Episode 6 - Weird Uncles & Cool Stories
Most of us, if we’re honest, have a weird relationship with the bible as Tim Mackie from our first ever episode said, “we kinda of see the Bible like we see that weird uncle who comes over during holidays. We know we should love him, sometimes he gives us gifts, but he’s also a bit crazy and a little racist.
The Chief question underneath all of it, is can it be trusted? Does it have some kind of authority and if so, where does it come from? What does it mean? What do I do with it?
Most of us, don't have great answers to that questions.
Instead, What we know is reductionist answers, truncated narratives, and platitudes. For a lot of us the Bible is intended to be moral fables meant to inspire and lead us into “good” living. As a kid I heard this terrible acronym that sums up the idea, the Bible is: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. That view of our story shapes the way we see the world, ourselves, and most importantly God. In each case we get shallow caricatures. God is the charming old man in the sky who generally wants good thing for us but is prone to bouts of schizophrenic violence. The world is not the home of dreams, it is the transitory hostel, the finite residence before the infinite vacation. And we, well we are just passing through.
Today on the pod we will be talking about what The Bible is. And really, this is the question that has been under the surface in each our previous episodes. Hell & the goodness of God, Creation and Evolution are at the end of the day questions about the content/message/purpose of the Bible.
What you believe about the Bible is determines how you understand and see these and other issues. If the Bible is a book of laws telling us how to avoid the bad place, well then hell looks exactly the opposite of what we described the last two weeks. Or if, The bible is meant to be an authority on modern science than we are going to have a very specific conversation about the message and purpose of the creation narratives.
Resources:
- Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson
- The Drama of Scripture by Grag G. Bartholomew
- Skeletons in God’s Closet by Joshua Ryan Butler
- The Lost World of Adam and Eve by John Walton
- The Lost World of Genesis one by John Walton
- Echoes of Scripture in the gospels by Richard B. Hays
- Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H Wright