There are discussions happening on Facebook that I think are really important even thought they sometimes get heated and uncomfortable. They involve some basic religious questions, most notably, questions about how we as Christians should be approaching the Bible. You can imagine the polarity. I don’t want to write the whole saga of the past week’s discussions here. I will focus on one thread in particular that exemplifies what is going on. Then I will share a response I posted this morning.
My granddaughter Cynthia posted a Huffington Post article from by Zach Hunt: “Does God Care about the Bible as Much as We Do? Here is the link if you want to read it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zack-hunt/does-god-care-about-the-b_b_4611410.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
This led to some interesting discussion. One woman called it heresy. Some liked what the author had to say. On man asked what was the author’s point since he quoted scripture to support an argument that seemed to diminish the importance of scripture. I responded to his comment but, really, I had in mind all of the discussions that have been going on over the past week:
Judy Jeub I am not sure whether Zach was asking what point the author was trying to make or what was the point of writing the article, but I’d like to address this question: Why write the article? As a writer, I ask myself that all the time. Why not just be content to keep my thoughts to myself? If one is not a writer, one could say, why don’t I keep my thoughts to myself? That is certainly the choice of many. But I think when we don’t share our thoughts, we miss an opportunity to learn together. Even though some of these threads get hot under the collar in tone, there is a lot of valuable learning going on. But there is another reason to speak one’s thoughts. Some ideas that people hold can result in behaviors that are harmful to themselves and others. There are things written in the Bible that are hurtful, even dangerous, when applied literally. I think the question that we should be asking is how does the Holy Spirit work in the world? How does God lead us? Some would say, “through the Scriptures”. My experience says that this is way too narrow. To open oneself to the possibility that God is speaking to us all the time and in many, many ways is…well…amazing. people talk about the scriptures being inspired, but I think it is us that are inspired and growing up is about learning to pay attention. Scriptures are guide.
I think I would like to write about how I perceive the working of the Holy Spirit and the leading of God. But not today. Wednesdays are my “go” day. I am off to St. Cloud to teach and to run errands. Have a good day.