September 25, 2017 Chapter 5: In Over Our Heads
I had to go back and read this chapter twice before I began to understand it and like it! I had an Old Testament teacher in the seminary who would often wonder if the entire Bible was written by one person. He said that because he believed it tied in so well together all the way from Adam and Eve to the great book of Revelation. in some ways I think McLaren would agree.
In this chapter he seems to be inviting us to see each story building on the previous story, as he would put is a move in the right direction. Noah teaches us one thing about God, but then the tower of babel another, then Joseph another and on and on right up to the life of Jesus, his resurrection and the great Pentecost event. these stories as ways of helping us to better understand God go hand in hand to help us become image bearers of God.
I think in many ways we can see this in our own families. My dad's parents did not graduate from high school, but my dad did. My mom and dad did not go to college, but several of their children did. Many of my nieces and nephews have gone to college, graduated and are now raising their families. What is in store for their kids? hopefully it will be a continual progression toward a little better life, a life a little more full.
But that fullness only comes when we are able to share with them the one thing that really matters: to pattern our life on the life of Jesus and to be better image bearers for our God.
To me this chapter is highlighting the contrast of story and facts.
ReplyDeleteAfter attending the parish retreat I gained a new perspective on the storytelling of the Bible.
I grew up thinking about proving the Bible stories were true. Noah, Moses, Adam and Eve.
I finally realized, does it really matter? Is the point proving the words or the message?
Maybe it is the storytelling that makes the Bible applicable always. The same stories can bring forth many different messages depending on who's reading them and their mindset.
This chapter by McLaren is widening my view of the Bible.
I agree that we need to search for the message behind the story and not get hung up in the details as factual. I recently visited the Ark Encounter in KY which is a replica of Noah's Ark as dimensioned in the Bible. The exhibits went into a lot of detail about the types and numbers of animals, how they could have been cared for, how Noah and his family stocked the ark and their daily chores, etc., etc. The point of the story is not all those (assumed) facts and details. It's that God was not pleased with the direction of mankind, there was a process of purification and repentance which brought mankind back to God's plan and God saw the world as his creation again. (Of course, this is a very simplistic opinion.) The point is the relationship of God with his creation.
ReplyDeleteI brought home a book showing how they made this modern-day version of the ark and thought "How was it even possible to engineer this way back when?" So I catch myself going back to consider the facts instead of the message.
"those ancient stories expose how all civilizations were founded on violence and oppression, producing luxury and ease for a few but exhaustion and degradation for the many" Sort of sums up where our world is today
ReplyDelete.I was taught to look at who the stories were written to(setting) andcwhatvwas going on in their world(time). But in every age we can see how the story applies to us,to me.The harder part is how do we make the changes needed to make a difference today.
All three comments this week connect biblical stories with our current life. I think Juan is right. This is exactly what makes the Bible still relevant today. It isn't necessary (at least in my mind) that we need to prove that every Bible story is true (as in factual), but to discover the truth (God's message to us) in each story.
ReplyDeleteMichelle's "simplistic opinion" is also spot on...the story is about our relationship with God. And so each story we read we do so from our lens of that day. Next week, next year the story will have a different lens and so we will read it differently.
Finally, as Dinah points out...that line "sort of sums up where our world is today." For me, too often it sums up where I am today as well and that is why I need to continually reflect on the stories so that I don't become one of those producing "luxury and ease" for myself at the expense of others.