A personal reflection on reading the Bible

A personal reflection on reading the Bible
Pastor Tom Clark, Ascension, Jackson, MS

Beginning in January, I started e-mailing to members of Ascension (Jackson, MS) a "Daily Bible Study." For years I have offered a weekly Bible Study, usually on Wednesday evenings. Though the groups have changed over the years, the one thing they all have had in common is a small number of participants. A large group was eight. I have wished to have more congregation members reading the Bible long before there was a "Book of Faith" initiative, which I accidentally voted against... but that's another long story.

In the past, someone I know complained, "The Church has failed to follow the Bible." When I questioned him, I was amazed at just how little of the Bible he knew. Too many Biblical literalist I have known seem to think the Bible backs up their own beliefs and prejudices, but they have no desire to discover just what the Bible says and to struggle with the story of faith that develops-first with the Jews and then in the early Christian Church.

As I contemplated beginning this e-mail Bible Study, my thought was that rather than just sending out a verse-a-day devotion, this new effort would offer bite-sized Bible studies where those who were willing to spend a few minutes could begin to understand just what is in the Bible. I began at the beginning, with Genesis, usually covering a chapter each day. Several members responded thanking me for my effort. Some were obviously taking it seriously, e-mailing me back questions and making comments; however, one member's question really got my attention.

I had just sent out the lesson covering Genesis 15, which covers God's covenant with Abram and the unusual ceremony where God (in the form of "a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch") passed between animals that Abram had cut in half. God's act of passing between the halves of the slaughtered animals signified God's promise that Abram would have a son and a land. If God failed to live up to his promise God indicated that he (God!) would be cut in half like the animals. It is a strange, foreign, ancient custom reflecting the original understanding that covenants were "cut" not "made". (Obviously, it was the animals that were cut.)

My questioner asked, "Seriously, how is anybody supposed to understand this?" It was a good question. The only one who would understand would be a person who has 1) gone to seminary, 2) found a Bible with good notes and had spent some time reading, or 3) participated in a first class Bible study.

Serious Bible study is not for the faint of heart. There are passages that defy understanding, even for Biblical scholars! There are also passages containing lists of unpronounceable names of people or places. The general tendency would be for someone reading such a passage just to jump over it and continue when the story picks up again. And sometimes that's fine. The locations of some of the places named in the Bible are now unknown. However, occasionally there is something important in those lists. They may indicate an important connection, such as the human ancestry of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew. It was important for early Christians to see Jesus as the fulfillment of prophesies about the Messiah (Savior) who is 1) Jewish and connected to Abraham, but also 2) a direct ancestor of King David. Similar important connections are made in some of the lists in the Old Testament.

But how can one know what is and what is not important? That is not easy to answer. For instance, in Leviticus 19:19, it is forbidden to interbreed your animals, plant two kinds of seed in the same field or to wear clothes made of different materials. Thus, the following would seem to be forbidden: mules (a cross between a horse and a donkey); planting beans amongst the corn (a common practice where I grew up allowing the beans to climb the corn stalks); wearing clothes made of blended material (like 55% cotton and 45% polyester). Today, we might look at this passage and say that, for whatever reason it was given (ancient Hebrew purity laws), they no longer apply to us. However, what about the previous verse (18) that says, "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself." If we were to discount all of Leviticus 19, we would lose the source of one of Jesus' most beloved statements (Matthew 22:39 and Mark 12:31).

So, how can we know what is and what is not important? I believe that the answer is discovered when Christians read the Bible together. To my questioner ("Seriously, how is anybody supposed to understand this?") I responded that the way to begin understanding is to have the desire to understand and be willing to spend the time. God's message revealed through the Bible is not always easy to comprehend-even for theological school graduates. Understanding does begin to come, however, when Christians "struggle" with the Scripture and try to understand passages in the context for which they were written. Understanding the context will involve learning something about the times and situation of the writers and their original audience. Resources such as Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (Abingdon Press) help with this. Every congregation's library should own a set. Bibles with good notes also help. In the past, I have often relied on an Oxford Annotated Bible (Oxford University Press), but recently The Access Bible (also by Oxford University Press) was recommended. I have found its notes both thorough and written for the average non-scholar.

The short answer to "how do we know what is important" is to get a group of believers together and read. (Note key words: together, read.) Ask hard questions; take notes. Compare translations. Ask your pastor's advice on resources. Try to understand. It is worth the effort. Your Baptist friends will be amazed.