On Your Mind
The debate between Rev. Rodney Kennedy “God is not a divine terrorist” and Robert Boyd “I believe the Bible is objective truth” is very instructive as to a major debate about the role of faith in today’s world. Boyd shows that the idea that the Bible is inerrant, infallible and objective truth is a way of dealing with the need to counter “situational, anything goes” moral standards in a big, fast, high tech, global, socially changing and inherently dangerous anxiety-producing world.
Boyd says the Bible includes historical accuracy, scientific reality, beautiful poetry and instructions for living. But it also includes historical inaccuracy because it was accumulated and finally edited centuries after many of the events described took place. It contains scientific inaccuracies because it was written by prescientific people as a book concerned about theology, not science. It contains beautiful poetry and beautiful poetry is not to be taken literally, but appreciated poetically. Much of it is mythical because it was intended to be mythical in the sense of telling stories that impart meaning. And it contains instructions for living, including some for living in patriarchal agricultural and nomadic societies that are not our own, while others tell of good and evil in ways that could be taken from today’s headlines.
The Bible says many different things, as befits a work accumulated over 1,000 years from the writings and oral traditions of many people in many situations. In the Bible the devil quotes scripture for his purposes, and many do the same today. It is, therefore, impossible to take the Bible literally. Only interpretation is possible. (The “rapture” cited by Kennedy and Boyd, is actually not a term found in the Bible, but an interpretation by 19thand 20th-century theologians). People differ in interpretations, often involving the proper combination of things like love, mercy, justice and condemnation. Differences about these interpretations often reflect the education, culture and social positions of the interpreters, and any “mocking,” real or perceived, is likely to involve these differences rather than the Bible itself.
In a world where hatred, greed, exploitation, hedonism and violence often seem out of control, people seek order, certainty and value for their lives. They seek guidance from faith traditions in ways that fit today’s reality. As we see with Kennedy and Boyd, this is not an easy task. —
Speak up
President Obama
has outlined how we are going to take down ISIS. Why hasn’t he been doing these things for the last seven years?
Re New Orleans considers
removal of Confederate monuments: What next? Delete all reference to the Civil War between the North and South? Change family names such as Lee? Change individual’s first name such as Lee? Change the name of Lee Jeans? Renaming the 872 sites with names for major Confederate leaders will not alter the fact that the Civil War happened.
Re “Rose still an outsider
looking in,” Dec. 16: Pete Rose says baseball and family are his first loves. I admired Rose as a player; but came to realize the only thing Pete Rose has ever loved is Pete Rose. And his capacity to lie is endless. He’ll never be sorry for anything he’s done wrong, only sorry he got caught. Pete, just go away.