Ancalagon wrote:
I get ticked off by people all the time who misread the Bible and say that 'anyone who really believes this will do such-and-such'. I like to think that Christians, who actually believe in it, have studied it, and take it seriously are much better prepared to say what it means, especially to them.
Why not extend that courtesy to the many peaceful, decent Muslims around the world?
*Shrug* No reason not to, I guess.
But that's just the thing. I AM a Christian and I HAVE read the Bible. For the first time, I'm actually trying to go from cover to cover with the Bible and actually dig in and UNDERSTAND what's in it, especially in historical and literary context. It's a very difficult task, but I feel I've been blessed with a lot of spare time and not much to do outside personal projects. So I actually do have the hours in a day that it takes to read the Bible, pray about it, and meditate on what it actually says and means. By no means is my review of it complete, but there's very little about the OT that I DON'T know--you can ask me pretty much anything and I'll have an answer. Still working through the gospel of John, but I've read through it at other times in my life, so I'm familiar with it as well as the Synoptic gospels. I've read through Acts before and a few of the epistles, and have read through Revelation multiple times throughout my life (I find it particularly fascinating, and now I get the connection with OT eschatology--VERY cool!). If you ask me about something I'm NOT sure about, it isn't like I can't go to the source and figure it out. Or if I can't find the answer, it's not like I can't go to someone who DOES know.
Here's the problem with us Christians and the Bible, and I'm speaking very generally here. The common, average, everyday believer in Christ knows that his or her salvation is free. We aren't worried about where we're going after we die. Also, Christians are typically gathered into larger communities of believers. In the USA, the "Bible Belt" is slowly but surely moving north and in its wake are thousands of churches who remain fairly stable, not really attracting or losing members on average, but definitely losing more than gaining. In fact, I live in the Mississippi Delta and have personally seen two churches close up and put up their buildings, acreage, and other property for sale. I'm within walking distance of a Baptist church that averages less than 50 attendees on any given week. The reason this happens, I think, is that those churches are populated by a certain type of member--usually of the aging, blue-haired variety, and are more concerned with social obligations, habits/traditions, and maintaining the status quo rather than outreach, ministering to youth, or otherwise proselytizing. They serve the spiritual needs of their immediate congregants and ignore the spiritual needs of the surrounding community. So what happens? Those people from the surrounding area are willing to drive 10 miles or so out of their way to get to churches who ARE more reflective of the worship styles in the so-called mega-churches. Sometimes those churches do what they're supposed to do, but many of them aren't much more than rock concerts that throw around the name "Jesus" every now and then. I personally don't look favorably on "seeker sensitive" or "emergent" churches because they too often shelter young people from the realities of Christian life--let's be honest, a religion that predicts that you will be "persecuted," "mocked," and so on because of your beliefs is NOT cool with your average head cheerleader or star quarterback (or even your band nerd who gets enough "persecution" and "mockery" as it is).
Christ's teachings are NOT easy. Easier to carry out than maybe SOME other religions, easy to live if you honestly believe it, but certainly not easy for someone totally engrossed in secular life. So what happens is we are lulled into a false sense of security, a complacency we bring upon ourselves because we have found the way in which we can believe in Jesus on Sunday, and the rest of the week everyone else in the world just leaves us alone as we go on about our business. These people do NOT read the Bible. Even those who HAVE read the Bible a dozen times have really done little more than just follow along with the words.
You know, it's kinda like when I used to teach middle school and high school in "underprivileged" school districts. Little kids would be going on about this rapper or that rapper, or whatever song was burning up MTV at the moment. I'd ask them if they knew how these people lived, if they really understood what all these lyrics meant. Well, they just kinda snickered at me, saying, "yeah, we know all that." I'd point out how much filth it was, that it's incomprehensible, and not even original. They'd say, "look, we really don't CARE about the lyrics. It's got a cool beat. We like that." For these blue-hairs, Christianity and the Bible has a good beat. It's got a GREAT beat. But they aren't digging into the actual WORDS of the prophets, of Moses, or even of Jesus and those who had personal experience with Him. They just read the words because their preacher told them to. The actual meaning is nothing. We get to feel all good about ourselves, go home, have brunch, go back at 6, have leftovers before bed.
