Ten reasons why everyone should know everything they can about the Bible.

Ten reasons why everyone should know everything they can about the Bible.
By Vern Schanilec 12/30/2017

A Bible search can have something to do with faith if you want it to, and which I address, but the initial thrust is about getting acquainted with an ancient manuscript that every year is still the largest book seller. How did it come together; why is it in the order it is; and, most importantly, was it inspired by God. We shall see.

1. You will learn the theocratic history of Judaism from Abraham to Jesus, who was after all, a practicing Jew.

2. You will learn if the Bible’s offerings are historically accurate.

3. You will observe data which will inform you if God inspired writers, or they were on their own; literal vs non-literal; innerancy vs errancy.

4. You will learn how the Hebrew Testament (HT, known as the Old Testament OT) sets up the Christian Testament (CT, known as the New Testament NT); and HT prophecies that allegedly point to the coming of Jesus.

5. You will observe how the HT God is about fear and punishment, the CT about love.

6. You will meet Jesus the man, the teacher, healer and friend.

7. You will observe if there is a difference between Jesus the human, and Jesus the supernatural messiah, and is he available to you today.

8. You will read of the many passages that can be treated as pieces of a faith-puzzle for you to assemble to establish your faith principles apart from doctrine and indoctrination.

9. You will observe golden nugget passages living along side, but far outnumbering, the many clinkers.

10. You will be in a position to decide if you believe the stories of Genesis, for example, are true or lore.

My criteria for the Bible is the same as it is about life: can its statement stand up to the light of day, will they stand the test of scrutiny; does it make sense; and will its wisdom help formulate one’s pieces of a faith-puzzle.

You will come to the crossroad of determining if the Bible is the do-all say-all as many proclaim, or if it is to be referenced as a springboard from the faith expression of the ancients into your faith expression of the present.

Regarding historical accuracy, King Herod was killing 2 year olds in Jesus’ infancy but history tells he died in 4 BC. The holy family reported for a census at the direction of Quirinius who ruled beginning 6 AD. That presents at least a ten year swing as to establishing Jesus’ birth year. As an aside, do you wonder how time would be tracked if Jesus hadn’t been born?

Regarding historicity, the Bible pencils out its begats to a 6000 year old earth. Since the light from many stars in the galaxy are billions of years away whose light hasn’t yet arrived, how can that be reconciled.

Regarding errancy and innerancy, many Christians express the need for the Bible to be completely accurate and divinely inspired as if to say “If the Bible isn’t perfect how can Jesus be my savior?” A thorough study of the Bible will bring one to face with the possibility the Bible isn’t perfect. Out of this milieu you will be presented with the notion: is it about laws and doctrine, or is it about relationships. Is it about putting God on a pedestal desiring to be worshipped, or is it about God coming down from that pedestal and desiring our undivided attention toward establishing a one on one relationship with God through messengers Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Did Jesus think he was divine? Several verses quote Jesus supporting that thought as well as denying it.

Regarding the Holy Spirit, who gets little attention other than to say it is part of an alleged trinity, a better translation than the word spirit is: air, wind, breath, all derived from the Greek word pneumo as in lungs. I choose Breath because Genesis 2:7 proclaims that God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils.

First addressed as the Spirit of God in the HT, whatever you wish to call it, it gets short-shrift in the Bible and doctrine. If Jesus is “on the right of God”, is the Spirit on the left hand? There is an occasion where the three are mentioned in the same passage, but typically the CT is all about Jesus and God. See also 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 below.

Do humans’ placing the deity in a triangle limit deity’s abilities to 90^o, as if for doctrinalists to say “We’ve got this figured out”? That kind of doctrine is comparable to attempting to count all the stars in the sky, thereby coming to know all there is to know whilst contemplating the absurdity of the exercise.

Regarding Jesus as redeemer and savior, the prophet Isaiah records 13 passages where he refers to God as redeemer and/or savior which answers the question of what the folks had to cling to before Jesus. From Isaiah’s point of view, do we need another redeemer and/or savior?

God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of his faith, which he apparently met. This brings up three questions: 1) why did not God spare his only begotten son, and 2) what good can come from murder of a innocent person, and 3) how is it divinity can be killed.

