No.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thanks everyone for coming to my TED talk.<\/p>\n
Alright fine, I\u2019ll say a little more. Ever since my book came out Love Matters More<\/a><\/em>, there has been some pushback. Most of it has been from young white dudes who didn\u2019t read it but dismissed it as wrong-headed simply because of the title. Thanks Chad for making my point for me in your Facebook rant about why I\u2019m wrong.<\/p>\n But there were a few more earnest people who were worried by my statement that even the Bible can\u2019t give us access to Absolute Truth<\/a>. So, here\u2019s a brief deeper dive into why that seems to be the case for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bible has human fingerprints all over it. I mean that in the most boring way possible. It uses a language that humans in a particular time and place understood and that most of us don\u2019t. It uses phrases that meant something different back then than it does now (see the following verses where the word for \u201cfoot\u201d is a euphemism for genitals: Isa. 7:20, Deut 28:57, Ezek. 16:25, 2 Sam. 11:8, Prov 19:2, et al). That means it\u2019s not a modern book. That means it doesn\u2019t have a modern mindset. I simply don\u2019t even understand what it means for a very contextually human book to give us access to Absolute Truth. Like, is it the Absolute Truth that \u201cfeet\u201d can mean \u201cgenitals\u201d?<\/p>\n Some might say, \u201cWell, we can filter out the very human parts and can find the parts where it is telling us Absolute Truth.\u201d But that actually doesn\u2019t make things simpler, it makes them more complicated. Which brings me to my very next part.\u00a0<\/p>\n What filter do I use? If some parts do give us access to Absolute Truth and others are \u201ccontextually human,\u201d how would I possibly know which is which? I would need a Divine Filter, which is to say, a Divine Interpreter. The problem is, we don\u2019t have a divine interpreter. Only human interpreters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even if the Bible in its \u201cpure form\u201d (whatever that means) is tapped into Ultimate Reality, I am still interpreting. And if I don\u2019t know Greek or Hebrew, I am interpreting someone else\u2019s interpretation (as my Seminary professor taught me \u2013 all translation is interpretation).\u00a0<\/p>\n Why do I share that? Because growing up in my tradition, I would often hear that the proper way to read the Bible isn\u2019t to \u201cinterpret it\u201d but just to \u201cread it.\u201d Or, the Bible is clear \u2013 we don\u2019t need to \u201cinterpret it,\u201d just \u201cread what it says.\u201d But if it\u2019s so clear, why are there 33,000 different takes on it? And why did 132 scholarly books get published on the book of Matthew?<\/p>\n And if it is giving us access to Absolute Truth, why do we find so much diversity that must be interpreted for its significance?\u00a0<\/p>\n We start with 2 Creation Stories (1:1-2:4a & 2:4b-end of chapter 3) then move to 2 Sets of the Law (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & then Deuteronomy), then to 2 Histories of Israel (Samuel-Kings & then Chronicles). Fortunately, when we get to the really important stuff we have one straightforward narrative of the life of Jesus. Oh wait, nevermind. We get 4.<\/p>\n Ultimately, our offense at the idea that the Bible doesn\u2019t give us Absolute Truth shows we have made the Bible an idol. And you know what, that\u2019s not the Bible\u2019s fault. There isn\u2019t anything wrong with the Bible. There is nothing that gives us that access. The project was doomed from the start. By the way, I\u2019m quite okay with that. When Jesus left the Earth he didn\u2019t say that it\u2019s good for him to go away because when he leaves he\u2019ll leave to us an unchanging book but the Advocate\/Spirit of Truth (John 16), which cannot be controlled or be unchanging because \u201cThe wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit\u201d (John 3:8-9)<\/p>\n So, it seems, faith is about the humility to acknowledge we do not know it all and trusting that it\u2019s enough to be known by the one who does.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.\u201d \u2013 1 Corinthians 13: 1<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nThe Bible Is Contextually Human.<\/h2>\n
The Bible Must Be Interpreted by Humans.<\/h2>\n
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The Bible, like Humans, is Not God.<\/h2>\n
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<\/figure>\nEnjoyed this post? Read more from Jared and grab his latest book, Love Matters More<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n