The Bible Isn't Clear

And That Makes It Timeless

Over this past Christmas season, I decided to read two books about Jesus. I didn’t finish either book, but I did learn and notice some things about Jesus and the Bible that I hadn’t before.

Namely: Jesus uses hyperbole quite a bit, and Christians don’t take that seriously enough. That’s not to say the prima facie interpretation of Jesus’s words shouldn't be taken literally, but most of his words have been debated by Christians and disagreed upon since he said them. It’s an underlying tension within the New Testament that's just swept completely under the rug in modern Christianity.

For many people, the teachings of the Bible are supposed to be clear and infallible. God said it, I believe it, that’s that. It’s low hanging fruit to say the Bible contradicts itself or that most Christians don’t read the Bible literally, but the more uncomfortable reality is that the Bible was always a form of wisdom literature. The text was important and perhaps supreme, but interpretation was never as simple as an instruction manual.

Jesus was a wisdom teacher, but for Christians, he wasn’t just a wisdom teacher. Per Dr. David Gushee, it’s best to interpret Christ’s wisdom teachings in the context of his eschatology. Following Jesus isn’t about agreeing with wise aphorisms, but about seeing how His divine injunction into history alters the nature of those aphorisms.

I can’t call myself a Christian because of the conflict between Christian history and the wisdom of the Bible. I’m fully at peace with the ambiguity and flaws of the Bible, (such as week-long creation stories and miracles) because I understand that they’ve always meant more than their plain interpretation.

The problem is that other people haven’t seen it that way, and as a result, the Christian tradition has propagated anti-science falsehoods and bigotry, and continues to do so to this day. I could look past the confusing and contradictory nature of an “omni-God” (all loving, knowing, etc.) and the problem of evil/suffering. I could look to the Church as a vehicle of “establishing the kingdom” and suffering as a further vehicle toward developing people in various ways.

The problem is that the Church is bad at “establishing the kingdom.” It’s worse than replacement level outside of vague overtures of community-building. Put simply, the Bible raises interesting questions, but the “answers” of the Christian tradition are just as often harmful as they are helpful, and they promote ways of thinking that are harmful to public good.

If the Christian God were real, there was a better way to do this religion thing, to achieve all the things the Christians say He wants to achieve. It doesn’t take an all-knowing mind to see this.

All of that to say: the Bible isn’t clear, which in some ways makes it timeless and infinitely valuable as you dive into its history and context. The same cannot be said of Christianity or the Church, which is why it’s faded with people like me.