Strategic Ignorance (Being read by the Bible)

I was talking to an earnest young lady the other day who informed me that her church only does what's in the Bible. I didn't have the heart to argue with her. But there was so much I could have said. Really? Do you meet in people's homes instead of owning a church building? Do you have only lay unpaid leaders? Is your communion a full meal? Does every member that comes to service contribute something (a song, a 'word,' a verse)? Because if you don't, you're failing to do what they did in the New Testament.

Last post I talked about the need to not just pick and choose in a facile way which parts of the Bible to believe in, and which to ignore. Super-important. Yet I think us Christians need to be honest and recognize that we all do this, to a degree. No one believes in and puts the whole Bible into practice, certainly not in any kind of literal way. We all ignore parts of it.

We don't build railings around the edge of all our roofs, or weave tassels into the corners of our clothing. Most of us guys cut our sideburns and trim our beards, and most of us gals have worn 'man's clothing' at some point. We don't stone adulterers. Nor make a widow with no children marry her brother-in-law. We mix different materials together in the clothing we wear. We're not really into the whole 'slaves obey your masters' thing anymore. We don't gouge our eyes out or cut our hand off if they 'cause us to sin.' We rarely greet each other with a kiss. Few of us prohibit women from speaking in church, or force them to wear a head-covering when they do.

When it comes to the Bible, there is always picking and choosing, emphasizing, and de-emphasizing. There is always interpretation involved in the way we read the Bible. The question then, is not whether we do this, but how. This is what Brian McClaren meant when he said that we shouldn't just read the Bible, we should let the Bible read us, I think.

The way we read the Bible reveals a lot about our hearts.
What passages or themes do we see as key? ('Key' both in the sense of important, and something we use to unlock the meaning of parts we see as less central or more mysterious). What parts do we ignore, not talk about much, de-emphasize? Which parts make us uncomfortable or nervous, make us wish they weren't there? Which do we have a hard time explaining or understanding? Which ones do we strive to apply? Which do we metaphorize, and which do we tend to treat literally? Which ones do we relativize by talking about the differences in cultural context? Which do we cling to, are we unable to let go of, and call people 'unchristian' for not following?

And what does that say about us?