As a child and teen reared in church I was not taught to read the Bible critically. The first article of our church’s Declaration of Faith states that we believe “In the verbal inspiration of the Bible.” This being the first article in our statement of faith is not incidental. It suggests that the Bible has priority; that all other statements of faith proceed from our confidence in the veracity of the inspired Scripture. Therefore, the words of Scripture are to be accepted by faith. As a teen I began reading the Bible in earnest. When I read “difficult” passages – Joshua’s genocide of Canaan, or Samuel’s execution of the Amalekite king – it never occurred to me to read these texts critically. In other word’s I was never taught to ask questions.
But I became an intuitively critical reader. Because I dared asked questions I was often dismissed. In fact, when it came time for me to apply for ordination the official responsible for my initial interview suggested that, “You might be more comfortable in another church” and warned that my application would most likely be rejected by the denominational officials. In spite of my critical answers, and over his objection, I was ordained.
I remember sitting in my first college class – Old Testament Survey. The first sessions were dedicated to issues of canonization, that is, where did we get the Bible? After a session one of the students exclaimed, “I wish I had never heard this stuff!” His faith was deeply challenged when he was confronted with the fact that King James Bibles are not produced on a heavenly printing press. Over the years I have become convinced that shallow faith cannot flourish when challenged. That may be a reason why formal theological education has been resisted. Why do we insist on teaching teens Algebra, Biology, and Chemistry, but resist teaching them to think critically about the Faith? My experience has been that a critical reading of the Bible has enriched and strengthened my faith in Christ, and my confidence in the veracity of the Scriptures.
This reflection points to a new Bible challenge. Last week my oldest son called to ask, “What’s up with Abraham pimpin’ out his wife?” This young man is smart. He is reading the Bible seriously and critically. He has been taught that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, the foundation of the church’s faith and ethics. As he continues to read the Bible I’m sure he will have many more questions. He is representative of his generation. He wants serious answers. I wonder if pastors and student pastors are prepared to seriously engage this generation in a discussion about the biblical texts.
Recently, I was engaged in a discussion with my longtime friend, Dr. Tom Doolittle. Tom serves as Chair of the Christian Ministries department at Lee University. As we were discussing the ministry challenges before us he said,
We’ve always had the Bible. But now they’ve taken it away from us. The New Atheists have successfully presented the Bible as an ancient text fraught with contradictions and offensive narratives. Our society no longer views the Bible as sacred. The gay rights activists within the church have successfully used the Bible in support of their agenda. Our opponents have used our own Scriptures against us.
Then, tongue in cheek, he said, “We need to be careful about what we’re saying because we’re the only one’s listening.”
Tom’s observations are on point. As long as we’re “preaching to the choir” all we must do is reaffirm our faith. But, if we are going to preach in the public square we must sharpen our hermeneutical skills. Because we have not engaged our opponents in serious dialogue no one is taking us seriously. This is the new Bible challenge for church leaders. It’s no longer enough to quote bible verses, or faithfully retell Bible stories. If we want to engage a new generation of Bible readers then we must be prepared to answer some tough questions.
