God Loves Me and Has a Plan For My Life...Right?
I see a lot of former Christians talking about their ex-faith like a bunch of recovering alcoholics looking to blame their dads for every bad thing that ever happened to them. Probably because he didn't love them enough. Most aren't mad at God, exactly, they're just pissed that he didn't he come down and save them from their religion. Too bad they see it that way, because I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what He did. Maybe their pastor didn't get the message. Or maybe they chose a path that led nowhere. Either way, no one is free from blame. We choose to believe what we believe. And if it all goes bad, turns out to be some raging pile of nonsense, we’ll want an escape hatch and a scapegoat standing by ready for the kill. To see it otherwise is to be accountable—and we can’t have that—now can we?
Most of it centers on a view of God as some kind of judgmental, murderous, sociopath who hates the usual list of bad people and bad behaviors. It’s hard to escape this conclusion if you read the Bible with all the insight of a ten-year old at Vacation Bible School—a horrific experience if ever there was one.
I can remember, many years ago, when the assistant pastor in our church told my little brother, who was about ten at the time, that he would be devoured by giant spiders in hell if he didn’t confess Jesus as Lord. It was most certainly mental abuse, but it was mental abuse in a different time and place, when such abuses were more acceptable. That they were ever acceptable is bad enough. That they came from good men whose intentions were righteous, says a lot about “righteous intentions”. As with most things that matter, they only matter because they have proven over time to matter. Even then, a reasonable skepticism wouldn't be a bad thing.
But skepticism is of the devil. Faith, in some circles means blindly assenting to a list of unquestionable truths. Truths that were established centuries after the life of Christ by his ever-changing demographic of followers—reflecting shifts of power, rising and falling empires, leaving his modest band of "Very Jewish" followers to be reinterpreted according to time and place as needed.
Jesus could be re-imagined as anything we want, including the Stalinist autocrat that undergirds just about all Evangelical tradition, unintentionally reinforcing Christopher Hitchen's notion of God as the great celestial dictator. If you believe that God is watching, one ear and eye perpetually turned your way, like some kind of multi-directional spy cam—always listening and waiting for you to be bad—you’ll want to be very careful. That’s, apparently, why God gave us the Bible. So we can memorize the list of behaviors that will get you a one-way ticket to hell.
These represent a handful of ideas drawn selectively from a few passages of the Bible, generally interpreted with zero historical context. After all, who needs context when you have "Truth"? What is truth? Their understanding of the bible, of course. After all, their pastor is a really smart guy, if he doesn't know, who would? It's all so simple, right? Unfortunately, words, any words, will be incoherent without some reasonable context—which explains a lot.
If you’re going to read the bible, read it historically, and recognize that it was written by an ancient, pre-scientific, pre-literate people who were using symbols and ideas that were deeply embedded in their culture. Read from this perspective, the Bible makes a good deal of sense. In fact, it makes more than sense, it’s downright inspirational. It doesn't have to be a bunch of supernatural hoodoo. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily opposed to hoodoo. I just think the best evidence for God is, as The Apostle Paul said, the universe in its infinite complexity and the teachings of Jesus Christ. One postulating the mystery of creation, the other providing the moral foundation for God's magnum-opus, Mankind. Not the time I had some inexplicable experience that caused a ghostly chill to run down my spine. No doubt, those who ache feverishly for ghostly chills will disagree.
There is, within the Church, a rich alternative tradition to Evangelicalism, which is a Protestant movement that is less than three hundred years old. Pentecostalism is only about one hundred years old, as well. Both will say that they are deeply rooted in the apostolic faith of the Church Fathers, offering a paper-thin case for their particular approach. This works just fine as long as nobody's asking questions any deeper than " When we get to heaven will all the women have large breasts"?
Unfortunately, when people come from a fundamentalist background, they simply assume that their experience represents the norm—if the term normal can be said to have any real value in such a context. And, let me say, I understand, believe me, I do, I was, for many years, a wary fundamentalist, my wariness being my only saving grace (no pun intended).
