Coming from a Christian household, I never really read Genesis as anything other than a holy text--I never took into consideration that it was a historical text. Even if I logically knew it, I never read it that way.
I also never read the Bible as a work of literature written by humans that could be influenced by other cultures, traditions, what the people were facing at the time, etc. I have always seen it as a God-inspired, and therefore completely unbiased and perfect text.
However, the class lectures over the past few days have really opened my eyes to how the Bible, at least in part, should be read. I was really amazed by how much that affected my view of scritpure.
Genesis made way more sense to me and in so many different ways. For example, the idea of Jews trying to separate themselves from the surrounding cultures and make their religion different and completely unique--such as by giving God characteristics uncommon to any other culture in the vicinity.
While I can see how the surrounding ancient cultures and world events shaped the Bible, it makes me wonder how valid it is as holy scripture. If you are thinking about a text that can be influenced by people's life expereinces, a text that is subject to the bias of the culture, a text that can be redirected by cultural conflicts--does that mean it is still God-inspired and completely perfect? Is the Bible less God-driven than I had thought?
Or does it just mean that God directed the Bible through people's experiences, biases and situations.
Any suggestions?
"Or does it just mean that God directed the Bible through people's experiences, biases and situations."
ReplyDeleteI think that is exactly what it means. Christians believe in a God who works in and through historical events and in and through people. Because God appeared as a Warrior when Israel needed a warrior, doesn't mean that God always appears as a warrior, or that Israel's expectations and perceptions of the Warrior God were always correct. We see through human eyes and think with human minds. If God spoke to us directly, we couldn't comprehend, so he speaks in language we can understand, through human interpreters. Genesis 1 is an account of the greatness of God told in terms of the world as the people of that time understood it and includes correctives for the misconceptions of their time.
We may not understand the universe as people of the ancient world did, but the poetry and majesty of Genesis 1 still teaches us about the greatness of God and God's choice to create something intrinsically good. I believe it is a testament to God's influence that we are still reading Genesis 3000 years after it was written and finding it meaningful, while the other accounts have become scholarly curiosities.
Thanks! That helps a lot
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