I Read The Bible Differently Than You Do

That title is provocative. But true.

You see, we all read the bible differently. That is an inescapable fact, no matter how frustrating you find it to be.

My more fundamentalist friends won’t like that. A lot of Christians would like to believe that there is one right interpretation. The Bible has one right answer for all of life’s questions. This is untrue on many levels, but in this post, I want to discuss hermeneutics and experience. We must always keep in mind that there are unique perspectives in every denomination, local church and inside of each individual congregant based on history, theological frameworks and interpretive methods.

My atheist friends will want to say that this is proof the Bible is nonsense. They would expect a truly holy text to be more determinate, consistent and easy to understand. I would simply caution that this seemingly endless diversity of interpretations is a natural and divine flourishing out of the richness and complexity of the Bible itself. Rather than point to the unholiness of scripture, I think this diversity is a kind of miracle. If you’re willing to delve a little deeper into how this miracle works, then we can all better appreciate the different ways that Christians find meaning, guidance and sacred connection in the text.

Most of all, please approach your reading of the Bible with open minds, open hearts, mutual respect, honest dialog and most importantly, trust that God is going to meet you somewhere in the reading.

I want to share some ways I personally think about the Bible. These are not the only ways. These may not even be the right ways. I’m sharing them because it may help you make sense of other things, I write here and you may find resonance with my approach in your own reading.

Dealing With an Ancient Text

The Bible comes to us from a wide variety of writers across centuries and many cultures. Different books of the Bible were written for different purposes. We may or may not understand those cultures and purposes in our modern way of thinking. There are phrases and concepts that really don’t translate perfectly into our languages and our own modern languages and concepts are evolving as well.

Equally important, different interpretations have developed throughout history. We see this in the Bible itself in areas where a similar story is told in a different way, with different facts. In an ancient story, the theological point was more important than, “getting the facts right.” And as we’ve learned more about our own scripture, ancient cultures, science, sociology and more, we’ve changed our minds about what different passages mean.

Keep in mind that there was a time when scripture didn’t exist. And after that, the books we call scripture today existed, but weren’t considered scripture. Our tradition changed our minds about these texts to call them scripture in the first place. Early Christians seemed somewhat divided on many issues — that’s why Paul wrote so many letters to try to straighten things out. But nothing really got straightened out entirely. We continue to reinterpret scripture in different cultural contexts and settings shaped by our own histories and customs.

Again, I see this as a kind of divine miracle, not a downside. But you must be open to the idea that change is OK with God.

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is a fancy theology-nerd word that means an approach to interpretation of sacred texts. Why don’t we just say, “interpretive approach?” Because theology nerds gonna’ nerd.

We all have our own hermeneutic. Even theologians in the same tradition will disagree on extremely important issues of interpretation. Take a single idea: was Jesus’s tomb actually empty on Easter morning? Your answer to that question will dramatically change how you read all the New Testament. But your answer to that question will not make you a better or worse Christian. It does, however, influence your personal hermeneutic.

There are a lot of things that can influence your hermeneutic and you might not have considered that you even had a choice in the matter. Certain ideas are so culturally significant or handed down to you from your denomination that you didn’t know there was any debate. Consider:

• Is it a necessary characteristic of God to maintain all three “O’s:” Omniscience, Omnipresence and Omnipotence? Can God opt out of one or more at any time?
• Do you have free will? Is salvation predetermined? Can a truly sane and perfectly informed person really choose to deny God and if not, is that even free will?
• Was the universe formed in days or billions of years?
• Do we know which parts of the Bible are historical, literal, allegorical, mythological, poetic and more? Can we agree on which ones?

For a personal example, I grew up SDA so our hermeneutic required us to emphasize the parts of the Bible that seemed to say that Saturday sabbath-keeping is eternally important while ignoring the parts of the Bible that seem to say we shouldn’t worry about sabbath-keeping anymore. Spoiler alert: both contradicting ideas coexist in the same Bible.

Ezekiel 20:19-20

I the Lord am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God.

Colossians 2:16-17

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

So, what is a good Christian going to do? Well, the Bible has yet another answer for that too.

Romans 14:5

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.

My point is not that the Bible has a perfect eternal right answer to any questions. My point is that while you navigate your life uniquely, the Holy Spirit can help you and speak to you through your scripture and tradition.

Tradition and Authority

Different hermeneutics lead to different dogma. Over time, certain characteristics become defining for certain denominations. It’s hard to imagine a Calvinist not believing in original sin, even though many Christians would argue it’s a misreading of Paul. It’s hard to imagine a Lutheran not emphasizing grace, even though Anglicans believe you need to show grace through works (apologies Anglicans, that’s an oversimplification on my part). Even an open and modern denomination like the UCC is similarly marked by hermeneutics. Being open to wonder is part of a hermeneutic.

Let’s not leave out the many evangelical denominations or non-denominational churches that claim on that you should rely only on the Bible itself and not on tradition or authority. This is laughable because such a claim is itself a hermeneutical claim largely based on the tradition and authority of their denominations. And a little anti-Catholic bigotry thrown in for good measure.

Our Own Experiences

I like Richard Rohr’s tricycle. Your approach to faith has three wheels: experience, scripture and tradition. The front wheel is your own personal experience because it is impossible to escape it. It is driving your tricycle even if you are trying to pop wheelies your whole life. Scripture itself is just one wheel. And tradition is another wheel. They’re all necessary and keep you moving forward without falling over. You will drive your own hermeneutic through these three wheels. Methodists add in, “Reason,” to form the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

Experience matters. You matter. You bring something to this. Something important. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit impacts different people in different ways with the same texts on the same day in the same pews.

Embrace Multivalence

What are we to make of an ancient set of texts that seem contradictory and complex and that no one seems to be able to agree on 100%? Walter Brueggemann, arguably the most influential and important living theologian (how’s that for a strong opinion about tradition and authority?) compares scripture to a compost pile. Scriptural compost is the rich growing material for new ideas and faith to flourish. Lots of things can grow in the pile, even weeds. You can’t just eat zucchini your whole life. You get to take your compost that has grown rich through lots of time and strange additions, and you can spread it into many different gardens to grow many different things. What grows out of the compost is more important than the compost pile itself.

As a Coloradan, another way I like to think of the Bible is a series of unplanned trails through a mountain forest or meadow. The trails there may be small because a few people before you saw something important in that direction and a little narrow trail formed. I’m looking at you Song of Solomon because I rarely hear you preached. The trail may be big and clear, and many people have travelled it. Matthew 25 anyone? The people before you are helping you choose your path. There’s nothing wrong with choosing your own path, but it’s nice to reference the trails along the way so you don’t get lost.

The Bible is exceptionally complex, multivocal, multivalent and that leads to many different interpretations. There is no one correct way to read it for every time and place. That is not weak, irresolute or disadvantaged. That is creative strength. That is the Holy Spirit in action in our lives.