What I am speaking about this morning was part of the series here at St Luke's late last year entitled “Is the Liberal Church Dying – or is it already dead?” I was proposing that, if it is dying, then a major reason for this is that as far as the Bible is concerned we may have thrown the baby out with the bath water. As we’ve rightly rejected more and more about what we used to believe about the Bible, but not replaced it with another conscious, active way of understanding, we’ve also rejected a major factor that powers the Church’s ability to be what it should be: that is, to be transformers in and of our society. The reason I agreed to make a contribution was and still is, because I’m still trying to find answers to my questions. So today in recounting a personal journey I hope that it may also provoke your thinking and assist this community as it discerns its way forward.
As many of you know, my father was a Presbyterian Minister within the Evangelical /conservative wing of the Church. In our family life, before breakfast each weekday we followed what some of you may know as the Scripture Union programme - Bible Reading, short commentary and Prayers, which we each took part in as we became able to read. And at night we had personal Scripture Union notes to read before going to bed. Sunday included regular attendance at Sunday School and then Bible Class, and two Sunday services of expository preaching through the books of the Bible. At primary school age there was weekly Life Boys, and at high school, Boys Brigade and Crusaders. School holidays were often at Christian camps. I think you get the picture of what life was centred around…..and you can make your own judgement on what the impact of this has been on my personal, social and spiritual development. Despite what I now look back on as narrow and restrictive, at the time I experienced it as warm, loving and caring.
I think the role of the Bible then could be summarised by a statement I first heard at the training to be counsellors for the Billy Graham Crusade in 1969. God’s Word says it, I believe it, that settles it! Very simple! So it was at age 22, I began a three year programme at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, I went primarily because it offered a major in Broadcast Communications, but it being a Bible College was important as well, for as I’ve recounted, the Bible was a central factor in our family and my upbringing
Something interesting happened to me at the Bible College – I got converted! But not in the way that Moody taught. Though Moody was a Fundamentalist College (but not on the extreme Right of the theological spectrum as I was to discover), it was there that I began questioning the beliefs I was raised on: For instance - concerning the issue of the second coming of Christ were you an Amillenialist, Pre Millenialist or Post Millenialist? I won’t get into a theological explanation now because even if I did you may wonder what the fuss was all about. But at Moody it was important, probably even essential for your salvation, to be Pre Millenial. Here began my first doubts - because I knew the Reformed theology I grew up with didn’t support this perspective, in fact we didn’t even really discuss such details. So if there was a difference in thinking on this issue – on what other issues might Christians also have differing views? I began going down quite a challenging, and at times frightening and painful, pathway, wondering if I pulled any more cards away will the whole stack of spiritual beliefs collapse?
The other reason for my conversion was at a practical level. My favourite singer since my early teens had been Mahalia Jackson, the black gospel singer. I hoped that at least once in my time in Chicago I’d get to hear some black gospel sung live. So I was thrilled to be assigned to teach Sunday School and worship with a Black Congregation in the South Side ghetto. But instead of my delivering the gospel to these High School teenagers – something was delivered to me. Here, coming face to face with the social, cultural and economic situation in which they lived, turned upside down all my Southern Hemisphere, Western, suburban upbringing. And with it my very cosy, complacent concept of my Biblical Jesus. The Jesus I knew in far off Papakura, New Zealand didn’t seem to be the answer to the questions they were raising about life in the ghetto - and increasingly not for the questions I was having myself.
So began a journey over the next 25 years that led me to ‘explore’ other spiritual traditions, to look for answers in culture, creation and personal experience, to do more study, and through all of this for the Bible to recede further from the central role or place it had had in my life. And eventually it led me here to St Lukes a couple of years ago.
On coming to St Lukes what surprised me first, and most, was that the opening of Morning Worship included the procession of the Bible. I thought this was a Church that would have moved on from that! Here it was holding the Bible very prominently. So my question since my first Sunday has been: what place does the Bible hold at St Lukes. And I have to say I still have no clear answer. But I have a need to find one, Maybe I’m fixated because psychologically I’ve been hot-wired to the Bible from my earliest days as I’ve indicated, and I can’t cut myself free ……. but maybe getting beyond my needs, its time “for Gods sake” and the sake of this world, to have a clearer understanding of what I (and we) believe the Bible to be. So I’m finding myself, in my faith journey 30 odd years later, back at the same place BUT seeing with new eyes.
One of the writings that is most helping me clarify my thinking is “The Heart of Christianity” by Marcus Borg, because in it, he provides for me a concise description/explanation of the place of the Bible in the Liberal Church. I want to present a summary of his chapter: “The Bible – The Heart of the Tradition.” Borg says that there are four factors to take into account when interpreting the Bible:
First, to understand the Bible as a product of two historical communities – ancient Israel and the early Christian movement. It was the human response of these two communities to God - telling how they saw their life with God – their laws and ethical teachings, prayers and praises, wisdom about how to live, hopes and dreams. This ‘historical product’ is relative (i.e. related) to their time and place and it is culturally conditioned (it uses the language and concepts in which events took place.). The ‘inspiration’ of the Bible refers to the movement of the Spirit in the lives of those who produced the Bible as an historical document.
