops and words. then real discoveries can be made.

By discoveries I mean a simple one. The exciting and challenging message contained around the key character, Jesus Christ. Through his life and works, as described by the humans who saw him, we are treated to a perception of how God had lived when he was, and the promise of returning now to live (as the song says) as one of us. Wether he will return or if we just have to delve for the key messages from the historical basis doesn't matter though. Because the ultimate message from it all was that Jesus was a man of action!

When approaching the Bible, to find out how it can inspire modern campaigns like MakePovertyHistory or Stop Climate Chaos, we need an open mind. It enables themes to be noticed, contradictions to smoulder and links that are interwoven throughout the centuries of history contained within the book to become clear.

I must admit though, I am not the most academic of people, so once I have begun to get an idea, I like to do something with it, play with it or nurture it in my head. To do that I tend to go for a walk and get out of the modern hurly-burly for a short time. The more I walk and explore nature, the more connected I feel to it all. Being more connected to what has come before and what is to come helps me to realise my own mortality and the implications of this.

Hmmm, startlingly deep. Well no, what I mean is the idea that we are just a drop in the ocean of human history. There is much that has gone before us and much that will come after our time on this planet. So whilst I may be short-lived here, that doesn't mean I can't make a difference. As humans find new ways to destroy the fragile earth and its inhabitants, it is also up to others to fight to protect it.

The phrase ‘As a Christian....’ prefacing a statement is always questionable. That said, the more I read the Bible the more I can't sit still and let injustice and poverty continue, as though by doing nothing I am allowing it to continue. But I suspect I am getting ahead of myself really as others have spread the news in better ways than I.

I want to finish by turning to the works of Charles Wesley. This year sees both SCM examining the Bible and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Charles Wesley.

This man, with his brother John, re-wrote the approach towards the telling of their discoveries within the Bible. He wanted to tell all about the Bible yet there was an issue of inaccessibility because of a largely uneducated (in the formal reading/writing sense) population.He worked tirelessly to ensure that songs and hymns were written to give out the key messages.

Just because someone couldn’t read the book doesn’t mean they would miss out on the good news contained within. I hope this inspires you to consider what and where next for you on your spiritual journey. Bon Voyage!

‘Come, Holy Ghost (for moved by thee
The prophets wrote and spoke),
Unlock the truth, thyself the key,
Unseal the sacred book’
H&P 469 ‘Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire' (Charles Wesley, 1707–88)

John is an individual member of SCM.

Food for the journey by Martin Thompson

I like reading the Bible. I always have. Long before I would call myself a Christian I was intrigued by it. Bible stories at primary school, studying Luke’s Gospel in RE, reading a battered old King James Version at home – it all fascinated me. When eventually I became a follower of Jesus, I brought my obsessive/compulsive nature to my Bible reading. I couldn’t get enough of it (and still can’t). My Bible reading habits have changed over the years but are still daily. We are encouraged to see the Bible as spiritual food and therefore I feel the need to 'feed' on a daily basis – or perhaps I’m just greedy!

I’ve learned though that feeding is not the same as feasting. Feeding is a daily necessity, feasting an occasional exciting indulgence. Sometimes when I read the Bible it’s like meeting the person of my dreams and watching a firework display all rolled into one. But for most of the time it can be a bit like reading the telephone directory. Little by little though, as I press on with whatever particular way of reading and Bible version I’m using, I am learning about God’s amazing love for me and my duties towards Him and other people.

I look back on feasts, and the reasons for them, with pleasurable memories. However, it’s the daily bran, bread and baked potato that keep me going! If the Christian life is a travelling to Heaven, for me daily Bible reading is the food for the journey.

Martin Thompson is SCM's Administrator.

Understanding context by Julian Lewis

A bank robber shoots a bystander dead.
A long-term carer suffocates their chronically ill partner.
A driver skids and hits a pedestrian, killing them.

Three separate actions resulting in each case in a death. Yet our response to each situation will probably be different. We need an understanding of context when we try to appreciate the varied situations life generates.

Yet we look to our religions to provide certainties, and hanker after guiding texts as rulebooks. How much easier life then becomes. But when we understand that we must contextualise all other areas of life, how absurd is this? It is both theologically and emotionally juvenile, and frankly a cop out.

I think it is critical when reading the Bible to always bear in mind that it is not The Bible. That is a handy name for a collection of books, letters, songs, poetry, genealogy, history and propaganda which were collected together at a given point in history for certain reasons by a particular group of people who understood the world and its workings in a way very different to ours. Much possibly relevant material was left out. It is argued this was a divinely ordained process, an example of God working in mysterious ways. Personally I believe that a great hindrance to accessing the insights of the Bible is precisely this approach.

Read the Bible. As Christians that is a must. But if you want theological and emotional maturity, get rid of the pedestal. The power of the Bible is precisely that it is not sacred.

Julian is a former editor of Movement magazine.