That is the AVERAGE Christian, as I see it. They don't dig in because they have no motivation or desire to. And I think that's sad. Over the last year, after spending over 20 years just reading the words, my life as a Christian has been greatly enriched by actually UNDERSTANDING what it is I read, actually praying to God and LISTENING and WATCHING for an answer! I've done this my whole life, but now it actually MAKES SENSE to me.
You mentioned Christians who are "much better prepared to say what it means to them." Here's the thing--if you want to know what the Bible means, what it should mean to ANYBODY, just read it. Don't be satisfied with the words alone, figure out what they meant to the person who wrote the words (we believe inspired by God) and the audience to whom the words immediately applied. It IS possible to understand the Bible in a literal sense, and I strongly believe that was the intention. But you also have to understand what "taking literally" means also. Can you take the time to understand Semitic figures of speech? Jesus spoke numerous times in hyperbole, not uncommon at the time, and a lot of those exaggerations won't be instantly understandable unless the reader recognizes them as such. Psalms use poetic and literary devices. Proverbs are general, broad sayings of wisdom, so you can't expect them to perfectly apply in EVERY situation. Eschatological writings are riddled with symbolism, so it takes time to break down what the symbols represent to get a clear picture of what the prophet revealed about his vision. What this basically means is that there IS a right way to interpret the Bible, not some vague, incoherent deconstruction of the text. When you read about Israel's conquest of Canaan, you're getting a history of how that conquest took place and why they did those things they did. God, in no uncertain terms, directed His chosen people to engage in war for very specific reasons, none of which are applicable anywhere else at any time. This CANNOT be read as a blank check for Christian nations to declare war in the name of Yahweh. And people today, Christians and non-Christians, cherry pick the text to mean whatever they want it to mean to justify any sinful actions they want to justify. Either the Bible is ALL right or ALL wrong. If you disagree with it, that either means you should carefully consider your actions and make a change, or you deny the Bible's authority and not really interested in what it has to say beyond a few nice little words of wisdom and admonishment towards "good behavior." Christians "in the know" when it comes to the Bible and fully understand it won't see it as shapeless, bendable plastic, but rock-solid--no need for sloppy "interpretation."
For the final point: Why not extend that same courtesy to Muslims? Sure. Ruveyn is more apt than I am to go on a Muslim-killing campaign. I'm not genuinely interested in a kill-them-all attitude. That was more about whether one has the right to express an opinion or not.
But since I'm already WAY off topic, what the harm of a few more sentences or even paragraphs on it, right?
Look, if the Bible is a "holy book" for Christians, then that means we have to accept its authority as incontrovertible. I mean, we can discuss relativistic "interpretations" and "deconstruction" of the text, but I see that as impugning textual authority. I suspect most Christians scholars will agree. If you, especially as a believer, challenge the authority of the Bible, then it's not really the Bible that is the guide as to how God wished Himself to be perceived and understood. Either Christ died for our sins or He didn't. Either faith is sufficient for salvation or it isn't. Idolatry is either acceptable behavior or it isn't (idolatry is affirmed as off-limits in the NT even to Gentiles, including but certainly not limited to those specific behaviors listed in the Torah). If you challenge the authority of the Bible, then you are projecting your own will upon the text, living really no differently than you did before. There are PLENTY of ways you can misread the Bible to mean whatever you want it to mean. But quoting out of order and out of context does not MAKE it true. You either obey Jesus' commands or you don't. You either have eternal salvation or you don't. An honest reading and legit interpretation (understanding what's THERE) does not bend in the least. I think many "casual" Christians even know that much, whether they themselves live what they learn in Sunday School or not.
