ARTICLE - HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE, PART ONE
(Peoria Journal Star) - By Gary Panetta

These days, it’s easy to have negative associations with the Bible.

That’s not surprising. The Bible has been used to justify much that has no justification at all.

Why was the United States attacked on Sept. 11? This was an example of divine wrath, certain Christians argued, basing their arguments on stories of wrath and judgment against sinful peoples in the Bible.

Why did Haiti suffer a terrible earthquake? Once again, the Bible was used implicitly as a justification. Haitians received what they deserved because of their alleged idoltry.

These kinds of arguments aren’t new. In the mid-1800s, many Christians argued that the Bible justified slavery and could cite a considerable number of verses in support of their position. Going further back, Christians have used the Bible to argue that anti-Semitism and witch-burning were God’s will as well.

All of this raises the question: Exactly how should one interpret the Bible?

Everyone interprets the Bible – or any sufficiently complicated text – from a given standpoint. What is the right standpoint to use when it comes to reading the Bible?

Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabircant Linn and Matthew Linn suggest an ingenious answer to this question in their book “Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God.” It’s one that I have found personally helpful.

Their answer goes like this: Imagine a time when someone really cared for you, really loved you – really treated you with a sense of care, respect and responsibility, really helped you to become a better, more whole person.

Now remember this: God loves you at least as much as this person did (and, in fact, infinitely more so).

Your personal experience of being loved (and loving others, for that matter) provides a practical test of the Bible’s meaning.

If an interpretation of the Bible leads to a picture of God that is less loving than the most loving person you know, you know that something is wrong with that interpretation.

What could be wrong? Perhaps you are taking something literally that should be taken symbolically. Or perhaps you are taking something out of context that’s best understood in context. It’s also possible that you are confusing the ancient world picture of the Bible (which is conditioned by time and place) with the Bible’s essential message (which transcends time and place).

This approach to the Bible depends on several assumptions.

One is that God really is a loving God and that this God not only speaks to us through the Bible but also through common human experiences – including the experience of receiving and giving love. That is, our ordinary human experiences really count for something and can be used as a basis for critical thinking. Another assumption is that we ourselves really understand what it means to give and receive love.

What if we don’t? We’re not alone. Many people have been wounded in their capacity to receive and give love because of violence and poor upbringing. Being part of a healing community is essential to teaching us about what love is. To this extent, being part of a healing community is an essential foundation for properly reading the Bible.