There is a HUGE difference
between taking scripture literally
and taking it seriously.
To take much of the Bible literally
is, in fact, to misunderstand it
and therefore to misuse and abuse it.
If passages of the Bible
were never meant to be taken literally,
then when we do so
we're not respecting or honoring the Bible,
nor are we respecting or honoring God;
we're missing the point,
and when we miss the point,
we risk wreaking havoc,
damaging hearts and lives.
Taking the Bible seriously means:
(1) understanding the various types of literature
we are reading;
(2) discerning what these writings meant
in their original context--
understanding the significant differences
between the cultures in which they were written
and our own,
and therefore, the varying ways
these cultures experienced, processed,
and reported on their world--
ways we do not;
(3) approaching the reading of scripture with great humility,
acknowledging that even in the Bible itself
the writers changed the message
depending on circumstance and audience--
and this was acceptable and okay,
something we in Western culture--sadly--
have trouble seeing or accepting.
In short,
don't abuse scripture
by trying to force it to be what it is not.
Certainly don't force it into our culturally preferred
(and often narrow)
ways of reading and interpreting.
Instead, take it seriously:
do your homework,
listen to the Spirit,
free it from cultural confines,
and discover and allow its glorious ambiguity,
mystery,
and transformative power.
Then reading scripture becomes
a grand adventure
and you and I voyagers
on an ocean of joyful possibility.
Text and image © 2021 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
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