An in-depth perusal of the Bible requires: 1) you find a teacher with objectivity in mind, and 2) you are prepared to make a 5 year commitment. “5 years!?” Let me finish. A year here would be represented by 8 months out of 12. A Bible Study can follow 2 main courses: 1) the group addresses a Sunday morning “gospel-length” passage for discussion, or 2) a broader look at how the Bible came together as a book and why the books within are in the order they are, who wrote them and when.

After the initial shock of what it would take for you to come to understand the Bible, you need to decide if you can make the commitment which can be understood as important as building a career or marriage. As you’ll see below there are options.

Rather than start at the Bible’s beginning (Genesis) I would start with something with which you may be more familiar: the Gospels. In Year 1 a good teacher will start with a parallel look at the gospels to come to understand their similarities, differences and disparities. Year 2 will examine Jesus’ actual words for you to determine if Christian Doctrine is aligned. Year 3 will address the rest of the CT which may not be enough time but at the outset a 5 year commitment is enough. There’ll be plenty of time later to follow your faith perusal. Year 4 will address the “historical” years of Hebrew and Judaic formation from Noah, Abraham, Moses through King David 1000 BC and unto the fall of Israel 586 BC. Year 5 would address the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel etc) and the “wisdom literature”, meaning the Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes and others. The fifth year can be a drag unless the teacher is adept at being inspirational by cultivating your attention with an interesting approach.

The problem with most Bible Studies is that they may attempt to cover the entire Bible in one year. It just isn’t possible. How do you spend one lesson on each Gospel and assume you’ll get it. Even two years is not enough. Or, they’ll take it a book at a time, jumping around to what seems interesting. The latter is better than nothing but leaves the big picture a mystery. Better to take an organized approach, make the commitment, and after Year 1, you’ll know if this is for you.

In your pursuit of the Bible you will have much opportunity to decide if its stories are literal or not, and how you treat metaphor. And even if the story seems unlikely, can you take from it a means to add to your faith premise, your faith-puzzle. Herein, the pieces of my faith puzzle:

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, "Let us make humankind (Hebrew adam) in our image…”

Think about that for a minute, or a lifetime. How profound is that? How could we humans possibly enjoy a relationship of equality of some nature with God? What does that look like. Physically. Spiritually. If pursued one will find evidence from Jesus’ mouth and authors who write today of panentheism and Greek theosis, considerations both of our divine potential. You’ll find that God is not aloof, residing on a pedestal and demanding our worship. That’s our interpretation. Rather, God desires our undivided attention to teach us through God’s messengers (Jesus and Spirit) that we have a potential so great we can come to understand the meaning of Genesis 1:26.

Genesis 2:7 “…then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground (Hebrew adamah) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.”

           

There’s a lot in that passage including how Adam got his name. The “breath of life” is air which plays on the several translations of Spirit. A subtle aspect is that God is called “Lord God”. Why both? Upon inspection one would find that the two words came together from different writers of Genesis, and the editors let it pass on as is.

Isaiah 49:26 “then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

            As previously stated, if we already have a redeemer and savior, why would we need another; and what do we say to the folks before Jesus’ time. This view casts a cloud over the Crucifixion and its purpose for which you should spend much time contemplating, ultimately deciding for yourself.

Luke 17:21 "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed…For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among (or within) you."

            “Really! You mean the kingdom ergo heaven isn’t up there in the sky someplace?” Not according to Jesus’ own words. “And it’s within me? You’ve got to be kidding!” To be specific, if you are actually made in the image and likeness of God wouldn’t it make sense you have divine potential, and those features are exhibited inward in your essence, waiting for you to express them outwardly?

John 14: 12 “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these…”

            “Really! How is it possible I could do greater works than Jesus?” Understand, Jesus did not originate the Christian Church, his followers, notably Paul were its founders. Jesus remained a Jew his entire life. Jesus touched perhaps thousands. We have the potential to touch millions once our theosis is unveiled as described in 1 Corinthians 12 below.

Romans 6:1 “But we have the mind of Christ.”

