I was reading a blog post written by writer and theologian Cheree Hayes recently, which laid out the basic reasons for something we’ve all experienced as Christians: Man, this Bible is a tough read.
I’ve heard the Bible described a lot of ways, but the most prevalent adjective I’ve encountered from young people is “boring.”
Here’s the thing, though: It’s really not boring — far from it. It’s just hard to read because we often cannot comprehend the context in which is was written — even when it has been translated into English.
When I was your age, I said the same thing about Bill Shakespeare. I’d rather read Habakkuk than Hamlet.
The works of Shakespeare, which I assume many of you have read in school, are objectively pretty boring to the vast majority of people who read them (either by choice or force). For many, (I’d venture to say most), those works don’t become compelling until they are seen performed on stage — providing visual context.
Reading them, in the old English, can be overwhelming:
When he himself might his quietus make
Seriously bill, what?
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought…
In much the same way, all of us need a little assistance now and then when reading the ancient scriptures. Even with translations like The Message, which has been super helpful to me even as an adult, and The Bible Project, it’s still tough:
We can become so familiar with modern translations of the Bible that we forget it’s actually ancient Jewish literature. Many Bible translators took the time to consider what the biblical authors meant in their ancient language and culture so they could find an equivalent way of communicating the message to us. That’s a big assignment! But even when a translated text is complete, the work of reading and interpreting remains challenging.
Cheree Hayes
It’s so challenging, in fact, that there are people who devote their entire lives to understanding it, so as to communicate its message in a way that all people can understand. Dr. Novak and Pastor Paul are two examples.
There have been debates for centuries about what the Bible is, what it says, and its implications for followers of Christ; add to that debates about the nature of Christ as fully God, fully human and in what proportion. It’s true that the more we know about the Bible, the more we can know about Christ.
As we have discussed in the last year, it is vital to have an understanding of the cultural contexts in which the Bible was written. There is, however, something even more important than that: Knowing Christ, and reading the scripture through the lens of Christ.
This helps us put the Bible in its proper place, as something that can illuminate who Christ is and why we should follow him.
If I could boil down our discussion of the Torah to one thing, it’s this: There are hundreds and hundreds of commandments in the first five books of the Old Testament, and yet from Christ we know this:
All the law and the Prophets are based on just two commands: Love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 37-40).
All. Of. It.
So while reading the ancient scriptures is difficult, the message on the sign in front of my house anyone can understand: Love God, Love Others.
We hope to see you on Wednesday at the Field House for our Pipe Party from 6-8 p.m. Make sure you sign up, here.
The Pipe 