An Ode to Chronological Snobbery

"Mixed messages, repetition, bad fact-checking, awkward constructions, inconsistent voice, [and] weak character development" are just a few of the problems with Scripture.

Well, according to Salon, which brings other totally credible articles that clearly have no bias, such as "Let's hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American" and "I'm a pedophile, but not a monster".

I saw the article this morning and just had to take a peak. It's basically what you'd expect, which is to say its arguments are about as solid as a pool of jello.

But first, go to Salon and pull up the article. Check it, that way you know I'm not falsely representing its arguments.

Go ahead.

Done yet?

No?

You can't find it?

Oh... It would appear that Salon took it down. I wonder why? Hmm. It shall forever remain a mystery.

Well, then. If they won't answer the question, I will: It's not.

The Bible isn't badly written. But it is, at times, difficult for us to understand.

Back in college, I took a legal course. The required reading was a four volume set on church and law. It wasn't an easy read. I struggled with the terms. The concepts were unfamiliar. There was probably not one sentence I didn't have to reread. Suffice to say, it was difficult for me to understand.

But that had nothing to do with how well the book was written. It had everything to do with my ability to read it. It was written for law students. I wasn't a law student. It was dependent on some knowledge of legal precedent. I didn't have that. It was well-crafted sword, but I was not a competent swordsman.

This is how we must approach Scripture.

If there's a problem, the problem isn't the book; the problem is our ability to read it. We must not take the prideful position of chronological snobbery, but the humble position that the authors knew something we don't. We have to be willing to learn.

So, all that said, here are a few reasons why the Bible is sometimes difficult to understand:

1. The most recent parts were written 2,000 years ago in a different language. We struggle with Shakespeare, which was written 400 years ago in our own language. Clever wordplay, elegant speech, subtlety, tone, and humor are often the first casualties of time and translation.

2. The Bible is not a single book, but a library of books. It's an assortment of authors writing in a variety of genres. Poetry is different from law. Narrative is different from apocalyptic. And much like today, every author has their own style.

3. The context matters. If you looked over my shoulder and read the love letter I'm writing for my wife on Valentine's Day, you would know to read it differently than a work memo. We have to remember that the Scriptures are written to different people in different settings at different times and let that shape how we understand a given passage.

4. Not all cultures are the same. We may see little value in, for example, detailing genealogies. But that doesn't mean the value isn't there. For other cultures, the parts that we regard as insignificant and unnecessary are actually quite meaningful. Instead of rushing to assign levels of meaning, we should ask why it was important to the original authors.

5. Lastly, it may not be that what we are reading is difficult to understand. It may just be difficult to accept. What the Bible says about sleeping together before marriage is clear, it's just unpopular. What the Bible says about homosexuality is clear, it's just wildly unpopular. Don't assume you're reading it wrong just because it goes against the current cultural flow.

Now, that may seem like a lot of variables to consider. It's no wonder that some people spend their entire lives studying Scripture at an academic level. It's a big, complex book.

But, truth be told, it's not one you need a PhD to read. Augustine said it well:

"The bible was composed in such a way that as beginners mature, its meaning grows with them." - Augustine, Confessions

When my wife and I read it to our son, he gets it. Maybe not all of it, but he gets the gist. The other night for dinner, when he said the prayer, he thanked Jesus for dying for our sins (he also thanked Him for our cat). He's four. So while these are plenty of resource materials like concordances and commentaries that help bridge the gaps, you really can learn the big, deep, important concepts of the Bible just by reading it.

I dare Harry Potter to do better in two millennia.