The bible is Christianity’s central and necessary text. Through it God’s holy word is revealed and illuminated, although different denominations have widely different understandings of what the text means. Scripture alone is the theme for many who will turn to no other source to find meaning in the ways of God and the world, and for some it is only the New Testament that is given serious attention. Hebrew scripture, the Old Testament, is given an occasional glance, especially at Christmas and Easter, but otherwise put off as incomprehensible and of little consequence. Exceptions are made for familiar prophecies linked to Jesus and text snippets favorable to one’s own social values. Another exception is Daniel that some believe predicts a knowable future if deciphered in just the right way. It’s often paired with the New Testament book of Revelation, and together given primacy over everything else.
To the extent this generalized overview holds true, it has several fatal weaknesses that prevent average pew sitting Christians from anything other than a superficial grasp of the depth, breadth, power and meaning contained within the Bible’s covers. For starters, the New Testament cannot possibly be well understood without a solid grounding in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law and prophets but to fulfill them.
One cannot be grounded in the Old Testament if it isn’t accompanied by basic knowledge of the history and geography of the ancient Near East. The ebb and flow of competing empires rolled over and through the Israelites who were in their way, troublesome but of minor importance in the scheme of empires. Of equal importance are the two thousand years of Hebrew scripture history and prophecy through which God’s self revelation was progressively unveiled. The two thousand years between Abraham and Jesus was a long time indeed, as long as our time has existed from Jesus to today. A lot changed in two thousand years, and the direction of change pointed the way to the God’s penultimate self revelation not through prophets but through the Word of God made flesh in in Jesus Christ.
To help explain what’s going on, it’s important to have some understanding of the unique contributions of oral tradition and written testimony, including the written records of other ancient civilizations. Reflection on historical circumstances leads to a deeper understanding of the Bible’s authors, when and why its books were written, how it has come to us in the form we have it today, how authentic scripture was separated from other religious writings of the time, and why different churches have different numbers of books in their bibles.
Teachers of adult Christian education have taken too many years to recognize how important the historical foundation is to a deeper understanding of our central text, and how intricately Hebrew and Christian texts the are woven as one piece.
It’s not difficult to lay out the historical foundation. The basics are not hard to grasp, and academic complexity is not necessary. There is an amazing moment in the faces of adults who have been exposed to the historical references of the biblical text. It’s a sort of “Aha, now I see how things fit together, now it’s beginning to make sense as a whole and not just as long ago memorized verses. I wish I had learned the lesson earlier, but it’s never too late to start anew in a different way.”
Skeptics might harp that it’s just first year seminary stuff and they would be right. But most graduates tuck it into the backs of their brains and never explain it to adult Christians who were last educated at the fourth or fifth grade level in second rate Sunday school. No matter how faithful they may be in attending adult Christian education offerings, they’re still hobbled by an unsophisticated grade school level foundation. No doubt there are videos and scripted curricula that can do the job, but I’m old and favor short lectures in a seminar setting with real people gathering face to face. Give me a whiteboard, new markers, a glass of water, and we’re off on an hour or two of adventure and story telling with lots of discussion.
When I was the United Methodist campus minister at W&M, a student asked me following one of his class sessions in a course on the Old Testament, “Did you know there are many gods in the Old Testament!?” When I said, “Yes,” with a bit of anger he asked, “Why didn’t I learn this in church!?” His question led me to create a new learning experience for undergrads, “Religion Course Discussion Group.” Students taking any religion related courses in Philosophy, English, or Religious Studies would meet three times with me during a semester, discussing what they were learning, how their learning was challenging/enriching their faith, or what they wished the church would teach about what they were learning. Any student who met with me and the group three times received $50 from our campus ministry as a way of encouraging them to continue taking courses and keep thinking about their faith. The kinds of things you are describing in this essay were what students often discussed, and they seemed to appreciate a safe place to talk about them. For me, one of the most memorable and saddest comments came from a student whose father was a pastor; as she put it, she felt like she had been played by the church. I hope she went home and had a “come to Jesus” conversation with her father about why he and the church had not been more honest with her.
David, I really like your idea of the discussion group. And Steve, people sitting with you and your white board will continue to be blessed and their minds opened. I wish we had a weekly or bi-monthly group to discuss the lessons from the Daily Office.