beginning with the artwork
The Bible is a fascinating book. That first sentence is an understatement. The Bible has it all. Love, hate, romance, violence, treachery, friendship, life, death, pain, suffering, war, famine, deceit, and the list could go on. If one begins to read the Bible she may realize how much the ground and how many issues the Bible covers .
The Bible also defies categorization. It is a story, but not a novel. It speaks about what is true, but it is not a list of propositional truths. It is able to teach God’s people how to live rightly, but it is not an instruction manual. At times it is perfectly clear, at other times it defies interpretation. In some ways it is more like an indescribably beautiful painting than a book of words.
Consider all the different interpretations of the Bible. Some want to say that this is a weakness. However, I believe that this may point to the beauty of the Bible. For centuries men and women have approached this book, and recognized the mystery contained in its revelation. Maybe this is what keeps so many coming back again and again.
We just cannot stop staring at this work of art. We want to look at it in different light. Examine it throughout the seasons of our lives and see how it speaks to us in new and different ways. We want to hear how it speaks to others, and allow their understanding to shape ours.
What is fascinating about all of this is that the Bible is not about the Bible. The Bible is about God, who is love. One might say we are fascinated by the artwork, not because of the artwork itself, but because of what it says (and does not say) about the artist. We throw ourselves into understanding the work of art so that we might grasp something about the artist.
Many have spoken about wanting to know what the Bible says about this or that. However, my experience has told me otherwise. I have seen many people who want the Bible to tell them that their views, opinions, or presuppositions are true or warranted. In this we are beginning in the wrong place.
We are not beginning with the artwork or the artist, we are beginning with something else. Consider the way we often approach other people in an attempt to know them. Often we begin with questions like, “Where are you from?” “Where did you go to school?” “What do you do for work?” "Married or single?"
All of these questions remove us from where the Bible begins. The first chapter of the book tells us that we are the image of God. This instantly imparts to all people dignity, worth, and honor. Yet often we reduce one’s dignity to where they live, their occupation, or their appearance. We begin somewhere else.
This reality grows tenser when one approaches what are perceived to be cultural or political issues from the Bible. Conversation around these issues can be a lightning rod for some. Military. Non-Violence. Poverty. Immigration. Care for the sick. Environmental care. Racism. Equality. Raise one of these issues, and inevitably there will be a strong reaction.
Typically the reaction that is engendered from raising these questions is abrasive, antagonistic, demeaning, disrespectful, angry, or any combination of the above (these reactions, I would contend, is not what the Artist had in mind). Yet, if we are honest the Bible speaks toward each of these issues plainly, and therefore demands our examination of it. It calls for the people of God to wrestle with these and all conversations it speaks into. For in its addressing of them it ultimately tells us something of the Artist who painted the work in the first place.
Often times however, we do not move toward the artwork (and therefore the Artist), we move toward our own thoughts and ideologies. We dismiss quickly the thoughts of those who are also looking into the text, or possibly even the text itself, to hold on to our stuff. We base our idea of truth and understanding on our political persuasion, economic theories, family traditions, or academic knowledge. We begin somewhere else.
This is not to say that one has it right, and the other wrong. Who goes to an art exhibit and walks away telling everyone they see they were right? However, we have to begin somewhere else. We have to begin, as best we can, with what we understand the Bible to be communicating about God. We cannot begin with anything else; for when we do the Bible becomes secondary, and merely serves to frame another painting.
As God’s people trying as best we can, with the aid of the Spirit, we must try to understand what God is teaching us about himself. Some things are much clearer than others. And for those parts that are difficult we should not ignore them. Rather, we ought to spend more time gazing into them together, hearing from a wide variety of God’s people so that we might see more clearly the beauty and mystery that is before us. As God’s people no part of the painting should be off limits, nor should any one group or sub-group claim one piece of the painting as their own.
As we attempt to navigate our world and life, we must do what we can to continually develop and redevelop a proper understanding of the Bible. Looking into all parts of it – the easy, the difficult, the comforting, the disturbing, the hope, the judgment – for the Bible as a whole is what makes the artwork so compelling and beautiful.
