Bible vs. Bible

Thursday, August 28, 2008 -- Week of Proper 16
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 981)
Psalms 18:1-20 (morning) 18:21-50 (evening)
Job 8:1-10, 20-22
Acts 10:17-33
John 7:14-36

All three readings today are conflicts over Biblical interpretations. In every context, we are reading about a non-traditional interpretation meeting resistance from a traditional interpretation. In all three stories, the Biblical authors and actors have something new to say to the Biblical tradition.

[from Job] The words of Bildad the Shuhite represent the theological world view of the author(s) of a major portion of the Hebrew scriptures. Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings is a coherent body of writing that comes from the same source, usually called the Deuteronomic historian. It is history written to teach a lesson: God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. The writer organizes the early history of Israel around that theological premise. The belief that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked was a conventional religious theme that finds voice in many places in scripture in addition to the Deuteronomic history. It is likely, at the time the book of Job was written, the idea that God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous was one of those things that "everybody knows" -- it was the orthodox, conventional teaching.

Bildad picks up the traditional theme, chiding Job for Job's rash words. "Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?" asks Bildad. (The answer he alleges rhetorically is a resounding, "No!") Then he makes it personal. If you children sinned, God punished them. If you are pure, God will restore and reward you. The book of Job is written to challenge that theology.

[from Acts] The Biblical tradition that Peter has learned from the Hebrew scripture and from his Rabbis, parents, teachers, and culture includes a very specific and careful understanding about sin and purity. They are deeply related. Peter learned careful boundaries between the clean and the profane, between Jews and Gentiles. Their effect was a moral law. Peter's vision included a heavenly voice telling him to kill and eat animals that the Bible forbids God's people to eat. Peter resists the vision, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean." The voice tells Peter, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane."

Just as Peter is puzzling over the vision, men arrive from the home of Cornelius, an unclean Roman soldier. Peter gives them lodging (a boundary violation) and goes with them. He is about to challenge the entire purity code of the Bible. It will cause a great conflict.

[from John] Jesus has healed on the sabbath. According to traditional teaching, Jesus violated the 4th Commandment. Jesus challenges the interpretation, citing the practice of circumcision on the eighth day, in obedience to another commandment, even if it is on the Sabbath. "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment," he tells them.

Then follows a debate. Could Jesus be the Messiah? No, they say. We know where he comes from (Nazareth), "but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from." In several places in the Gospels we have accounts like this presenting the ways that people rejected Jesus as Messiah because he did not live up to the expectations of the Messiah. Those expectations were shaped by various Biblical traditions.

The Bible witnesses to itself that it is not a consistent body of meaning with a self-evident truth and interpretation. Preachers who attempt to speak with authority with the words, "the Bible says," are speaking nonsense unless they qualify the context and background of the portion of the Bible they are quoting. Job is saying that Deuteronomy through 2 Kings is wrong. Peter is saying that the Holiness Code is wrong. Jesus is saying that the contemporary interpretations of Sabbath and Messiah are wrong.

To seek to establish the Bible as an unchanging, unambiguous, univocal expression coming from the mouth of God is contrary to the Bible itself. It was the people who treated the Bible that way who gave Job, Jesus and the early church such a hard time.

Lowell

_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas