Join the arguments — the rewards are enormous

Christians fought a long, hard fight and lost. They lost big time in their fight against evolution. Those who still fight evolution are now seen as intellectually in the Dark Ages. Human beings, life forms of all varieties, the world, the universe and everything else are the products of a very long process of evolution. For most of us, the Bible understanding (if taken at face value) is that human beings, the world, the universe and even God have a static existence. Science said “not so.” Science won; rigid Christians with static understandings lost.

This long argument, which lasted for many decades and for many is still continuing, has many implications for Christian theology. If all of life is in process and constantly moving, can a static understanding of God be relevant? In my growing up, believing in an unchanging God was fundamental to my faith. God was the unshakable foundation. God was the rock of ages, the one who has never changed and will never change. God created all things and sustains all things. God was all powerful, all knowing and was constantly everywhere. It was a secure understanding of the God and Father of Jesus of Nazareth, whom I confessed as my Lord.

With education, I began a journey that has taken me away from my teenage certainties and serious life-long discussions and arguments.

My Baptist heritage has been my best friend in my own faith journey. My Baptist heritage set me free from the authority of Popes, priests, and creeds. This Baptists heritage put me in charge of what I was to believe. The heritage left me only with a Bible for authority. I was the one who was in charge of reading and interpreting these so called sacred writings.

I have remained committed to the challenge of studying and interpreting the Bible. I have found a startling reality. The Bible is not a collection of sacred writings. The Bible is a fascinating collection of writings from a variety of writers, who wrote over a period of many hundreds of years. Each writer had something to contribute to the discussions about ethics, morality, and the participation of the unknowable forces that were beyond definition. I did not find one opinion in the Bible, but many. The writers argued with one another. In the process of formal education, I decided that it was my responsibility to join the arguments. My Baptist roots gave me freedom to be intellectually and spiritually adventurous. I fondly look at my seminary education as an exercise of argument. I have never abandoned the call to argument. Argument is a treasured tool that is to be used in the search for a better understanding of life. This includes the Christian Faith.

In my adventure, I have found that Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth, is my best friend. He too was an adventurer, who dared to challenge. He instigated arguments against the status quo. He challenged the laws of Moses and the priests and other officials, who were in charge of perpetuating and enforcing those ancient laws. With his stories and aphorisms, he challenged the existing structures of religion, politics and economics. He reduced the law of the Israelites from ten to two. For Jesus two were sufficient. They were simple and straightforward. Love God and love neighbor. But he most significantly changed the image of the God he served. The God of the Israelites was so holy, his name could not be uttered. Jesus changed that image of God to a loving father. His great prayer begins with the simple words “Our father in heaven.”

I love the journey on which I was encouraged by my Baptist traditions. I love the Bible and the arguments that it presents. I happily join in those arguments about God, morality and the good life. I grieve that the Baptist traditions of freedom, adventure and personal responsibility have been lost by many who describe themselves as being Baptists. Often they have embraced the Bible as a paper Pope rather than a major contribution to serious argument. The insecurity of being cut free from Popes, bishops and creeds can be a bit frightening, but the rewards of the questioning life are enormous.

I am thankful for the arguments that were initiated by modern science. Valid and fully functioning religion must be subjected to critical analysis and scrutiny. Religion and Christianity in particular do very well in the arguments about life. Join the arguments. The rewards are enormous.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.