It’s not like there isn't a wealth of alternatives to the usual Christian television, get-rich-quick schemers that the media is thick with. Marcus Borg, N.T Wright, John Dominic Crossan and Jurgen Moltman are just a few scholars that reflect a wide-ranging base for understanding the Bible historically. And when I refer to scholars, I'm not referring to a bunch of "Believe it or Die" old-school nonsense that is (and was) typical of too much Christian thinking. They, however, have a significant battle in front of them (as do the rest of us) regarding the notion that the Bible is a mystic tome with the secrets of the universe hidden within. Find out how to get rich, find the perfect spouse, command evil spirits, heal the sick and raise the dead—who needs mercy, love and self-sacrifice when you can have an epic light-show worthy of a "Pink Floyd" concert!
Most of it centers on a view of God as some kind of judgmental, murderous, sociopath who hates the usual list of bad people and bad behaviors. It’s hard to escape this conclusion if you read the Bible with all the insight of a ten-year old at Vacation Bible School—a horrific experience if ever there was one.
I can remember, many years ago, when the assistant pastor in our church told my little brother, who was about ten at the time, that he would be devoured by giant spiders in hell if he didn’t confess Jesus as Lord. It was most certainly mental abuse, but it was mental abuse in a different time and place, when such abuses were more acceptable. That they were ever acceptable is bad enough. That they came from good men whose intentions were righteous, says a lot about “righteous intentions”. As with most things that matter, they only matter because they have proven over time to matter. Even then, a reasonable skepticism wouldn't be a bad thing.
But skepticism is of the devil. Faith, in some circles means blindly assenting to a list of unquestionable truths. Truths that were established centuries after the life of Christ by his ever-changing demographic of followers—reflecting shifts of power, rising and falling empires, leaving his modest band of "Very Jewish" followers to be reinterpreted according to time and place as needed.
Jesus could be re-imagined as anything we want, including the Stalinist autocrat that undergirds just about all Evangelical tradition, unintentionally reinforcing Christopher Hitchen's notion of God as the great celestial dictator. If you believe that God is watching, one ear and eye perpetually turned your way, like some kind of multi-directional spy cam—always listening and waiting for you to be bad—you’ll want to be very careful. That’s, apparently, why God gave us the Bible. So we can memorize the list of behaviors that will get you a one-way ticket to hell.
These represent a handful of ideas drawn selectively from a few passages of the Bible, generally interpreted with zero historical context. After all, who needs context when you have "Truth"? What is truth? Their understanding of the bible, of course. After all, their pastor is a really smart guy, if he doesn't know, who would? It's all so simple, right? Unfortunately, words, any words, will be incoherent without some reasonable context—which explains a lot.
If you’re going to read the bible, read it historically, and recognize that it was written by an ancient, pre-scientific, pre-literate people who were using symbols and ideas that were deeply embedded in their culture. Read from this perspective, the Bible makes a good deal of sense. In fact, it makes more than sense, it’s downright inspirational. It doesn't have to be a bunch of supernatural hoodoo. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily opposed to hoodoo. I just think the best evidence for God is, as The Apostle Paul said, the universe in its infinite complexity and the teachings of Jesus Christ. One postulating the mystery of creation, the other providing the moral foundation for God's magnum-opus, Mankind. Not the time I had some inexplicable experience that caused a ghostly chill to run down my spine. No doubt, those who ache feverishly for ghostly chills will disagree.
There is, within the Church, a rich alternative tradition to Evangelicalism, which is a Protestant movement that is less than three hundred years old. Pentecostalism is only about one hundred years old, as well. Both will say that they are deeply rooted in the apostolic faith of the Church Fathers, offering a paper-thin case for their particular approach. This works just fine as long as nobody's asking questions any deeper than " When we get to heaven will all the women have large breasts"?
