UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE - PART 1

Being born into a Catholic family and reared in the faith, I was exposed to the Catholic Bible from a very early age.  While I do not recall my parents reading the Bible to me, they both would reference it when they wanted to impart a valuable lesson or story. 

The earliest recollection I have of the Bible is from my doctors and dentists’ offices.  While waiting to be seen by the doctor for what seemed to be an interminable amount of time – something that still hasn’t changed in 60+ years – I would eagerly grab the richly illustrated children’s Bibles that seemed to always be amongst their collection of magazines and reading material to browse.  I vividly recall being amazed at the beautiful artistic renderings of Noah in his Ark battling oceans of rain and perilous waves.  I was soothed by the images of baby Jesus in the manger surrounded by his adoring parents and apparently equally adoring farm animals.  I was terrified by the incredibly unsettling scene of Lot’s unnamed wife glancing over her shoulder at the destruction of her hometown of Sodom.  Her defiance of God’s instructions of “don’t look back” cost her and her family dearly, as she was instantly transformed into a pillar of salt.  Even as a child, that seemed to be an excessively harsh punishment, leaving her not only creatively destroyed, but also leaving her young children without a mother.  It that a good thing?  Nearly 4000 years later, perhaps that is why the rock group Boston warned its listeners to heed God’s advice with their hit song “Don’t Look Back”.  Likely not. 

These and other Bible stories fascinated me.  I took them as “gospel truth”, so to speak, and was enthralled by them, especially the pictures.  As I moved further into my Catholic schooling, where religion (or should I say “Catholic religion instruction”) was usually a daily class, I learned a bit more about the Bible.  However, this exposure to the Bible was extremely limited.  We were taught select Bible verses and stories that dealt with morals, ethics and Jesus’ teachings.  Some of them.  To my recollection, we were never taught the controversial or brutal stories or passages.  We learned all about Psalms 23: 4 -- “Yo though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …” – but I never recall being told of the brutal Psalms 137: 9, “Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks”.   We were repeatedly taught the passages and stories about the loving, kind Jesus – and there are many – but never did hear about the verses in Mark and Matthew wherein Jesus compares a Canaanite woman (and by implication her entire race) to a dog.   No, we were given the clean, polite, sanitized version of the Bible.  Perhaps this was in deference to our tender young sensibilities, but this trend continued through high school.  Perhaps, too, our teachers and the administration (Catholic priests and nuns) feared, as the famous line from the movie “A Few Good Men” says, “You can’t handle the truth!” 

It was only when I began reading the Bible on my own outside of the passages and verses required by my religion teachers that I discovered that the Bible is filled with unsavory and even detestable stories of a violent and retributive God who often seemed to be filled with hate and loathing.  Only then did I begin to notice that everything didn’t always line up neatly and clearly, and that there were numerous inconsistencies and even historical errors contained in the tome.  I also discovered passages that threw support to such distasteful practices such as slavery, the subjugation of women, the repression and condemnation of homosexuals, and even genocide.  I was horrified.  Does the Bible, which I had been consistently taught was infallible and the divinely inspired “Word of God”, really support such demeaning and appalling practices?  Does God really condone and even encourage these types of horrifying behavior and practices?  

As I grew in my spiritual walk, my questions about the Bible and its contents continued to multiply and increase my concern.  Inevitably, I began to question exactly what was/is the Bible?  Who wrote it?  How was it compiled?  Was it all the inerrant word of God, or are there passages and themes that are created by man, each of whom had their own biases and agendas? Are the stories in the Bible to be understood literally, or are some metaphorical?  Is some of the Bible no longer valid?  Can we pick-and-choose which passages we want to take as truth and follow and reject those that we want to ignore and even condemn?  How has the Bible changed over 4+ millennia? I sought and still seek to better understand the Bible and come to terms with these issues … and many more. 

In my efforts to better understand the Bible and the issues I listed above, I began reading and studying dozens of books on the subject.  I have also watched numerous videos and completed several courses on the subject.  The authors of these books, videos and courses have a variety of backgrounds, including college professors, pastors both current and former, Biblical scholars and more.  Most had a religiously orthodox upbringing, while others were either outside or on the fringes of organized religion.  While I most certainly don’t agree with all the authors’ conclusions or postulates, all of them were informative, interesting and in some cases enlightening.  All offered valuable insights on understanding this ancient book that has affected our world like no other. 

Over the next several installments, I will be discussing this book, the Christian Bible.  I will be examining all of the issues I listed above, along with many others.  My examination is going to explain how I reached my current understandings of the Bible and is in no way an attempt to alter or change the views of those reading this blog.  I make no claims that my understandings are correct or final.  Like my spiritual journey, I fully expect to continue to learn and alter my understandings as I obtain more information, knowledge and experiences.  

I do want to issue a warning, however.  Much of what I will relate and discuss does not align with traditional Christian thought, beliefs or teachings.  This is not because I seek the role of a rebel or heretic. Rather, my current views and understandings have developed over time as I have persistently studied, read, watched and discussed these topics in great depth.  According to my wife, it has become an obsession!  I do truly believe that questioning one’s beliefs and investigating the truth of those beliefs can lead to growth, a better understanding of one’s faith, and hopefully a closer walk with God (aka, the Divine).  However, I want to stress that it is not my desire or intention to upset one’s faith or cause one to turn from God.  Far from it.  What I seek is a better understanding of how and why I have reached this point on my journey and, by doing so, hopefully in a small way, help others along the road of their own spiritual journey.  As the great Greek philosopher Socrates once said, “Questions are the beginning of wisdom.”

 Thank you for continuing to walk along this journey with me.