my thoughts and feelings on the bible

today i start my biblical perspectives class. for my first day i have to turn in a paper entitled "my thoughts and feelings on the bible." so here they are:

The Bible is a compilation of stories, histories, poems, letters and songs, inspired by God, creating an authoritative narrative. This narrative is God’s story, and answers the deepest metaphysical questions about God, humanity, creation and the future. It is a plan and a map guiding humans to the true way of being human, and to the place the human story will eventually arrive. Its narrative is God’s tool for empowering and directing his people to achieve his purposes of cosmic redemption. It describes what God has done, is doing and will ultimately do.

The Bible cannot simply be opened and read as if doing so will magically give the reader some sort of wisdom to benefit her life. Verses in the Bible, also, cannot simply be plucked out from their context, and be used to back up an argument. And while the Bible certainly can provide comfort and wisdom, it is not a book to enhance one’s lifestyle. The Bible is not our servant, and does not contain the secrets to health, wealth and success. It offers a glimpse at God’s intentions, but is not a crystal ball for which we can use to predict the future.

Saying that the Bible simply cannot be opened and read implies that the Bible must be interpreted. Many Christians assume that one can just crack open a Bible and extract the “plain meaning.” Those who make this claim fail to realize they are reading a Bible that has already been interpreted when it was translated into an English-language version; and that the “plain meaning” they extract is nothing more than their interpretation. And their interpretation is heavily influenced by their theology, upbringing, culture, and hundreds of years of church history. Furthermore, the fact that people have their own copy of the Bible, in their own language, is an idea unheard of when the Bible was written and for hundreds of years afterwards. Scripture was originally studied in communities, which were lead by trained teachers. This isn’t to say the modern reader is incapable of arriving at an accurate interpretation of scripture. But the reader must first be cognizant that he is making an interpretation, and his interpretation must employ good hermeneutics.

Good hermeneutics not only involves reading a verse in the context of its chapter, book and the rest of scripture itself; but also taking into account the historical and cultural contexts of the verse. A concordance should be used for interpreting difficult words. Understanding the literary genre a book is written in also enhances the interpretation, as apocalyptic or poetic styles of literature cannot be interpreted with rigid literalism. Lastly, it is always important to remain humble when interpreting scripture; biblical scholarship is always advancing and new scholarship can dramatically shed light onto previous interpretations.

The Bible is God’s word, but was recorded by human beings who were living in an ancient culture. These people lived in a real time and place, and had their own understanding of cosmology and the natural world. They also had their own agendas for writing down the words of scripture. The biblical authors did not live in a vacuum. Readers of the Bible, today, live in an era that is post-enlightenment. Many of us take our understanding of the universe, the planet and science for granted. Thus it is imperative for the modern reader to become familiar with the ancient world where the biblical authors lived. I think the importance of finding good pastors and Bible scholars to help one grasp the meaning of scripture is incredibly important. And lastly, while there is nothing wrong with doing personal devotions, it is important to remember that the Bible was originally studied in community, and I believe that setting remains the best environment for biblical study today.