What Does It All Mean?
This week, we begin a series on the characters of the Bible. So it makes sense that we should start with the characters of Adam and Eve in Genesis. These two characters, however, throw us into the ongoing debate of creationism vs. evolution. So here is something to consider before joining our discussion this Sunday morning.
The debate of Genesis is not really about who is right and who is wrong. Rather, it is the debate that Matt brought up last week on how the Bible should be read.
St. Augustine once said this: “In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it.” (Stay with me here…this will get more real)
What Augustine was saying was that too often we limit God by insisting that we fully understand what he meant to convey in the scriptures. It is like a three year old saying that he totally understands the presentation of “populism” as depicted in “The Wizard of Oz.” Really? He does? I am not sure that I do!
However, in reading the scriptures, it is always good to start with a literal reading of the text and then move on from there. Absent any evidence to the contrary, a literal reading is probably the safest bet. When Luke describes Jesus’ crucifixion, he probably meant it to be a real story of a real event in a real time and place. And when Ezra writes in Chronicles about Solomon building the temple of God, he probably meant a real temple and a real king of Israel (as archeology has shown to be true).
But there is an even greater question that must be asked. Rather than worry about what exactly it points back to in history, perhaps we should ask what God is pointing ahead to in the future. In other words, what is God trying to teach us…and it has to be more than just knowing the right answer. It has to be about how we are to live.
So today, let me encourage you to read the Bible regularly…start there, just read it. If you are wondering where to start, start in the gospel books - Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. I find that reading about Jesus is central to the whole book anyway. Then ask yourself, what is God trying to teach me here? How is God trying to transform my life with these writings? How does my life fit into this story of God today?
Perhaps, if you really want to get serious, you can even spend some time asking God those questions yourself. I am confident he will answer if you give him the time and quietness to do so.
- Written by Ed Palpant
May 14th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Luis - this series was done in 2007 and the blogs are no longer posted. I am surprised that this one is. But I would love to talk to you through email about it. You can email me at edp@evergreench.org anytime and we can have a conversation about the questions this article may have raised for you. Let me know if that would work for you.
Ed