            “Really! What does that mean?” It follows the line of thinking of your theosis. We are so prepared and (to be kind) “educated” to place Jesus and God on a pedestal, unreachable to us. Nonsense! Without us neither has a job. Our job is to come to come to understand that deity is there for us, not us for deity and its messengers. If that thought has never been presented to you, then it’s high time you took a look at Jesus’ words in the Gospels and elsewhere in the CT.

                                

1 Corinthians 12:7-11, commonly referred to as the gifts of the Spirit: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

            Yes, this is woo-woo land, that is, to those who are unaware. Millions are aware but its so hot a topic it’s in the closet. I once was told by a pastor “If you want to split a congregation, introduce the Holy Spirit”. The interesting part is if in fact a split occurs it means a factor of folks would be attracted to woo-woo land, one from which Jesus, Paul, their followers and certainly the Holy Spirit operated/operates. How can one not introduce the Holy Spirit. It’s all about the faith-puzzle and how this fits in. This represents one whole night in your Bible study.

1Thessalonians 5:20-1 “Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good…”

            It has to make sense, withstand daylight, and fit the with other pieces of your faith-puzzle.

1 Corinthians 15:13-4 “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.”

            So, are we wasting our time (in vain) or is there something to this following-Jesus thing? Test it. Contemplate. Decide.

2 Corinthians 3:15-17 “…Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

            Your “unveiling” will be a life-changing moment in your life.

Galatians 3:28 “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one…”

            This is a difficult passage for some because, to make sense, and through logic, it should include “no longer homosexual or heterosexual”, “no longer homeless or of the 1%”, and perhaps other clauses you could add. We easily admit that our God is a loving God and loves everyone equally, but in this context, perhaps not so easily for some. There is responsibility built within this carte blanche approach, and regardless of how you feel about the clauses, either God loves everyone equally, or not.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

            There needs to be a long discussion at your Bible study as to what “Christ Jesus” means, but for the moment lets concentrate on the definition of how, if there is such a thing as eternal life, it is accomplished. According to Ephesians, it’s already accomplished as a gift. How can that be. Don’t we have to earn it? Billions have so been taught. It feels better if doing good works builds the ladder to eternity. Yet, how can anyone, even saintly Mother Theresa, possibly be good enough to accomplish heaven? That’s why purgatory was invented so that you could get your sins “burned off” as an interim.

Good works are addressed in this passage, those “prepared beforehand” waiting for you to discover their path and follow. You’ll spend an hour on this issue at Bible study and still go away puzzled till it settles in that there is no other alternative that makes sense. You need wrap your mind around this one.

Why do I sense many of you are shaking your head? It’s taken me 80 years to come where I am in my faith. I am convinced institutional religion has perverted Jesus’ teachings to where they are not recognizable because of the doctrine so-called theologians have laid-over them. To me church should be a meeting where items in this essay are discussed for you to observe, take part in, and come away with much thought for food in the formation of your faith-puzzle, as opposed to the ritual of “now we do this, and now we do that”. Ritual has its place, but to be considered the center of your Sunday morning is detrimental to your coming to understand why you were placed on this earth.

Half a lifetime ago (exactly) there was an emptiness within me regarding the Bible. I needed to know just what is it that’s between its covers, and, what did they mean when they said “Jesus died for our sins”. I had no idea on either account. I’d been a devout church-goer but my denomination’s religious education centered on doctrine which was their answer to Biblical pursuit, clouding Jesus actual words. I discovered a Bible study elsewhere and in 5 long MN winters we covered the Bible twice. My questions were answered but more questions arose regarding literalness (inerrancy) and its opposite errancy.

I’ve been chasing the Bible and theological questions ever since and have come to the conclusion the Bible is errant, the OT is about a fearful and punishing God, Jesus is alive and well today as a supernatural messiah, and the key to understanding God is found the Power of God, God’s Spirit (air, wind breath). I will continue to pursue the Bible because of its fascinating and unlimited qualities of an unending source of information, thereby enhancing my “home-grown” faith-puzzle.

If you follow my advice of pursuing the knowledge within the Bible, you will be richly rewarded. No question.