How do liberal Christians interpret the Bible? We begin with
an understanding that the Bible is not a single book. This is more critical to
scriptural interpretation than it might appear. The Bible is a more like a
library. Like a library, it has many kinds of books on its shelves. While you
won’t find science books there, you will find history books such Samuel and
Kings. You’ll also find myths such as in Genesis.
Readers will find memoirs like the Gospels and letters from
Paul. There are the poems of the Psalms, the morality sayings of Proverbs, and the
sermons of the book of the Hebrews.
Just like you wouldn’t read the front-page of the newspaper
the same way you’d read the comic page, readers need to differentiate between
the various genres of the Bible. Each genre must be approached differently when
seeking an accurate interpretation.
Reader should cast off any need for factual fundamentalism.
As theologian Marcus Borg often pointed out, “truth and factuality” are not the
same. For centuries, Christians understood that there is more truth in myth
than in what passes for history.
For example, reading the myth of the Garden of Eden as
“fact” leads to unfortunate misinterpretations. Such readings support
misogynist views of scripture and a theology many progressive Christians
reject, “original sin.” Liberal Christians find this story on the “myth” shelf
of the library where it tells us about a God with great hope for all of
creation who provides us everything we need to achieve God’s dream. The myth explains
free will and the responsibility we have to make choices that lead to God.
We spend a great deal of time reading the four memoirs;
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John where we learn to apply Jesus’s teachings in our
search for God’s truth. This is also where we learn that at the core of Jesus’s
teaching is the admonition to avoid strict interpretation of scripture.
When he healed on the Sabbath, dined with tax collectors, or
socialized with prostitutes, those who interpreted scripture strictly came unhinged.
They were able to point to specific verses in their Bible to prove their point.
In contrast, Jesus taught the greatest commandments are to
love God and one another, adding, “All
the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Jesus made the point with his “you’ve heard it said” list in
Matthew 5. “You’ve heard it said” for example, “you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I
say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In other words, we can’t follow
the great commandments by interpreting scripture in a way that prevents us from
loving God and one another.
As
we read the Gospel memoirs, we encounter a storyteller. Jesus taught
through parable and was a master of metaphor, allegory, and imagery. As children,
“Winnie the Pooh” prepared us to interpret Jesus’s stories.
Through Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh we witnessed
the centrality of love to all relationships. “Love is taking a
few steps backward, maybe even more,” said Winnie, “to give way to the
happiness of the person you love.” That’s the “bear” Gospel. A.A. Milne’s characters
taught us our earliest lessons about metaphor, allegory, and imagery. We didn’t have to suspend our
beliefs and argue about whether bears and tigers and kangaroos can actually
talk in order to learn the lessons Milne taught.
Jesus the Jewish Rabbi said, “I am the way.” He wasn’t
saying Christianity, a religion that didn’t exist at the time, is the exclusive
path to God. Jesus used metaphor to teach that by following his path, we’ll
find ourselves closer to God.
Finally, don’t leave it to your preacher to interpret the
Bible for you. Don’t limit your scriptural study to people of a like mind.
Study in a diverse community with people of different perspectives. You’ll get closer
to a helpful interpretation.
And please don’t tell me “Winnie the Pooh” was not Divinely
inspired.
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