I think my filter on the things a good Christian is supposed to say (or better yet, not say), is totally broken. A prime example is an incident that occurred in the international bible study that I am apart of.
This year we are studying the life of Moses, and we came to the passage where Moses tells the Levites that, according to God, they should kill 3000 Israelites because they were worshipping an idol (I'm paraphrasing, but you can read the exact text in Ex.32:25-29). Well to make a long story short, I had a brief, yet spirited outburst on how it was ridiculous that we were expected to gloss over this story and it's outcome as perfectly normal. I then posed the question: "If someone killed your family member today, but then explained that it was only because God told them to, how would you feel about it? You would probably say they were insane, right?" I got a few people that agreed with me, and it was immediately followed by an awkward silence (I'm sure the group discussion leader was horrified..sorry).
Just today I was talking with my father about a friend of the family that flew to Amsterdam because he says God told him to go there to pray for a particular man. My dad said he believes this friend is mentally ill, but if this same story were in the Bible our family friend would be praised as a man of faith. What gives?
In my mind, it seems the spiritual insights of the Bible are very much intertwined with the customs, traditions, and legends of the time period in which it was written. Combine that with the fact that we are reading this book through the lens of the particular time period we are living in, and we get to the point of why I'm not fond of using the Bible as an all inclusive "rulebook," for lack of a better term. In today's world we write off God ordained murders and hearing a literal voice of God as mental illness, yet when we read the same stories in the Bible it is perfectly OK.
If you are ever in a room with several Christians and a discussion about -oh I don't know- women holding leadership roles in church, or even actively participating in a worship service surfaces, many Christians (the denomination I grew up in included) condemn it saying that God forbids it, and will then use the same Bible to prove their point. It just seems to be a bit inconsistent.
Why aren't we as Christians allowed to say, "You know, some of the things in the Bible don't make sense to me and may not gel with my experiences and understanding of who God is, but that's OK. And it's OK because my faith is not confined to a book (no matter how inspired it is). My faith is in a Spirit; My faith is in a God that is inspiring me, shaping me, and molding me into a person of Truth, and a person that gives and reflects Love."
What's so wrong with that?
This year we are studying the life of Moses, and we came to the passage where Moses tells the Levites that, according to God, they should kill 3000 Israelites because they were worshipping an idol (I'm paraphrasing, but you can read the exact text in Ex.32:25-29). Well to make a long story short, I had a brief, yet spirited outburst on how it was ridiculous that we were expected to gloss over this story and it's outcome as perfectly normal. I then posed the question: "If someone killed your family member today, but then explained that it was only because God told them to, how would you feel about it? You would probably say they were insane, right?" I got a few people that agreed with me, and it was immediately followed by an awkward silence (I'm sure the group discussion leader was horrified..sorry).
Just today I was talking with my father about a friend of the family that flew to Amsterdam because he says God told him to go there to pray for a particular man. My dad said he believes this friend is mentally ill, but if this same story were in the Bible our family friend would be praised as a man of faith. What gives?
In my mind, it seems the spiritual insights of the Bible are very much intertwined with the customs, traditions, and legends of the time period in which it was written. Combine that with the fact that we are reading this book through the lens of the particular time period we are living in, and we get to the point of why I'm not fond of using the Bible as an all inclusive "rulebook," for lack of a better term. In today's world we write off God ordained murders and hearing a literal voice of God as mental illness, yet when we read the same stories in the Bible it is perfectly OK.
If you are ever in a room with several Christians and a discussion about -oh I don't know- women holding leadership roles in church, or even actively participating in a worship service surfaces, many Christians (the denomination I grew up in included) condemn it saying that God forbids it, and will then use the same Bible to prove their point. It just seems to be a bit inconsistent.
Why aren't we as Christians allowed to say, "You know, some of the things in the Bible don't make sense to me and may not gel with my experiences and understanding of who God is, but that's OK. And it's OK because my faith is not confined to a book (no matter how inspired it is). My faith is in a Spirit; My faith is in a God that is inspiring me, shaping me, and molding me into a person of Truth, and a person that gives and reflects Love."
What's so wrong with that?
2 comments:
Ah, I must say this was a very informative and "REALISTIC" post. My spouse and I had the same discussion the other day. Not exactly the same but along the lines of what your talking about. Biblically speaking. Ours was more so wrapped around the word "Faith" and if it was just a word\term created to get us all to shut about things we dont understand and or cannot see. Hmm??? At the end of the day, we both know that faith is neccessary, but sometimes we are taught to have blind faith and not question some things that we dont understand. Easiest and earliest example: Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. Um incest maybe? That story has been a peta for my parents to explain to me for years! A can of worms I know... Again nice thought provoking post. I can agree with this one more than a previous post you had about gay marriage. ;o)
-ANON1
Hi Anon1,
I agree with you. It seems that sometimes the word faith is used as a blanket term to bypass many of the difficult issues. I would much rather a sincere "I don't know" than the doubt filled "Well, you just have to have faith." I often wonder if some believe saying the words I don't know would somehow invalidate their entire belief system (shrug).
Anywho, thanks for dropping by my way. And it's OK if we don't agree about the gay marriage issue. My main intent is not necessarily to persuade, just to be understood. But you better watch it, you keep hanging around here and you may eventually cross over to the dark side ;)
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