My last Ask the Pastor question, as submitted on a recent Sunday morning for my particular take... and hopefully as a discussion starter:
"Are any books of the Bible considered more worthy or more important than others?"
Great question. Lots of possible answers. Here's what strikes me right out of the blocks.
YES. Throughout history some books of the Bible have been considered more worthy or more important than others. First, that's how we came to have our Christian Bible in the first place. Through use, discussion and discernment the ancient Jewish leaders winnowed down possible texts into what became something of a canon of Hebrew Scriptures. Also, several "Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical" books are included in some Christian Bibles, but not others (Tobit, Judith, additions to Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, additions to Daniel [Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, Susanna and Bel and the Dragon], 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Maccabees, 1 and 2 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151).
In the New Testament, there was a centuries-long fight over what to include. Revelation was highly disputed, as were some others. Some sects wanted to eliminate most or all of what we now call the Old Testament. Some wanted only one Gospel.
Martin Luther once called the book of Jude "an epistle of straw." Thomas Jefferson edited his own version of the Gospels to save the ethical teachings of Jesus from the "artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms as instruments of riches and power for themselves."
This is simply to suggest that the Bible is a LIBRARY (Greek: Biblios) of books of multiple eras, outlooks and intentions. It is meant to be studied, prayed over, discussed, weighed and lived in.
When I first entered seminary, my main Bible was a New Internation Version pew Bible given to me by a Lutheran pastor. I highlighted verses that particularly resonated with me. When I picked it up years later I was astounded at some of my choices, as I missed entire pericopes that were suddenly vital to me. Go figure. At different times, different verses jump off the page for us.
Right now I am working on a book on Moses, so the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, attributed to Moses) and especially Exodus are most important to me now. With that, I would mix in Isaiah (m' favorite Prophet), John's Gospel, Acts and Romans. Philippians and Jonah are regular stops for me, too. Ask me again next month, and I'll probably have a different list for you.
In short, I think every section of the library we call the Bible is worthy of extended, repeated visits. But, hey, Hosea and Revelation aren't really speaking to me at the moment. What's speaking to you right now? That's what's most important...
I like the idea of the Bible being a library, not a book. It emphasizes the need for interpretation of individual books in different ways. There are certain continuities throughout the Bible, but there are some differences (and a few complete contradictions) between books. This makes sense- multiple authors in different cultural settings at different times in history wrote the Bible.
ReplyDeleteWhen you look at what the Bible really is, it seems sad that there are many who try to limit a person's ability to interperet it for him/herself. This library is a collection of ancient interperetations of reality, written down by human beings seeking the divine to the best of their ability. If you open the Bible looking for answers and close it without any questions, you are probably not using in the way its creators meant for it to be used.
Hi Corey!
ReplyDeleteNeat site.
In terms of Marty's comment on the Epistle of Straw, I think it was James, not Jude, he was referring to due to it's emphasis on works.
I'll bet, however, when it came to eating frankfurters, he had his with the works and not faith, although when you think what's in a hot dog, it does take faith to eat it.
Ralph
Hey, Ralph! Welcome into my blog. Great to have you here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction on the "epistle of straw," too. I do believe you are incorrect regarding Marty's choice of condiments, though. Wasn't it Marty who proclaimed "hot dog stand, I can do no smother?"
And for that one I am truly sorry.
Great to see you at the conference meeting. Even better to have you weighing in here!