Unfortunately, when people come from a fundamentalist background, they simply assume that their experience represents the norm—if the term normal can be said to have any real value in such a context. And, let me say, I understand, believe me, I do, I was, for many years, a wary fundamentalist, my wariness being my only saving grace (no pun intended).
It’s not like there isn't a wealth of alternatives to the usual Christian television, get-rich-quick schemers that the media is thick with. Marcus Borg, N.T Wright, John Dominic Crossan and Jurgen Moltman are just a few scholars that reflect a wide-ranging base for understanding the Bible historically. And when I refer to scholars, I'm not referring to a bunch of "Believe it or Die" old-school nonsense that is (and was) typical of too much Christian thinking. They, however, have a significant battle in front of them (as do the rest of us) regarding the notion that the Bible is a mystic tome with the secrets of the universe hidden within. Find out how to get rich, find the perfect spouse, command evil spirits, heal the sick and raise the dead—who needs mercy, love and self-sacrifice when you can have an epic light-show worthy of a "Pink Floyd" concert!
Fundamentalists, at times, even have a disdain for knowledge. Asking questions isn't the beginning of knowledge, as it would be in any other walk of life, but the beginning of heathen godlessness. However, without educated folk, scholars included, there would be no historical, linguistic or archaeological understanding of any kind—meaning there would be no Bible to be read, either. There would likewise be no science, no understanding of the Laws of Physics, no combustion engine, no literature, no Bach—need I go on. But, it would be no less true to suggest that the irreligious and many ex-Christians have also chosen their evidence with a selective bias when judging the merits of the Bible.
The Bible may, in fact, fail miserably as a manual for fixing your car, buying a house or adjusting the thermostat on your air conditioner. It can just as easily fail as a tool for understanding modern economics and the Constitution. Even if the Constitution was heavily influenced by the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Christ. When we're willing to acknowledge these, sometimes difficult, realities, then, maybe, disgruntled Christians and atheists alike will stop tossing the baby and bathwater out together.
Why should anyone care about the Bible? Because it provides much of the legal and moral foundation for Western Culture. It was also indispensable in the development of democracy as we know it, to say nothing of its role in ending slavery, on virtually a global basis.
That alone would be more than reason enough to esteem its place in global culture. But it might not be a bad thing if we quit reading it with all the insight of a bunch of pissed-off teenagers with an ax to grind. That can be just as deadly as reading it like a book of magic whose intent is to teach us how to get God to give us stuff.
If the Bible doesn't make sense, it may be the result of “its” failings. It might just as reasonably be the result of ours. Either way, without it, there would be an enormous gap in our understanding of who we are, where we came from, and how we got here. And that would be more than reason enough to give it the respect that it's due.
Mark Magula
The Bible may, in fact, fail miserably as a manual for fixing your car, buying a house or adjusting the thermostat on your air conditioner. It can just as easily fail as a tool for understanding modern economics and the Constitution. Even if the Constitution was heavily influenced by the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Christ. When we're willing to acknowledge these, sometimes difficult, realities, then, maybe, disgruntled Christians and atheists alike will stop tossing the baby and bathwater out together.
Why should anyone care about the Bible? Because it provides much of the legal and moral foundation for Western Culture. It was also indispensable in the development of democracy as we know it, to say nothing of its role in ending slavery, on virtually a global basis.
That alone would be more than reason enough to esteem its place in global culture. But it might not be a bad thing if we quit reading it with all the insight of a bunch of pissed-off teenagers with an ax to grind. That can be just as deadly as reading it like a book of magic whose intent is to teach us how to get God to give us stuff.
If the Bible doesn't make sense, it may be the result of “its” failings. It might just as reasonably be the result of ours. Either way, without it, there would be an enormous gap in our understanding of who we are, where we came from, and how we got here. And that would be more than reason enough to give it the respect that it's due.
Mark Magula
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