Thoughts On Biblical Narrative

I don't think I'm saying anything new or particularly insightful. I figured I would just share what I've been thinking about lately:

Perhaps the greatest challenge to a modern audience is to realize the Bible is both literature and history. I do not think we should try to separate the two. I think part of the problem is that we see accuracy and fact tied up with scientific precision. The biblical writers, however, do not write with the precision we would expect (they do not contain direct quotes, stories are not always ordered chronologically, etc). Each writer selects, arranges, and adapts his material to convey meaning. In doing so, they write with great degree of accuracy - revealing the theological and historical reality of each event in a way that only well-written literature can do.

I think that reading and understanding Scripture is much like learning to speak. As we read, we build a grammar and vocabulary for understanding the Biblical language. We are like children learning to think, read, and speak. The act of reading allows us to learn the grammar and syntax of Scripture so that we may see the devices that the author uses. The use of words and phrases, breaking with genre, and the arranging of material are a part of the language that the author uses to convey the event and its meaning to his readers.

More importantly, the author challenges us to evaluate the window through which we see the world through the Biblical framework. The Bible confronts us as a lion his prey. With great force, it devours our false conceptions of the world in which we live. The story of the Fall is not about a snake and “apple” but conveys perverseness of human sin. The stories of the Patriarchs are not just stepping stones to the Messiah but reveal the depth of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love upon which found God’s salvific acts. Israel’s continual rebellion is not just an example for us but an illustration of God’s patience and mercy and the need for the circumcision of the heart. Jesus is not just the miracle working man who dies and is resurrected, but Israel’s representative who succeeds where Israel fails mediating the blessings of the covenant to those who have faith. Paying close attention to author’s usage of language and literary devices allows us to see these things in vivid colors.

We have no need to exact a postmodern, relativistic, “what this means to me” attitude when it comes to interpretation of Scripture. C.S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Scripture is God’s light which teaches to see the world as it is and live in it as we should. For this reason, let us aspire together to understand the biblical narrative for through it we can understand reality.