text: Pastoral Musings from Rain City: handling, mis-handling, and ignoring the Bible
  At 21/7/05 17:04, Anonymous said...
  Thank you Pastor Richard for these wise words. Having been immersed in a fundamentalist existence during my childhood, the term, "inspired by God" meant that the Bible was the literal truth. No wiggle room...no 'ands, ifs, or buts'...and to NOT think of the Bible in this way was sinful and a one-way trip on a slippery slope to hell. Imagine my frustration when debating whether "pure gold...no, PURE gold!" is clear (ref: Rev 21:21) with my mother.
  I have previously stated that I am merely a seeker of truth. I do not claim to have a monopoly on truth, especially for others. I have my own filters and agendas, but I also have my own wisdom and life experiences which I use to help understand truth.
  Two things that Richard wrote stick out for me:
  1) "Post-Modernism has realized this disheartening reality and come to the conclusion that the real truth of a text can't be attained."
  I think that it is vitally important for all Christians to understand this concept. How many people have been killed, abused, or injured because of an intepretation from the Bible? And yet these people rationalize their actions by quoting Scripture, probably out of context, and then forgetting the greatest commandments.
  2) "...and prayerfully consider all angles of a matter before coming to conclusions."
  This is what was referred to as "critical thinking" in my college English classes. And as I've stated in my other blogs, it is impossible to find truth while looking at only half of the picture. What happens when a long-held 'truth' is found to be untrue? For some people, it has the unenviable result of making them dig farther in which probably does not have a positive effect on their psyche. Some folks quit being in denial, though, and realize how much pain they have caused certain people by their words and/or actions. But real healing can begin during this necessary, but painful, timeframe. For others, it makes them re-think about so many different teachings.
  Let us continue to strive for truth, to simply love one another, and agree to disagree when we find ourselves with different interpretations. I believe we will all find "...the peace of God, which passes all understanding..." when we do so.