I Just Love Jesus

This morning I sat in my Reading the Bible class and listened as the professors almost completely deconstructed my view of the Bible. I grew up with the holy stories of Abraham and Jacob, Moses and Joshua, and the people of Israel forming the foundations of my faith, and the faith of those who taught me. The Bible was Holy, it was truth and was absolutely, unquestionably, true. Anyone who claimed otherwise was just not Christian. Or, at least that's what I thought. Until today...

Today I learn, from the lectures and several other scholars in preparation reading, that the stories of the Israelite Jews and the first Century Christians may not be, and in many cases probably are not, entirely true. It is clear from studying the Scriptures that Moses did not write Genesis through Deuteronomy. There is no historical evidence of an exile from Egypt, or even a Jewish presence in early Egypt. The earliest available evidence of Israel in the land of Palestine is in the early Iron Age (1200 BCE). Even then their settlements were scattered and very much like the other Canaanite settlements. There are no signs of complete destruction of the city of Jericho. Many of the practices of Judaism, like circumcision, were also practiced by other religions of the Canaanite cultures. Even further, Jesus was not as much of an "oddball" in his time as what we may think. It was actually fairly common for people to claim they were the Messiah or the Son of God, do miracles, teach a radical new tradition of faith, build a following of disciples, and even ascend into heaven. Some of them weren't even Jewish.

The majority of the Old Testament books were written during and after the Babylonian exile in 539 BCE. They are a compilation of stories and sayings passed down through the generations, primarily orally, and the writers often changed and edited the accounts to fit their ideologies. The New Testament was formed in much the same way. None of the Gospels were actually written by disciples of Jesus. Though by the time the New Testament was written most of the Old Testament had already been formed and the Gospel writers used each other's accounts in their writing, the primary source for passing along these stories and traditions was through story-telling, orally. The writers of the books of the Bible were human, able to write with a biased perspective and able to make mistakes. This means that the stories that are now held to be True could have easily been myths and legends passed down through the generations, or exaggerated by the writers to support their theology, or details (like the name of the city being destroyed) could have been mixed up.

The Bible is not an historical account of a nation. In fact, this was never the primary concern for the writers of the Bible. It is, rather, a theological story (history) of a nation being created and molded by their God, their identity. Myths and legends were just as important then as historical data is to us today.

And this is what they're teaching me in seminary.... ;) If you are like me, by now you are completely questioning everything you've believed about the Bible. How do we know what is true? How do we acknowledge that the Bible is not fully true but still hold Scripture as authoritative? On what do we base our faith?

Does it matter? Does it really matter that some, or many, of the details in the Bible are not correct or true? Is our faith really founded on the historical account and accuracy of the Bible, or the story of Scripture? Regardless of inaccuracy, the story of Scripture is a passionate story of a God who loves that which He created and is forever working to redeem His children into the kingdom of heaven. It is this God, this story, this Way that the scribes were working to portray. What God is so full of love and grace? What story has so vibrantly lived throughout the generations? What Way has so powerfully shaped our lives and our world? This is Truth.

There are still many questions to be answered. The issue of Biblical accuracy is heavily debated among scholars. Sometimes I feel so naive among so many who know so much. And yet, as I walk along the lakeshore listening to Jesus teaching, the whole world has just opened up, and each day is a new journey to see what God reveals. I've been doing some work the past several days on entering into the story in Luke of Jesus calling the first disciples. I am always surprised that Simon, James, and John immediately left everything that they had to follow Jesus. What did they see in Jesus that drew them to him? What prompted them to such action? Perhaps my experience has been much the same as theirs: surprising yet delightfully true, so true that it sinks into your very soul and requires you to act.

One of my professors shared the story of a discussion between he and his wife on this very same issue, in which his wife responded "You do what you want, I just love Jesus." May we all just love Jesus. :)