Second, to understand the Bible as ‘Sacred Scripture’: which refers to its status and function. It is our foundation document on which Christianity is built. It is our identity document, whose stories and vision shape our sense of who we are as Christians. As ‘sacred scripture’ it is our ‘wisdom tradition’ concerning the two most central questions in life: What is real? How shall we live? Third, when interpreting the Bible we need to use an historical-metaphorical interpretation. Regarding historical, Borg speaks of an ‘illuminating power’ of setting a biblical text in its ancient context of the life of that community. But alongside the historical we need to apply the Metaphorical i.e. more-than-the literal meaning.
Example: The exile in Babylon in the 6th century BCE really happened BUT told metaphorically it becomes a narrative of the human condition and its remedy (exile then return)
The Fourth factor when reading and interpreting the Bible is to understand it as ‘Sacrament”: a physical, visible mediator whereby the sacred becomes present to us. (In Celtic theology this is often spoken of as “thin places”) These can be experienced personally, in private devotional use, reflection on a text leaving a space for the Spirit to ‘speak’ to us and collectively in worship services, where the ‘words’ (hymns, prayers, readings) can become vessels for the ‘Word’ that can nourish, challenge, inspire etc.
Taking these four factors into account Borg says:
“…. the Bible, human in origin, sacred in status and function – is both metaphor and sacrament……..Within this framework being Christian is not primarily about believing certain propositions to be true…..but is about a relationship with the One who the Bible points to and mediates……..our task is to live within this tradition and let it do its transforming work among us”
When attempting to describe my spiritual beliefs, I sometimes feel it’s like being on a merry go round. I know it’s post modern to be ‘certain that I am uncertain’, but more often than not this leaves me giving space and paying attention to other people’s spiritual beliefs, but not giving myself the space to define mine – let alone for them to hear these. In a strange way I often feel as paralysed by this constant uncertainty as I began to feel with the dogmatic, literalist, fundamentalist framework. I have the need for there to be some ‘still point in the turning earth’ that assists me to speak and act into today’s world. A framework that doesn’t imprison me but liberates, one which I believe Marcus Borg has conveniently provided for me. (I’m lazy at doing this hard work) So where might this transforming work that arises out of this spiritual framework be done? I’ll finish by briefly commenting on a couple of areas.
First - This community at St Lukes that I’ve chosen to be a member of. Someone has said that there are two types of Christians. Those that want to ‘believe without belonging’, and those that want to ‘belong without believing’. I want a ‘believing and belonging’ Christian community. But this requires hard work on our behalf – our youth workers, brother and sister Andrew and Em Colgan in their presentation last year challenged us about this. They said ‘We’re very articulate as a Church about what we don’t believe - but how articulate are we about what we do believe and why?’ I left their presentation feeling quite sad that our youth workers have to ask of us “what do we say to youth who are having their first experience of Christianity?” I think at the least we owe them to have another go at defining our ‘good news’ and the basis for this. Transformation needs to begin with us.
Secondly, the next eighteen months are a crossroads for our Church. The Presbyterian Church needs us to do this work. Just as those with a conservative theology, particularly regarding the Bible, allow it to shape their decisions and activity - so must we. As I said at the beginning, I think we have been unable to be ‘evangelists’ because we’ve almost thrown the baby out with the bath water. To be liberal is to see the Bible with new eyes and to allow ourselves to experience the transformation and then to find ways to start passing the glasses around for those who are looking for new sight, new direction.
Thirdly, our society, our world needs us to take the Bible seriously. David Clark has already asked me to take the service in a few weeks’ time on Waitangi Day, so I’ll leave expanding on this until then.
So, as I see the Bible literally introducing and concluding our worship service here at St Lukes each Sunday, I’m reminded that I /we need to wrestle more openly, intelligently, and seriously with these sacred writings and texts…. if I and we are to be authentic in our work as agents of transformation in an increasingly fragmented and violent world.
May the Spirit
Bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths and
Superficial relationships So that …..We will live deep in
our hearts
May the Spirit
Bless us with anger
At injustice and oppression,
And exploitation of people and the earth
So that….. we will work for justice, peace and equity
May the Spirit
Bless us with tears to shed
For those who suffer
So that ….. we will reach out our hands to comfort them
And may the Spirit
Bless us with foolishness
To think we can make a difference
In the world
So that we will do the things which others say cannot be done.
(Prayer taken from “Called Again” by
Alan Jamieson, a Baptist minister, and sociologist, in Wellington
– he writes about ‘contemporary faith experiences in an
age where many people feel propelled into dark and desert-like
places of faith ‘)