Under the test of time, the Bible fails

Almost every form of Christianity claims the Bible as its holy book. This is true of Roman Catholics, Protestants, the Orthodox and most every form of Independent congregation.

The historic assumption is that this collection of writings about God, religious people, religious practices and moral standards was somehow inspired (if not written) by their God. The writings included and excluded in the holy book were the result of divine wisdom.

Almost all Bible schools and seminaries have been established to defend and perpetuate beliefs that are held to be based on the contents of the Bible. Scholarship at the institutions that should be informing Christians about the realities of the Bible are seriously compromised. They are compromised by their school’s commitment to credal statements and the traditions of their sponsors and funders. Scholars at religious institutions avoid being the cause of the loss of financial support from churches and high-level givers. At the same time, out in the pews of America’s churches, the Bible reigns supreme as the holy book. Challenging that conviction is very dangerous.

Here in the early years of the 21st century, the belief that the Bible is a holy book is being seriously challenged. Two realities are driving the challenge. First, the number of Bible scholars has exploded. Religious interest in America is at an all-time high. Second, scholars have found their way out of church-related and church-controlled institutions. They have found their way to the faculties of state universities. At state universities they have been unshackled from credal statements and church-imposed traditions. Now church related institutions are being confronted by the new breed of Bible scholars who work without restraint.

In the 2,000 years of Christian history, Bible scholarship has never been as free as it is now.

At the same time, Christianity has never been placed in such a critical moment. Christianity’s holy book is being placed under an unrelenting search light, and it is failing every reasonable definition of being a holy book

The Bible as holy book fails in a modern world in several ways. I cite only a few. It fails in its understanding of the physical arrangement of the universe. According to the Bible, the world is flat and is a part of a three-layered universe. Heaven is above and the realm of the dead is below. The sun and the moon revolve around the world.

According to the Bible, the structure of society is properly hierarchical and controlled by men. Women are always to be subservient. That role was defined in property codes. Women were owned by men. They were first owned by their fathers and then by their husbands. Freedom or equality could never be their lot.

Slavery was practiced and enforced. Polygamy was a common and acceptable practice. Wars at times were willed by God. Killing other human beings was at times acceptable, including the killing of women and children.

It is common for Christians to conclude that the God and Father of Jesus from Nazareth is good, loving and peaceful. There are glimpses of such a God in the Bible, but the Bible’s God is often jealous, vengeful and violent. At best, the Bible is a book of contradictions and inconsistencies. It is hardly the picture of a book to be labeled holy.

If the Bible is not a book with roots in God’s heaven, just what is it? The Bible is an earthly book that is rooted in time and circumstances that are very understandable without looking for holy origins.

It was written by men for particular audiences. Men in positions of power decided which writings should be preserved and bound together. In the process, they decided what writings were to be excluded. This process of writing and collecting took place over a period of 1,100 to 1,200 years. The particular documents found in the Bible often repeat stories, myths and traditions that are much older and preserved by oral traditions.

Under the search light of Biblical scholarship, some are describing the Bible as a library. My own observation is that a library description is too generous. The library description is too orderly to fit the Bible material. Other people are saying the Bible is simply a collection of documents generated by ancient Israelites and early followers of Jesus from Nazareth.

My own understanding asks for a more personal approach. The materials that we find in the Bible were written by men who were passionate about their beliefs. They wrote in times of upheaval and during moments of quiet reflection. They wrote to maintain the status quo. They wrote to challenge and upset the status quo. In their writings they argued about the great issues of war, peace and justice.

They argued about their relationship with surrounding neighbors. They pondered their very existence.

I choose to see the Bible as group of great arguments that are lively and ongoing. By its very nature the Bible is an invitation to every thoughtful person to join in the arguments.

Calling the Bible a holy book is a tragedy. Putting that label on the Bible hinders, and even forbids, the arguing. I suspect that people will not begin to understand what the Bible is about until they join in the arguments. Until the arguments are engaged, the Bible is doomed to be seen as a flawed and a failed book in a modern world.

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