It is hard to talk about the Bible without igniting controversy. Some people think every single word must be taken literally, and others think that the Bible is a book of fables. It seems there are always extremes on any subject.
I was considering this subject recently and asked myself: Does everything in the Bible need to be taken literally if you are a Christian?
What I mean by that is this-- would it matter if the story of the Flood in the Bible was not a historic event, but rather a story used to express truth or teach wisdom? And what about Adam and Eve, if that too was a story meant to teach humanity about the existence of sin and the importance of following God's directions, would that somehow lessen the Bible?
I tend to believe both the Flood story and the story of Adam and Eve are true stories, meaning actual events, but my faith in God does not rest upon these stories being literal rather than figurative. If these stories were instead used as types to teach us truths about ourselves and God--my faith would not be undone.
Jesus often used stories, parables, to teach people truths. We don't know if He was always telling of factual events, or of stories meant merely to teach. For instance, He may have known someone who lost a lamb and left the other sheep to go search for the lost one, but our understanding of that story does not rely upon whether or not it was a historical event.
To be sure there is history in the Bible. There are historic events and actual people told about in the Bible. Yet there are also areas of symbolism and imagery used to teach truths and captivate the mind of the reader. For instance, the entire Book of Revelation is filled with symbolism and imagery. It would be stretching credibility to expect every symbolic instance to represent historic events, rather, prophecy speaks mostly of the future, and/or as a vehicle for teaching, and does so in symbols and imagery.
Understand that what I'm saying is not to denigrate the Bible. The word of God has many detractors and I am not one. Indeed, I believe it is like no book ever written. The New Testament alone is built upon more than 5,000 historic manuscripts, no other ancient document that I'm aware of can boast of such support. The Bible is a powerful book, filled with beauty and lovely imagery and history and prophecy and teaching and wisdom and more. There is no book like it.
I think there are two basic approaches when it comes to the Bible: Either you believe it is God's word, or you don't. If you believe it is God's word, then you have to discover what that means.
Some people treat the Bible like a Science Text Book; others treat it as a Secret Code Book that only they have the "cheat sheet" for. I think in both of those cases they are mistreating God's word.
Perhaps the biggest issue for Bible believers is discernment. How do we approach the Bible? Do we treat it as a "Fact Book", a sort of reference book of humanity? Or do we treat it as merely a book of interesting stories to teach us?
This is what I believe: I think the Bible, when referring to people and places as if they were real should be accepted at face value. Yet we should also accept that it is possible that some things that have been taken too literally could rather be stories to educate and teach us about ourselves and God. I'm not saying they are, but rather that they could fit into this category. This is ground we must tread lightly on. Remember that just a few decades ago many Christians believed the world was only a few thousand years old based upon Bible genealogies. Only the most die-hard Bible literalists believe that today. Geologists tell us that there was no world-wide Flood. Perhaps someday they will be proven wrong, but even if somehow they are right, for me it does not lessen the importance of the Flood story. It could be a story type meant to express the early state of human depravity on earth. The Greeks also had stories of early depravity of humanity, and nearly every early culture on earth had some version of the Flood story. It is possible that this story is much bigger than the Flood it speaks of.
My great concern for fellow Christians is two-fold, first that if some Bible story that they have taken literally does not line up with historic or scientific fact and they find their literal approach to the Bible has failed, that they will then be damaged regarding their faith in God. Secondly, I have concerns that some Christians will turn their backs on Reason, Logic, Science, and Fact in order to uphold pet theories and literal Biblical interpretations.
Science can never disprove the existence of God. It is possible that historic documents, archeology, science, geology, or some fact coming to light might bring into question some Biblical stories regarding literal interpretation. This is why I think the wise Christian will allow for the possibility that some stories and events in the Bible were meant more for enlightenment about ourselves and God rather than to be used as an historic reference. We should not hinge our faith in God upon a strict literal interpretation of every Biblical story and event.
The Bible is, I believe, the word of God revealed and spoken unto men who then wrote down those words. God is a Teacher. One of the main things Christ did on earth was to teach. He used many stories as examples of how to behave or not to behave, and to reveal truths to us about God. I believe God's word, first written on scrolls and parchment, later printed in Book format, and now even in digital format, is powerful, important, and the revealed word of God to us. It is meant to teach us, guide us, and reveal God and His will for our lives.
To my fellow Christians, I would encourage you to treat God's word with the respect it deserves, but not to hinge your belief in God upon a few stories that may be historic fact, or might rather be included in the Bible to teach us about ourselves and God as the first priority, instead of the historical record. Let your faith rest solidly upon God in the Person of Jesus. Read the Bible for enlightenment and truth. And whether or not there was an Ark filled with animals, or whether an actual Eve gave Adam that forbidden apple, first of all see the truth revealed in the story, let that be your focus. These events may very well have occurred, and I am inclined to take them literally, but even if they are stories merely meant to teach us, they are precious to me. At the end of all things my faith relies not upon an Ark, but in the Person Jesus Christ who died for my sins, and rose again, proving that there is more than this life beyond the grave for those who will trust in Him. And I hope you will find that truth, and if you have found it, that you will hold to it and never let it go.
