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June 14, 2009 The Errant WordLast fall we introduced the idea of asking questions as part of the biblical tradition and Christian way of life. As Rob Bell writes in Velvet Elvis,“A Christian doesn’t avoid the questions; a Christian embraces them. In fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions. Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don’t have any. What is tragic is a faith that has no room for them.” To that end, this summer during worship we are addressing the questions that you, the people of St. Paul’s, have asked about faith, theology, and our larger Lutheran church body, the ELCA. Last week we began this summer of Q & A by talking about angels and demons. Today we delve into another hotbed of inquiry: Do ELCA Lutherans believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God? How many of the religious laws are biblical in origin, versus those that are man-made? I’m dealing with these questions today because they appeal to those of us who are typical heady Lutherans. But I’m also very passionate about how we read and understand the Bible. Hopefully you’ll hear me speak from both my head and my heart today as we delve into the questions,“Are there errors in the Bible or not? What does it mean for us if there are? What about all those laws?” Well… let’s begin by saying that, as Lutherans, we believe that the Bible is the most important of all the ways God’s person and presence are revealed to humanity. Reading the Bible is the most reliable way that we hear and encounter the living Word of God, who is the risen Jesus. However, like most if not all other Christians, ELCA Lutherans believe that the Bible was not dictated word-for-word. (Muslims believe this about the Quran… that it was dictated word for-word by God and is therefore inerrant, or error-free).That’s not how we believe our Bible came to be. Instead, we believe that God inspired the Bible’s many writers, editors, and compilers. As they heard God speaking and discerned God’s activity in events around them in their own times and places, the Bible’s content took shape. Since God inspired the Bible and didn’t dictate it, its writings include human emotion, testimony, opinion, cultural limitation and bias. What separates us from some of the other Christian denominations is that, as ELCA Lutherans, we recognize that human testimony and writing are related to and often limited by a person’s culture, customs and worldview. Take, for example, today’s Old Testament reading from the Book of Leviticus. It has some very specific laws about what people can and can not eat. How many of you have ever eaten camel? Rock badger? Rabbit? Pork? If you raised your hand, you’ve broken a biblical law. It’s in the Bible… it’s a biblical law. But, as ELCA Lutherans, we aren’t too worried about that. Because we believe that biblical writers, editors and compilers were limited by their times and worldview, even as we are, the Bible contains material wedded to those times and places. I firmly believe that, when Leviticus was written… or at least when it was passed down orally… there was a reason for people not to eat the meat of those specific animals, or it wouldn’t have been a law. Whatever that reason was, obviously it no longer holds true. Today’s reading is biblical… it’s a biblical law… but we have determined that it was meant for a different time, a different place, and a different culture. In addition to being outdated or somewhat obsolete as a law, this passage from Leviticus also contains a small error. I’m not a biologist, so I wouldn’t have noticed it on my own, but some of you may be quick to point out that rabbits do not “chew their cud.” Again, then, it’s important for us to recognize that biblical writers were limited by their times, worldview, and by the scientific knowledge available to them at that time. All of that leads, then, to another set of questions. If the Bible is not inerrant… not absolutely free of mistakes or biases… then how can it be true? How can it be authoritative? How can it be dependable, reliable, trustworthy? Again, the ELCA website says that the Bible reveals God’s person and presence to us. Can the Bible reveal who God is and what God is like without being perfect? I would say… certainly. I would also say that there is a reason we don’t hear this particular passage from Leviticus on a regular basis in our worshipping life… because it doesn’t convey God’s presence as much as some other passages. Pastor Caroline… you might be thinking… did I just hear you say that some parts of the Bible are more important than others? Yeah. I would say that. I would say, there are some passages we hear more often than others because they point to the Bible’s central message. In other words, when we take the Bible as a whole, there are certain things that stand out. For example, when we talk about laws, what passage would you say reveals a central message? Exodus 20… which is where we find the 10 commandments. Now, if you look at Exodus 20 you’ll find the 10 commandments in the middle of a whole lot of other laws. But we would say that these 10 are the central message… or, in a sense, that all the laws could be summarized in the “top 10”… or as Jesus does in the New Testament… he summarizes those 10 into 2… love God and your neighbor as yourself. Now THERE’S a central message of the Bible! In answer to today’s question, as ELCA Lutherans, we would never say that the Bible is inerrant; we would say that it is inspired by God and written by human hands in such a way that we get the point, but we are also left to deal with some differing and even contradictory views of God’s word, ways, and will. Is that good news or bad news? Of course, there are those who would say that is a disaster. But listen to what my favorite seminary professor has to say about this. ★ “God chooses to use human agents in and through whom God gets things done inthe world, and God does perfect them before deciding to work in and through then. God does not make them incapable of mistakes while inspiring them to write. God chooses to work through the minds of such persons with all their foibles and flaws. This constitutes a risky move for God. Several texts come to mind, starting with Hebrews1:1-God “spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways.’ God does not create human minds that are without limitation. Rather God chooses to work through weakness:“My grace is sufficient for your, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God works in and through earthly means in carrying our God’s purposes (2 Corinthians 4:7- “We have this treasure in clay jars”). The authors of the Bible do not claim to be without error; that claim has come only from readers, who somehow believe that they can only know God certainly if everything is absolutely perfect and in order. Yet God seems to have chosen another way.” (From About the Bible: Short Answers to Big Questions,Terence E. Fretheim, pgs. 145-146) The only way I can do what I do is to believe and hold firmly to the idea that God chooses to work by inspiring ordinary people like you and me who will never get everything right… but who, in spite of ourselves, reveal the person and the presence of God. Sure, some things speak more to you than others… some passages in the Bible are more central than others… but there is also a sense in which every word counts… even outdated laws. You see, even though today’s reading from Leviticus doesn’t have literal meaning for us today, it does tell us who God is and what God is like. These inspired words about not eating certain kinds of meat tell us that God cares about what we eat. God cares about our health and well-being. All those obsolete Old Testament laws having to do with clean and unclean… with clothing and housing… with food and drink… show us a God who cares about every aspect of our well-being. That is certainly good news. Let us pray. Gracious God, our prayer this morning is a grateful thanksgiving that you honor us enough to work through us as we are; that you speak a holy message in and through ordinary people like those of us gathered here today. Empower us to be your angels-your messengers to speak a word of hope to a world in need, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
St. Paul's Lutheran Church § 824 N. Lewis § Waukegan IL |