Now, the Koran (Quran, Q'ran, whatever) is the "holy book" for Muslims. By the same token as Christians, they either accept the Koran in its entirety or they don't. Christians believe in the inerrancy of the truth of the Bible. In other words, while Jesus' actual WORDS don't always appear EXACTLY in the Bible, His teachings are perfectly preserved. This is true if for no other reason than the actual words are lost in translation--we don't all speak Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic (or Latin), and it's doubtful Jesus and His disciples spoke King Jimmy's English. Nonetheless, the meaning IS preserved and quite often the actual words at key points in the text. For example, word orders are sometimes switched in Greek manuscripts. This is no high crime because the instances in which word order doesn't match, the grammatical function is still the same. In other words, switching things around make absolutely no difference, nor is the underlying message affected. And where there is doubt, one can always compare manuscripts and literal translations. So Christians believe their text to be inerrant and true. Muslims believe the same of their holy scripture.
One key difference is while the Bible is a compilation of relevant religious texts, there is little doubt that Mohammed dictated the Koran. We DO have his actual words at all times. Since Muslims have their Prophet, they have little reason to doubt the intention or truth of the Koran. And since the Koran is more often transmitted in (we assume) it's original language, it's even more likely that what we read are Mohammed's actual words (Mohammed didn't speak King Jimmy or Modern English). There's nothing to lose in translation. And thus if the Koran has the same or better authority for Muslims compared with the Christian Bible, there's no reason to think that the message of the Koran can be easily bent any more than the message of the Christian Bible.
Muslims and Christians also share LONG family and regional community traditions in their respective faith. We Christians are well-informed. We know there are other faiths out there, and we well know we don't HAVE to do everything our parents tell us to do our entire lives. So we may convert to another religion since we never really believed, anyway, or we may abandon religion altogether. But by and large, if you are RAISED Christian, chances are you will always BE a Christian. Muslims are no different and, in fact, may even tend to cling tighter to their faith than most Christians do. But since we Christians who have spent LIFETIMES just doing what our parents did and maintaining the traditional Christian status quo, many of us end up being the little old blue-hairs who go to the grave taking their faith for granted.
There's NO REASON whatsoever to believe that Muslims do otherwise. You're born a Muslim, you are expected to DIE a Muslim. And what do Muslims do? The same thing we "infidels" and "hypocrites" do: What we're told. The words of Mohammed are in Arabic. And unless you're conversant in Arabic, you have no way of knowing what it says. Oh sure, you can get English translations just like you can with the Bible if you really want to know what all those things you recite mean. But just like the old blue-hair Christian lady who doesn't dust off her King Jimmy but every Sunday morning, will the same "blue-hair" Muslim do the same?
Not likely. Such is the nature of cultures so deeply entrenched in religion. Don't question it. Do as your told.
That's why I draw the conclusions I draw. I'm not convinced in the least that MOST Muslims are actually familiar with what the text says and means any more than most Christians are about their own. I can tell you EXACTLY why most Christians espouse a relatively peaceful existence. Why? Because I DO read the Bible and understand it, rather than the peaceful Christians who just accept it as a peaceful religion because their pastors told them so. I bet Islamic extremists also read the Koran, believe it wholeheartedly, and drink every last, good, cold drop of the Kool-Aid. And I'm also fairly certain that the peaceful Muslims that the extremists label "hypocrites" do NOT read and understand the Koran, else they would be unable to accept it in it's whole as an authoritative holy text. Either it is ALL right or it's ALL wrong, just like the Bible, and those peaceful "hypocrites" are only picking and choosing what of Mohammed's teachings they want to implement in their own lives. And it is NOT uncommon for Muslims to abandon their faith after having read and understood the text!
So yes, we can afford Muslims the same luxury of understanding scripture for themselves and understanding what it means for them. But wacky "interpretations" and textual deconstruction challenge the authority of the text as a whole and leads one, myself at least, to question whether the religion being followed is really true to the faith.
25 Sep 2010, 1:49 pm