All of the Bible is for all the people of God to dive into together so that we can better know the Author of the words. Indeed, that first sentence is an understatement.
The Bible also defies categorization. It is a story, but not a novel. It speaks about what is true, but it is not a list of propositional truths. It is able to teach God’s people how to live rightly, but it is not an instruction manual. At times it is perfectly clear, at other times it defies interpretation. In some ways it is more like an indescribably beautiful painting than a book of words.
Consider all the different interpretations of the Bible. Some want to say that this is a weakness. However, I believe that this may point to the beauty of the Bible. For centuries men and women have approached this book, and recognized the mystery contained in its revelation. Maybe this is what keeps so many coming back again and again.
We just cannot stop staring at this work of art. We want to look at it in different light. Examine it throughout the seasons of our lives and see how it speaks to us in new and different ways. We want to hear how it speaks to others, and allow their understanding to shape ours.
What is fascinating about all of this is that the Bible is not about the Bible. The Bible is about God, who is love. One might say we are fascinated by the artwork, not because of the artwork itself, but because of what it says (and does not say) about the artist. We throw ourselves into understanding the work of art so that we might grasp something about the artist.
Many have spoken about wanting to know what the Bible says about this or that. However, my experience has told me otherwise. I have seen many people who want the Bible to tell them that their views, opinions, or presuppositions are true or warranted. In this we are beginning in the wrong place.
We are not beginning with the artwork or the artist, we are beginning with something else. Consider the way we often approach other people in an attempt to know them. Often we begin with questions like, “Where are you from?” “Where did you go to school?” “What do you do for work?” "Married or single?"
All of these questions remove us from where the Bible begins. The first chapter of the book tells us that we are the image of God. This instantly imparts to all people dignity, worth, and honor. Yet often we reduce one’s dignity to where they live, their occupation, or their appearance. We begin somewhere else.
This reality grows tenser when one approaches what are perceived to be cultural or political issues from the Bible. Conversation around these issues can be a lightning rod for some. Military. Non-Violence. Poverty. Immigration. Care for the sick. Environmental care. Racism. Equality. Raise one of these issues, and inevitably there will be a strong reaction.
Typically the reaction that is engendered from raising these questions is abrasive, antagonistic, demeaning, disrespectful, angry, or any combination of the above (these reactions, I would contend, is not what the Artist had in mind). Yet, if we are honest the Bible speaks toward each of these issues plainly, and therefore demands our examination of it. It calls for the people of God to wrestle with these and all conversations it speaks into. For in its addressing of them it ultimately tells us something of the Artist who painted the work in the first place.
Often times however, we do not move toward the artwork (and therefore the Artist), we move toward our own thoughts and ideologies. We dismiss quickly the thoughts of those who are also looking into the text, or possibly even the text itself, to hold on to our stuff. We base our idea of truth and understanding on our political persuasion, economic theories, family traditions, or academic knowledge. We begin somewhere else.
This is not to say that one has it right, and the other wrong. Who goes to an art exhibit and walks away telling everyone they see they were right? However, we have to begin somewhere else. We have to begin, as best we can, with what we understand the Bible to be communicating about God. We cannot begin with anything else; for when we do the Bible becomes secondary, and merely serves to frame another painting.
As God’s people trying as best we can, with the aid of the Spirit, we must try to understand what God is teaching us about himself. Some things are much clearer than others. And for those parts that are difficult we should not ignore them. Rather, we ought to spend more time gazing into them together, hearing from a wide variety of God’s people so that we might see more clearly the beauty and mystery that is before us. As God’s people no part of the painting should be off limits, nor should any one group or sub-group claim one piece of the painting as their own.
As we attempt to navigate our world and life, we must do what we can to continually develop and redevelop a proper understanding of the Bible. Looking into all parts of it – the easy, the difficult, the comforting, the disturbing, the hope, the judgment – for the Bible as a whole is what makes the artwork so compelling and beautiful.
All of the Bible is for all the people of God to dive into together so that we can better know the Author of the words. Indeed, that first sentence is an understatement.