EXPLAINING HONEST QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE
Do you have good friends and relatives who have honest questions about the Bible that, perhaps, you cannot fully answer? If so, would you consider sharing this pastor’s column with them?
First, what is a good description of the Bible? The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by more than 40 authors, covering a period of about 1500 years. It falls into two parts, usually called “testaments”—The Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books). The word “testament” simply means agreement or covenant. The Old Testament (OT) is a record of God’s covenants with people before the time of Jesus, and the New Testament (NT) covers everything that happened when Jesus came into our world, and then what happened soon after His resurrection.
Second, what about translations? The Bible was basically written in two languages: The OT in Hebrew (with some Aramaic, a twin to Hebrew) and the NT in Greek. This means that all of our Bibles today are translations of those original languages. These translations are the product of a team of scholars who have spent a lifetime studying Hebrew and Greek, and a variety of translations have developed over time as the nuances of our modern languages change and develop.
Third, what about various interpretations? When someone points out something the Bible teaches, invariably, someone else will say, “Well, that’s just your interpretation,” as if when it comes to what the Bible says, it is nothing more than personal opinion. That is a cultural myth. There is actually a scientific field of study for interpretation, and it is called “hermeneutics.” This scientific study involves a series of steps, practices, and rules that apply to proper interpretation.
But please understand that most of the Bible doesn’t involve difficult interpretations, just some reading. Yes, of course, there are passages that are very hard to understand, especially because they reflect places, histories, cultures, and languages of places and events from long ago and far away. So, yes, sometimes you need to have some background information on those issues in order to make sense of things, and yes, there are some passages that cause us to develop various interpretations. But on the essential teaching and issues, the Bible leaves little room for confusion. All that is left is for us to read its message!
Devotedly your pastor,
Bill Blanchard