|
News for the Pews |
Home
6th April 2024
SaturdayReflection
************************
Jared Byas shares
What the Bible says about Right and Wrong
************************
What is the Bible and what do we do with it?
What role does the Bible play in shaping our moral compass?
The first clue, that the Bible isn't really meant to be a guide for right and wrong.
Most of the Bible is about God making a people of His own, the Israelites.
Now, if you grew up in the Church, it's likely you heard dozens of sermons that tried to treat every story like a moral fable:
If the Bible is supposed to be a moral guide, why does it take so much work to get to the point?
But then, ON THE OTHER HAND we really have a problem.
Because when is the Bible simply describing something and when is it prescribing something?
What part is culturally situated (and therefore no longer relevant for us) and which part is universally applicable (and therefore very relevant for us)?
Some more conservative scholars will argue they have found a clear distinction: the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament are no longer relevant for us but the moral laws are.
The problem of course is that this distinction is foreign to the Bible.
Some have tried to just bypass the whole thing and said: let's just stick with Jesus.
If Jesus says to do something, let's take it seriously.
But otherwise, we'll just let it go.
I think this is a helpful step.
Lots of things are cleared up if we go this route.
However, it ignores a few key things to think about.
One, Jesus was Jewish and followed many of the same instructions that others did.
Two, Jesus said a few problematic things too.
You know, things like "let the dead bury their own dead", if you get remarried after a divorce you are committing adultery, hating your parents, spouse, siblings, and kids is necessary to be a Jesus follower, sell all your belongings.
So I'm not sure just sticking with Jesus is the answer to how the Bible connects to our morality.
It certainly is central but perhaps there are a few missing pieces.
What I think is missing in this recipe is wisdom.
I would argue that thinking in categories of absolute right and wrong isn't that helpful.
There are very few absolute moral guidelines and they come pretty intuitively to us: don't kill people, don't behave badly, tell the truth.
Hopefully, we don't need 66 ancient books of stories to help us get those.
But if we are trying to glean some wisdom from an ancient people who are trying to follow God, from Jesus Himself, and from some of His closest followers, then the Bible can be helpful (all of it, not just the Jesus parts).
Jesus Himself seems to advocate this when he says that Sabbath is for people, not the other way around.
The instructions are there to wrestle with, trying to figure out what still makes sense and what doesn't, what to keep, what to modify, and what to do away with as moral instruction.
Just as Richard Rohr says, I think we almost always lead with experience first.
And wisdom is the art and science of experience.
The Bible can be a wonderful moral aid on the journey.
But when we use it as a rulebook, we often end up betraying our own moral compass since rules are often a way to control while wisdom is the path to freedom.
But what do I know?
I'm still full of questions, fumbling along the way here.
*I just made up this sermon in my head.
Apparently, you can take the pastor out of moralistic sermon-writing but I guess you can't take the moralistic sermon-writing out of the pastor.
><(((°>
Un-edited version, (MUCH MORE) available on request
(and Bible references)
Jared Byas, M.A.
Jared Byas helps run the 'Bible for Normal People'.
As a former teaching pastor and professor of philosophy and biblical studies, he speaks regularly on the Bible, truth, creativity, wisdom, and the Christian faith.
He has written a handful of books including Love Matters More and Jonah for Normal People.
Our heart is for the normal person so we are not elitist or exclusionary and we also want everyone who comes to the table to find something valuable (including our global audience)
Our mission is simple:
Bring the best in biblical scholarship to everyday people.
Our Values
Curiosity
We acknowledge that others know more than us and that we won't ever know everything.
So, we ask the hard questions and give others permission to do the same.
Contact the Rector
The Revd.
Nic.Edwards
The Rectory,
Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE,
Northampton,
NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 - 815496
(Can be accessed from the mobile device)
Mobile: .....
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Contact the Benefice Office
Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 830373
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Mon., Tues., Wed,, Thur., Fri.
9:00am to 11:30am
For Baptism bookings (Christenings)
to arrange an appointment please contact
the Benefice Office.
For Wedding bookings:
please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
an appointment.
Who Made This?
Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
advice or report factual corrections and
'deliberate mistakes',email:-
regparker3 at gmail dot com
Email addresses shown using words in an
attempt to avoid 'spam',
Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
and 'dot' with '.'
|