Blessings.
KBD
I am a Hindu and practice Advaita Vedanta.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my belief, all religious text like Bible and Gita are more applied on a mental level.
If you take word-by-word, like draw the sword ... or Islam's Jehad, it will result in destruction.
Jehad, IMO, means to defeat the internal enemies like anger, greed, etc, just like a Jain word Pratikraman which roughly translates into "attacking without attacking" or "to attack without attacking", which means to peacefully be aware of waves / thoughts scenes of mind and just let go. Do not try to force yourself to chant a mantra or do any kriya (process - mental or physical). Neglecting thoughts and being aware of the mantra is the best way to uproot desires / thoughts and calm down mind.
there is a saying, "drop the container and catch the content". It says all, hope you get it.
In other words, anything that does not calm your mind is not healthy.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. The trek of a spiritual seeker is not easy, one must filter out the unhealthy aspects of religion to find truth. From my experience, what you speak of regarding focus upon a mantra is what I find through prayer and fellowship with God as a personal experience. Discovering a consciousness of God with us and within us rather than our own self-consciousness can give peace and freedom from fear and cares of the world around us. For the Christian these things come about from a personal relationship with Christ, having His spirit within us and guiding us. Effort on our part consists mainly in faith and trust and relying upon His guidance. Rather than focus upon a mantra to lose our unhealthy thoughts and troubled mind, we focus upon God and develop an awareness of His presence, this gives us peace and a calm mind.
ReplyDeleteI wish you well and I thank you again for sharing your thoughts.
KBD
Focusing upon a mantra is just one thing. Being aware of SELF / Atman / Brahman is another and being one with the cosmic spirit is yet another state. It all depends upon ones 'Prakriti' (Nature). Whatever suits you is the best (for you). Finally everything ends at one destination.
ReplyDeleteHinduism covers every aspect of faith. Duality and non-duality. What you say is also practiced in duality or many times in Yog.
Either you can practice be a servant / medium / devotee of God (son of God) or you can be one with God i.e. you are God, not as a person, but as pure consciousness / awareness. (I and my father are one)
Peace and Eternal peace, peace and all powerful state are one and the same thing.
One who worships a personl God, ejoys bliss and there is upsurge of divine emotion / spiritual emotion and one feels his / her Gods presence wherever he/she goes.
Technically, the state of SELF Realization or to have divine vision of (personal) God is a state of Mind and not a way to live. Even Sanyas (living as a monk, a renunciate) is a state of mind and not the way of living.
In spirituality, importance is given to 'be in presence' and not to think / worry about past and future.
Believe me, being aware of SELF gives you uninterrupted peace throughout the day. Your vision broadens and your mind becomes so neutral that it does not agitate more or if at all agitates, calms down fast. Only if, by God's and Guru's grace you experience this state of deep peace, you can actually understand it. Experience is the best way to understand. It removes any doubts.
In prayer, you are communicating (talking) with God. In awareness and meditation (actually comtemplation) you are listening to God.
I agree that track of spiritual seeker is not easy. Prayers help a lot. Prayers are important part of spiritual practice and a part of my daily routine. It reduces my ego and prepares me to surrender to God, so that I can be aware of God / SELF, through a mantra's origin. (difficult to understand and explain)
Prayer is like you are talking to God and being aware is like God is talking to you and you are listening to God. Just a personal opinion.
Anyways, these discussions keep going. Nice talking to you.
Thanks again for your comments and thoughts. Yes, prayer is a two way conversation, if one is willing to listen through intuition we can be guided by God and His will for us. What you say about not focusing on the past or future reminds me of something I read about Zen philosophy regarding "living in the moment", it is good advice, too often peoples thoughts focus only upon the future or drift back to worry over the past. Much of my belief system revolves around three things: Experience, Intuition, and Common Sense. I believe God is experienced, and our experiences with God and from the things we go through in life, especially times of suffering and hardship, can strengthen us and lend us spiritual roots. Our intuition brings us an awareness beyond mere physical existence and opens our minds to the spiritual and God's Spirit around and within us. Common Sense is that which comes from comprehension and acknowledgment of facts that stare us in the eye every day, common truths such as when we see the sun rise and a conviction is within us that someone made the sun and beautiful creation around us. When we look at the stars in the night sky and are filled with wonder and yet again conviction and common sense reminds us this is more than just just an explosion of random atoms surrounding us.
ReplyDeleteChristians look to the Bible as a guide for living, for relating to God and those around us. Sadly, it is too often an abused and misused book as I mentioned in the article. But if it is approached with the understanding of properly separating history from hyperbole from symbolism from wisdom, then it is applicable to our lives. The first premise is that God is love, and everything must be seen in that light. Even what seems harsh from God is born out of love. God's compassion is the key to placing everything in context, our lives and the lives of others.
Sadly, Christianity is not well represented in public. It is too often used in politics and as an excuse to abuse and mistreat others. The real Christians I have met are generally kind and good people who are not shouting from podiums or in front of TV cameras.
