Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Why a new blog?

Why start a new blog? I really don't like to write - I do enjoy deep discussion however and that's what this blog is about. I'm not interested in being preached to or condemned but I am looking for a place to dialogue about the deeper things of life and spirituality. I want to have a place to talk about the things I'm learning and thinking. I want a forum where others can join me in a good discussion.

I believe that we are in the midst of a huge shift from the modern world to the post modern world. I believe that deep change is reguired for those of us who grew up and were trained in the modern era. I'm on the journey toward transformation. I would enjoy the company of some fellow travelers. So thanks in advance to those of you that will join me.

The Bible

A couple of years ago I did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle for a feature they publish on line called Finding My Religion. The writer of the story thought it was intriguing that I played poker and so he did a story about some of my transformation called the “Poker Playing Pastor”. I had no idea that the article would stir so many people up. I acknowledge that I was naive. I forgot that the internet is global and not just regional. The words I chose were intended for the audience I thought I was speaking to. Unfortunately many of my more conservative Christian friends (and many who I don’t even know) rushed to judgment on my comments.
One of the issues I was asked about in the interview was what I believe about the inerrancy of scripture. I believe what the Bible says about itself – that “all scripture is inspired by God.” I believe that the Bible is trustworthy and is a sacred text that can help people know about God, and to come into relationship with God. However, I also believe that the issue of inerrancy is an argument that was birthed in modernity. In the modern era people longed for certainty. An inerrant scripture gave people a sense of certainty and absolute truth. Many modern thinkers have the Bible and thus God, all figured out. I don’t think that the vast majority of people with a post-modern worldview care. Our arguments about inerrancy seem senseless and sometimes hypocritical to post moderns. I also don’t believe that a person’s opinion o f inerrancy is necessarily an indicator of their spiritual fervor or their obedience to God. It seems to me that we have made inerrancy an unnecessary stumbling block.
In the San Francisco Chronicle article I said that I view the Bible more as story or narrative than as an encyclopedia of answers. A couple of authors have said similar things:

People want to see and hear stories and experience their own stories in the context of larger, maybe more dramatic, more explicit, or more intense ones… I am sure we all want to hear stories, from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Stories connect our little lives with the world around us and help us discover who we are. The Bible is a storybook, and the Gospels are four stories about the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who himself was one of the greatest storytellers.
From Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey

It has been my experience that most people don’t see the Scriptures as a collection of stories about God and his people in creation. The Bible is supposed to be something else entirely. If the Bible is God’s Word, then certainly it has to be more than a book of stories. Doesn’t it? It is almost as if we believe stories are for children. And ironically, we often dismiss children from our worship services to let them be told stories in their Sunday school classrooms. Meanwhile, we adults deal with the more “meaty” aspects of faith. We go to the Scriptures systematically, seeking to extract principles from them. If the stories are acknowledged at all, it is as if we are embarrassed by them, by their particularity, their earthiness. So we mine them for universal truths that instead can be applied to anyone or everyone. We explain them. We domesticate them. We apologize for them. We neuter them. We ignore them. What a tragedy.
The Bible as encyclopedia of topical religious information? Check. The bible as blueprint for how to make life work? Check. The Bible as a book of answers, especially for refuting those with whom we disagree? Check. The Bible as supporting material for systematic theology? Check. The Bible as the story about the confusing presence of a persona deity engaging bizarrely unpredictable people in astounding and mundane ways over a long period of time? Can I get back to you on that?
From Tim Keel Intuitive Leadership

And while I’m at it, let’s make a group decision to drop once and for all the Bible-as-owner’s manual metaphor. It’s terrible. It really is.
It is a book of ancient narratives.
The Bible is a collection of stories that teach us about what it looks like when God is at work through actual people. The Bible has the authority it does only because it contains stories about people interacting with the God who has all authority.
The Bible tells a story. A story that isn’t over. A story that is still being told. A story that we have a part to play in.
Binding and loosing can only be done if communities are willing to wrestle. The ultimate display of our respect for the sacred words of God is that we are willing to wade in and struggle with the text – the good parts, the hard-to-understand parts, the parts we wish weren’t there.

From Rob Bell Velvet Elvis.

I like to describe the Bible as God’s photo album. God gives us these snapshots of people and their relationship with him. We get to see how people have interacted with God since the beginning of time. We get a glimpse of God’s purpose and ongoing story. We get to see our stories as part of his bigger story. This is from Ken Shuman in his mind.

Well that’s some of what I’m thinking. What are you thinking?