Tag Archives: interpretation

The Bible and change

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We’ve been talking about what we would change about the Bible. I find it to be an interesting idea to think about. However, we know that things don’t work that way. We are in no place to make changes to God’s Word.

The very points at which we wish to make changes to God’s Word are the points in which we need to change.

We need to place ourselves under the Word. Rather than seeking to master the Bible, our task is to learn to be mastered by the Bible. We have to humble ourselves and seek to grow in understanding rather than trying to mold the Bible to our views.

It’s a lesson I need to be reminded of time and again.

Changing the Bible

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I was really impressed with the comments yesterday. I’m almost embarrassed to throw my thoughts into the mix, especially because they’re not nearly as spiritual as some of those made yesterday. Still, I started this, so I can’t really drop out now. So here goes:

  1. I’d smooth over some of the rough edges. You know, the killings, the slavery, things like that.
  2. I’d make sure that the narratives had clearly delineated morals. No ambiguity about who acted justly or whether or not what someone did was a sin. I’d spell it out.
  3. Along that line, I’d have a section of laws to satisfy those who think the Bible should be a rule book.
  4. I would also have a section of “catechism,” spelling out the correct position on major doctrinal issues (and minor ones that everyone treats as major issues)

There’s my remake of the Bible. Any other suggestions?

[Now before anyone gets upset, no, I’m not criticizing the Bible. Again, this is what I consider to be a thought exercise. Apologies if anyone is offended.]

How would you change the Bible?

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I doubt that there is anyone who is completely comfortable with everything the Bible says. Honestly, I have to say that if you are, you probably haven’t studied it enough.

For some it’s the ethnic cleansing passages in the Old Testament? You know, the ones where God commands the killing of every living being, in some cases even the animals.

For others, it’s a certain passage that supports a doctrine they aren’t comfortable with. I actually had some people get upset with me from reading one of the Psalms that talks about worshiping with instruments since our fellowship does not use instruments in worship.

For others, it may even be a command they don’t wish to follow or an outlook on life they wish wasn’t there. Visit the Conservative Bible Project for one group’s creative response to this problem. Don’t like what the Bible says? Change it!

Some would like more straightforward statements on controversial issues. Don’t make us wonder about whether or not Adam and Eve had navels… tell us straight out! End the discussions over predestination and trinitarianism and pacifism and…

What if that were possible? What if you were given the authority to make changes to the Bible? (No, you don’t need to quote the end of Revelation to me. This is merely a thought exercise.] In what ways would you change the Bible? If you were given the chance to design the perfect holy book, what would it look like?

Always learning and…

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While I was in Argentina, someone asked me what my college major had been. When I told them it had been Bible, they said, “How can you major in just one book?” I explained that it wasn’t really about one book, that we had studied many things concerning the Bible and what the Bible teaches.

I’ve come to realize that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to major in just the Bible. After more than 30 years studying the Bible, it’s amazing to me how many things I haven’t understood before. Not just the small, obscure things. The big “duh” elements that seem so critical to understanding once I see them. Take, for example, what I wrote a while back about the promise made to Abraham. That’s a pretty central concept that I just hadn’t understood.

Or the fact that “organized worship” really didn’t exist before the establishment of the Passover. And that for a long period of time after that there were no weekly assemblies. Or the significance of Revelation 5. I could go on and on from there.

I anticipate spending a lifetime learning more about the Word of God. The more I study, the more I realize that I don’t know. I guess that’s part of learning to humble myself before God’s revelation, part of letting myself be mastered by God’s Word rather than seeking to master it.

Do you think that’s part of what “through a glass, darkly” means?

Not everything in the Bible is true

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That’s right. You heard me. Not everything in the Bible is true.
I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that it faithfully reports the events it reports. It also faithfully reports the words of uninspired men. Because of that, just because it’s in the Bible, doesn’t mean it’s true.
Ex.—The devil tells Eve that she won’t die if she eats the forbidden fruit. That statement isn’t true.
We understand that about Genesis 3, but we can forget that when it comes to other books. For example, the vast majority of the statements in the book of Job are the statements of uninspired men, especially Job and his friends. God later says that the friends had spoken falsely, and Job repents of the things he has said. Yet I hear people say, “God says in Job 12…” No, he doesn’t. God reports for us what men said.
I see the book of Ecclesiastes in this way. Much of the book is the record of a man’s faith journey. All of what is said in the book has to be evaluated based on what is said in the last chapter. Many of the Psalms do the same thing. They are a faithful record of men’s emotions and men’s reactions to what God is doing.
An example from the New Testament is the statement of the man healed of blindness when he says, “We know that God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners.” God doesn’t say that. John doesn’t even say it. He quotes what this uninspired man said.
Gamaliel, in Acts 5, says that if a movement is not of God, it will soon disappear on its own. Fact is, that’s not true. Look at the false religions of this world that have been around for years. But we shouldn’t be troubled by the fact that it’s not true. God didn’t say it. Luke didn’t say it. Luke reported what Gamaliel said.
Be careful when you say, “The Bible says…” or “God says…” There are parts of the book that aren’t true. They are faithful representations of uninspired, false statements. Keep your eyes open!