Let me just start this blogpost by saying that it is in NO WAY meant to attack anyone for their PERSONAL interpretation of the biblical text. I welcome any and all commentary and thoughts on this important book that has touched the lives of so many millions. I myself value the wisdom I find within it and I look forward to meeting my savior JESUS CHRIST someday who can clarify these questions I have since for now I can only " see through a glass darkly." 1 Corinthians 13:12
As anyone who knows me personally knows that I am a philosopher at heart. I am CONSTANTLY thinking about the big questions in life. Perhaps the BIGGEST question of all, is in the nature of GOD and, specifically for this blog, the GOD presented within the pages of the book we now call the Bible. Over the years I have come to hear differing views on many different passages and ways to interpret them. One viewpoint that I find intriguing is the viewpoint of biblical literalism. This viewpoint is one that purports that every single event in the bible is literally true and happened exactly as it is described as having happened. This philosophy appears mainly within fundamentalist circles. While I do not have a firm viewpoint on this, I do acknowledge that this viewpoint creates some specific intellectual issues for me. I will be posting about some of these in this blog.
Let's start with the old testament story of the conquest of Canaan, specifically the Israelites interaction with the Amalekites. To give a little backstory, the story goes that the Israelites, after escaping slavery in Egypt, were entering the promised land of Canaan to inhabit. During this they encountered the indigenous peoples who lived there. One of these people groups were the Amalekites. This people group were recorded as having been especially brutal and were enemies of the people of GOD. To make a long story short, eventually the Israelites "defeated" them and they were no more a threat, to put it mildly. The issue I have with taking this story COMPLETELY literal is the verse of Exodus 17:4. The verse is below.
EXODUS 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven."
A first glance, this might not seem problematic. But think about it, just for a minute. According to this verse, GOD is promising that after he delivers the victory to the Isrealites over the Amalekites, that the very memory of the amalekites ever existing would be completely erased from any human record, The problem? This verse completely contradicts itself. If GOD erased the record of the Amalekites ever existing, than they would have never been recorded in the bible for us to know that they ever existed. The very fact that the story of the Amalekites is recorded in the bible for us to know that they existed is proof enough, to me at least, that this verse can't be accurate.
My next issue with the doctrine of biblical literalism is a verse found in Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.
I hope we can all agree that this is good wisdom for how we should parent our children. My issue with taking this verse completely literal is the fact that this verse doesn't always come true. There are numerous examples in history of children being brought up in very godly christian homes and STILL becoming horrible people who commit horrible acts. Some even become atheists. Sometimes, children DO depart from the training they received as children.
Let's move on now to the new testament. Arguably the most famous figure in the New Testament, if not the entire Bible, is Jesus of Nazareth. If one were to ask the common lay person to name a characteristic of his, the idea that he spoke the very words of GOD would probably be one that comes to mind. Generally, I adhere to this belief as well. But for me personally, there is a Caveat to that belief. I think it is highly likely that there were times when JESUS did not in fact preach the very words of GOD but more than likely relied on his own personal wisdom. The reason for my belief can be found in Matthew 24:35
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
I, for one, am glad that is so. The problem for me when it comes to biblical literalism is that in numerous instances in the new testament, JESUS is recorded as going from town to town preaching. The problem? His sermons aren't always recorded. If every word JESUS spoke was direct revelation from GOD, then why aren't "GOD's words" recorded as Matthew 24:35 says they should be?
The last biblical story that I will give for this post is the story of JESUS's 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. The story goes that JESUS goes into the desert for 40 days to be "tempted" by Satan in various ways. At the end of his trial, JESUS is taken up onto a mountaintop by Satan. From this vantage point, he is able to see all of the kingdoms of the world. Satan then tells him that he will be given all of these kingdoms if he will just bow down and worship him. JESUS refuses and gives the timeless wisdom that we gain nothing if we gain the world, but lose our souls. I personally LOVE this story. It really hits home just how dangerous it is for us to seek power in this world at the sake of our own souls. What is my problem with taking this story literally? I don't see how it could be literally possible geographically speaking. We know that the tallest mountain above sea level is Mount Everest. People have climbed to the top. NO ONE has been able to see " all of the kingdoms of heaven" from the top of it. The only way such a view would even be possible is if the Earth was flat so that one could see out over the expanse. But since the Earth is round, the curvature of the Earth would prevent us from ever being able to see all of the land.
These are just some of the biblical verses that lead me to question the possibility of a literal interpretation of the bible to be possible. As always I will continue to seek the wisdom of GOD concerning this topic and the BIBLE in general. Ultimately, whether the bible is meant to be read literally, figuratively, or some other way, I think JESUS summed up the whole of the bible with these two verses that I will leave you with.
Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
JESUS replied " Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. " Love your neighbor as yourself." All the law and the prophets hang on these two verses."
