Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok, this week we are meeting at the Crescent Club at 7.30, it would be great to see you if you are able to join us. We are still being careful when moving around the club so we would ask you to wear a mask when you aren’t seated.
This week we move on to chapter two of our book How The Bible Actually works by Pete Enns. We had an honest and full conversation last week, as we move on to chapter two ‘The Bible doesn’t tell us what to do’, I was intrigued as to where this was going to take us.
Pete takes a dive into Proverbs to show the problem with the Bible as a rule book. He takes three areas… Kids, fools and wealth. As you will see from these passages (and countless others) is that this is not straight forward and treating these things as rules just does not work.
Proverbs 19:18 NIV
Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
This first passage just sounds like fear mongering! And it is nowhere near as clear and obvious as you would want it to be. If we are honest it brings up more questions than it gives answers. How do you know when you have run out of hope? What does discipline look like? How often do I have to discipline the child in order to not run out of hope and therefore not be guilty of their death?
How about this one!
Proverbs 23:13 NIV
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
If you are looking for guidance on how to answer the discipline question you asked up there do not use this question. Beating a child with a rod is WRONG!!! It is what we call child abuse and them not dying isn’t a good excuse.
When it comes on to fools:
Proverbs 26:4-5 NIV
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes
Anyone notice that they say the complete opposite things!! ONE VERSE TO COMPLETELY OPPOSITE ANSWERS! If I answer a fool I am as foolish as them but if I don’t I allow them to continue in their ignorance.
And then in relation to wealth:
Proverbs 10:15 NIV
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
Proverbs 18:11 NIV
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.
So is wealth a sign of protection or is a mere mirage that doesn’t protect someone from the ups and downs of life… or is it both. Both of these ask us to wonder what a proper attitude to wealth should actually be like.
In these small examples we see some of the complexity of reading the bible as a rule book, or as a book that tells us stuff to do.
Peter argues that we need to view the bible as wisdom- that is to say that we need to read it and ask and apply wisdom to our reading of it… if we take the foolishness proverb, there are times when both of them could be true. Sometimes I need to step away from the keyboard and not get involved in an online discussion, and there are other times I need to roll up my sleeves and get involved!
We see too that wealth can be both positive and negative… It depends on all kinds of things!
Proverbs doesn’t do the work for us – we have to interpret… and so we go back to Pete ‘s three words that David talked about in his first blog… ancient, ambiguous, diverse.
If you take the words of those bible passages, yes they could look like rules to live by, but we also have to consider the situation we are in and read the moment. Because those words are ancient, ambiguous and diverse, like the whole of scripture… and we have to take that into consideration when we read it.
Now of course some may ask if it’s not clear and direct, what’s the point… well that is actually THE point… Because if we see the bible as wisdom, then it’s like much of life, we have to work it out… nothing is put on a plate for us.
Peter argues that wisdom is bound up in scripture from the Garden of Eden through to Jesus and the New Testament.
So Wisdom is key when we read the stories of the bible.
Some questions:
What is the most ridiculous rule you have ever seen?
(bring a picture if it is on a sign)
What’s the stupidest thing you have done?
Rule book or wisdom… discuss?
What does using wisdom to read the bible look like?
How will viewing the bible as wisdom help you interpret it?
Peace Rob
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.