I must admit I know little about India's religions. My own religion is mostly a personal thing and occasionally I am moved to share my thoughts regarding the little I have learned in my life. I very much appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
My Christian faith revolves around the person of Jesus. He is the one to us who was God manifest on the earth, God stepping down from heaven to show love and sacrifice and compassion for humanity.
I see one's final destination as having peace with God. We wrestle with Him, much like Jacob in the Bible, we wrestle with life and its hardships, much like Job in the Bible, and we find peace with God, just as Jesus asked the Father to receive His Spirit before He died on the cross. I think the journey matters, and it matters that we learn as we go through life. I personally see life as being in school continually, we are tested, we learn, we grow, we suffer setbacks, and along the way we get to know ourselves and God better. Sometimes school is not pleasant, and sometimes we are greatly blessed. If we find love and live with love we are particularly blessed. It is all religion in the best sense, it is only when we let the darker side of life, the darkness in the world, and darkness in ourselves have prominence in our lives that we are seriously failing in this great school of life.
Well, I have rambled on much today, but I have enjoyed the conversation.
Thanks again.
KBD
When you pray, you ask something, so it's more one way traffic. In being aware, you are receptive and ready to listen or feel what God is saying. Both are important.
ReplyDeleteDegradation is a common issue today, true for all religion.
From my experience, a saint / avatar, lives a particular life, meditates or practices spirituality, in a way that best suits his nature and then, if God permits or orders, teaches mankind, the essence of what he has learned and gained.
I believe that teachings of great saints are actually the extension or representation of their way of living.
So it is good to go back to the roots. Study the life of Jesus, maybe serment on the mount, (I have not studied it).
Classification of an issue as Positive or negative incident depends upon how we interpret it. It all depends up on mind.
We all want to be guru and spirituality teaches us to be disciple. Disciple is ready to bend his/her ego and our ego does not allow us to bend itself and so creates doubts to sustain it's individuality, thereby not allowing one to be a disciple (at the receiving end). It is a question of life and death for Ego. If it merges with cosmic consciousness, it dies and who wants to die?
As for spirituality, your consciousness has to be transcend beyond your physical body and be one with God.
I too enjoyed this conversation. As I have said earlier, this will go on and on. I may not reply any further, but will definitely read your thoughts, if you do reply.
Thanks
btw, I have read a definition of the word religion. Some explanation here http://indiaspirituality.blogspot.com/2011/12/wishing-you-merry-christmas-and-happy.html
In prayer you can also be silent and aware and listen for God to speak, though this may be more commonly considered meditation, if at the end of prayer one waits for an answer it becomes two way communication. Meditation is not commonly practiced among Christians, yet the Bible invokes meditating upon scripture which can bring a greater revelation of God's word and will for us.
ReplyDeleteLosing the ego for the Christian has more to do with humbling ourselves before God, seeking His will and not our own, and allowing Him to work His will, His love through us. We see Christian rebirth as a renewal rather than annihilation, yet there are verses that remind us that the "old man" must die for the "new man" to arise. In this sense we die with Christ on the cross and find rebirth in His Resurrection. Perhaps what you are calling the ego we are labeling "the flesh", those desires and actions that set humanity apart from God. Something corrupt in the human nature that sets a wall between us and our Creator.
Christians have different ideas about saints. Some see saints as super humans set apart from the rest of humanity. My understanding of the Bible is that a saint is a reborn person in special relationship with God. This includes all those who have a personal relationship with God through faith. It is a special relationship rather than based upon actions or merit.
As for teachers, Christians have too many that ought to be students instead. It is largely based upon Biblical studies and degrees, but there are many self-appointed teachers. My own belief is that those who have a living, breathing, active, and consistent relationship with God are the best teachers. Those who have experience living in communion with God can teach us the most.
I particularly like what you say here, and it reflects my belief:
"I believe that teachings of great saints are actually the extension or representation of their way of living."
I love The Sermon On The Mount, and it is the most neglected teaching in Christianity, even though it is the center-piece of Christian living. A number of years ago I did a commentary on this portion of scripture:
http://www.angelfire.com/tn3/youngeagle/THE_SERMON_ON_THE_MOUNT.htm
Regarding positive and negative incidents, this is where the Bible helps the Christian, we measure the positive and negative based upon scripture, it guides our ethics and values and how we interpret the good, the bad, the positive and negative. Of course the problem here is that some misinterpret the Bible itself. The Bible is meant to be interpreted by the Spirit of God guiding our intellect and our heart, this is where Biblical interpretation becomes problematic, getting back to ego, some approach God's word with preconceived thoughts instead of allowing God to guide them in its interpretation.
Again, I agree with you that everyone wants to be teachers instead of disciples. What you speak of as death of ego Christians would call "death of self", death of our selfish desires and self-motivated wants. Growing spiritually for the Christian is not death of personality, but rather renewal of personality and death of those aspects that we enter the world with that are driven by the chaos within and the appeal of the destroyer without.
What you say about the body is interesting. We are not so much trying to separate ourselves from the body as seeing it as being crippled and harmed and affected by the world and life itself. We eagerly await the renewal of our body. Those who are reborn are reborn within, it is our hope that eventually we will have a reborn body to match our reborn spirit.
I thank you again for sharing your thoughts.
KBD