Stephen
Terry, Director
The
Reading of the Word
Commentary
for the November 9, 2019 Sabbath School Lesson
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think
that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify
about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39-40,
NIV
Along with many others, I have long enjoyed the
television show "Jeopardy," hosted by Alex Trebek. As the contestants
struggle to form questions to go with the answers provided in several
categories in order to earn cash, those of us in the audience struggle along
with them, shouting our answers in our living rooms in an effort to beat the
actual competitors in the studio. One category that is often avoided and frequently
stumps the contestants is anything related to the Bible. For the actual Bible
student, the answers provided appear relatively simple, but some of the
brightest minds appearing on the show are, more often than not, stumped by
these simple challenges. This amazes me.
Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating that everyone
join a church.. I do not believe that the Bible, in
order to secure conversions, should be taught in secular school systems. It is certainly
not the place of our teachers to thump their students over the head with biblical
proof texts to inculcate them with doctrine. But neither should we be
illiterate when it comes to the foundational text of Western Civilization. For thousands
of years, art, literature and music have been shaped by the influences of that
foundation. Interactions between governments and between individuals have been
influenced by it. It has been used as justification for oppressing others, but
it has also been used to justify setting free those who have been oppressed. The
worst of us and the best of us have both found in its pages texts to support opposing
agendas. But the reason they do so is not because the Bible was compiled to
support those agendas. They do it because the principles found there are so
foundational to who and what we are, they can be used to stir us to our core,
even controlling us for purposes never intended by that tome.
When we consider those possibilities, remaining
illiterate to its contents not only causes the cords that bind us to our own history
to fray and unravel, it can leave us defenseless before those who would use it
to manipulate us to nefarious ends. It is very difficult to protest or resist
something we know little about. It has become fashionable on the basis of professed
atheism or agnosticism to ignore the Bible and allow it to collect dust on some
darkened shelf where it is out of sight and out of mind. But avoiding the Bible
in this way is little different from refusing to read John Steinbeck's
"Grapes of Wrath" because we feel the experience of the Great
Depression and the "Okie" migration are not relevant to the modern
experience. But just as Steinbeck's several novels still can speak to and
enlighten our experience, we can gain from reading the Bible, too.
There can be a perceived problem with reading, however.
It is hard for the human mind to lend itself to the task without naturally identifying
with the characters in the story. Whether we see ourselves in the plight of Steinbeck's
Tom Joad, struggling against oppression or in the prophet Elijah's bold stand
on Mt. Carmel, we come away changed in our understanding of the world around
us. Perhaps that is one thing that scares us about the Bible. One of the
characters found there is Jesus of Nazareth, and he challenges us about our
conceptions of the world more profoundly than any historical figure ever has.
While other powerful personalities have sought to tear down their world and
rebuild it in their image, he taught that this world is not real and that we
are of a better place that we cannot recreate here. Many have tried, but their
efforts always seemed to degenerate into the very oppression that they may have
sought to eliminate. Over time the newly minted governments created by these revolutionaries
intrude more and more into the lives of those who supported the new regime until
those poor souls can tell little difference between the new and the old. Only the
faces and names may have changed.
Perhaps it is because the Bible,
and Jesus particularly, point out the vanity of such striving that the more
oppressive a regime becomes, the less likely it is to allow the study or
sharing of the contents of such a work that undermines the basis for
totalitarianism. The official atheism of Communism is well known. Whether in
Russia or China, religion that does not advance the state agenda is harshly
opposed. But lest the West become smug in its treatment of religion, we can be
guilty of using the same oppressive means through governmental intervention to advance
peculiar denominational or sectarian perspectives over others. We must not
forget how easy it may be, with governmental acquiescence, to slip into the
horrors of an inquisition or a crusade in an effort to advance what we may have
decided is perfection of praxis. Nonetheless, generations of reformers have
shown that biblical knowledge is a far better defense against such oppression
than turning one's back on what the Bible has to say. Even the Roman Catholic
Church, at the time it was burning martyrs at the stake, kept the few Bibles
that were available chained and away from those might want access for fear of
its revolutionary content. This is why rising up against such an abuse of power
went hand-in-hand with translating and printing Bibles to make them widely
available. Those protesting reformers knew that the Bible was the most
effective tool they had in their struggle. This is why even today authoritarian
regimes still either outright ban the Bible as in North Korea or tightly
control it's printing and use as in China and Russia. That being the case, does
it therefore make sense to remain illiterate as to
what powerful ideas can be found there?
Many among us remember stories from childhood such as
Samson and Delilah, Noah and his ark, and Daniel and the lion's den, but we
often see them as isolated fairy tales with endings of good triumphing over
evil as is common in most fairy tales whether by Hans Christian Andersen, Aesop
or others. But unlike those often delightful tales, there is something unique
about the Bible. Written over many centuries, it contains a unifying narrative
that takes us from a primordial Eden to a future Eden restored. Along the way,
we are introduced to characters who either feed into that narrative by
faithfully adhering to the path forward or who do more to hinder that progress
than help. But in spite of wars, betrayals, and national faithlessness, the
narrative keeps advancing. That is a source of inspiration, especially to those
who find themselves at the wrong end when those things happen in normal
experience. While so many novels, plays and movies now tend to end on a downward
note of apocalyptic despair that promises more of the same in sequels, the
Bible provides something that can be in short supply today - hope.
Some might point to a bright Star Trekkian
future where citizens of a United Federation of Planets have banished greed and
unequal access to medical care, food, housing and clothing based on advances in
science that somehow banish greed and selfishness in spite of historical evidence
that technology is incapable of changing human nature. But an ever growing suicide
rate calls the possibility of mankind creating such a utopia on
their own into question. Instead of mankind using its wealth to provide
such a paradise for all, a very small minority has always attempted to gather
that wealth to themselves and hoard it to the detriment of the rest. They
provide a perverted form of hope by promising everyone that they can one day
achieve the same through hard work, as long as they don't allow other poor
people to take what they have. This is paradise for the few at the expense of
the rest. We have done well at implementing that kind of future. In fact, it
has been the only kind of society we have ever been able to build and maintain
for any length of time. Perhaps this is another reason people turn from the Bible.
They have seen how mankind has interacted throughout history and know,
therefore, that biblical principles are unlikely to become the societal default.
But the Bible predicts that the current paradigm will be violently overthrown
by divine intervention. We are then left with the dilemma of what to choose. Do
we continue to live as though this current and hopeless paradigm is the only
possibility? Even if we continue to believe in mankind's ability to somehow
overcome that, are we comfortable knowing that such a possibility is so
distant, so remote we will never see or experience anything but the current
reality? Or do we choose to explore the possibility of a future paradise that
we can personally experience even if our bodies have ceased to function and
have long become dust in the interim?
We can toil for much of our productive lives in some
cubicle in some nondescript building, watching the years roll by and our bodies
turn from the vigor of youth to the exhaustion of old age, only to eventually
occupy our final piece of three by six real estate, or we can set forth like an
intrepid adventurer, exploring new horizons of adventure and seeking more meaningful
and hopeful paradigms about who we are, why we are here and what brighter
alternatives the future may hold. An excellent place to begin that adventure is
building up the ruins of the past and like a modern Indiana Jones, plumbing the
ancient texts for lost knowledge, the knowledge of the Bible. There will be
puzzles to solve and pitfalls to overcome. There will be adversaries trying to
derail our progress. In short, there will be everything we need to make us more
than we have ever been. Who is up for the journey?
If
you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy this book written by the author, currently on sale..
To
learn more click on this link.
Creation: Myth or Majesty
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Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.
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