Once in a while I come across one of those bumper stickers that say, “If it ain’t King James it ain’t Bible.” I roll my eyes and think how well intended but misguided the thought it. It must be said though that the King James translation of the Bible in 1611 is a remarkably good piece of scholarship. Given the limited number of manuscripts they had available to them at the time, they did very well. However, the real problem is that people tend to worship the King James translation as divine and unfixed, when in fact it is a translation. And more there have been any number of inaccuracies discovered since then.
People get this notion that the
Bible fell from the sky as a divine truth for all eternity. In truth the Bible comes to us from many
sources and written over many centuries.
The name itself – Bible – means library, or literary collection. We do not interpret the Bible evenly. We give more authority to some parts than to
others. We also recognize that some
parts are just plain dated. In Deuteronomy
there are building codes for how to build a house. That’s perfectly fine, but in those days
people used the roofs as living spaces.
We don’t anymore so things like make sure you put a railing around the
roof just doesn’t make sense.
The other thing is that while the
biblical text is pretty much firmly set today – using 1st century
Greek, not 16th century English – that was not always the case. In confirmation class we’ve looked at how
texts were often merged and edited over time.
Also, some things claim to be written by people who most certainly did
not write them.
There is pretty much a scholarly
consensus that everything in the Bible claiming to have been written by St.
Paul was not written by St. Paul. Yes,
books like Romans, Philippians, Galatians 1st and 2nd
Corinthians, and others were written by Paul.
Some, like 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus were not,
despite claiming that they were.
It appears that as St. Paul’s
writing became authoritative others also began to write in his name. Some of it was done in good faith. Some was not.
The point is that it happened.
St. Paul is often considered to be a
very sexist writer. I disagree. In Galatians 3:28 Paul writes that in faith,
“there is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is
no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” That attitude stays pretty consistent across
all of the writings firmly believed to have been written by Paul. However, that is not the case in some of
those claiming to be written by Paul, but not.
And then there are cases like 1
Corinthians 10-11. These are cases where
it appears as if someone has added something into the text. This one is kind of funny which is why I
chose it to get at the topic. Let me
read to you from Chapter 10 into 11:
“23“All things are
lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not
all things build up. 24Do not seek your own advantage, but that
of the other. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without
raising any question on the ground of conscience, 26for “the
earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” 27If an unbeliever
invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before
you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But
if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat
it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of
conscience— 29I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For
why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s
conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be
denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31So,
whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of
God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of
God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not
seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.
11Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
17Now
in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come
together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18For, to
begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions
among you; and to some extent I believe it. 19Indeed, there
have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you
are genuine. 20When you come together, it is not really to eat
the Lord’s supper…. “ (1 Corinthians 10:29-11:1, 11:17-20)
…and
that may start to sound familiar because we read that last week.
I’m
guessing that made sense to you, or as much sense as Paul’s writings ever
make. The arguments tend to flow
along. Paul is talking about the freedom
of a Christian, especially in eating, and not being bound by social
conventions. Then he goes on to talk
about abuses and problems when they meet for their community meals. That’s what we read last week.
The
thing is, I skipped 15 verses in what I read!
Right in the midst of a conversation about the freedom of a Christian
and an ongoing conversation about food is a 15 verse digression about women’s
hairstyles in 1st century Corinth.
Those 15 verses are considered by many to be a “textual
corruption.” That is something dropped
in by a different author some time after the original text was written. Let me read it again, and I don’t think you
have to be an expert to feel the change in tone that takes place, and then a
return again.
23“All
things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,”
but not all things build up. 24Do not seek your own advantage,
but that of the other. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat
market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, 26for
“the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” 27If an unbeliever
invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before
you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But
if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat
it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of
conscience— 29I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For
why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s
conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be
denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31So,
whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of
God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of
God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not
seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.
11Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
2I
commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions
just as I handed them on to you. 3But I want you to understand
that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife,
and God is the head of Christ. 4Any man who prays or prophesies
with something on his head disgraces his head, 5but any woman
who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head—it is one and
the same thing as having her head shaved. 6For if a woman will
not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful
for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a
veil. 7For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is
the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. 8Indeed,
man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9Neither was
man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. 10For
this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of
the angels. 11Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not
independent of man or man independent of woman. 12For just as
woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from
God. 13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray
to God with her head unveiled? 14Does not nature itself teach
you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, 15but
if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a
covering. 16But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have
no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
17Now
in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come
together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18For, to
begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions
among you; and to some extent I believe it. 19Indeed, there
have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you
are genuine. 20When you come together, it is not really to eat
the Lord’s supper.
I hope that sounded absurd to
you. Again, right in the midst of a
conversation about the freedom of a Christian and a conversation about food,
there is an aside about hair styles! And
there’s something about men praying with hats on that is disgraceful but women
must have something on their heads. And
there is the bit about women having something of authority on her head because
of the angels.
It is an outright absurd argument.
It must be said that many scholars
do think these verses are authentic to Paul and original to the letter. Obviously I am among those who do not think
so.
For some reason, who knows why, I
believe these verses were added. Some
textual corruptions throughout history – and there are many of them, not just
in the Bible – are done with good intent.
Some are done in ways that go against the intent of the author.
My whole point is that the text of
scripture is not as simple and straightforward as many assume. The Bible as we have it did not come into the
form we recognize until centuries after Jesus.
Different churches had different books in their Bibles – some more, some
less.
The Bible as we have it today
emerged as a consensus of Christians over several centuries.
Those who explore ancient copies of
scriptural writings find them to be fragmentary and varied. It is a mistake to think that the Bible in
any form ever just fell from the sky.
Now, the Bible is considered the
rule and norm for faith. Almost all
Christians across the world acknowledge it to be the highest authority. And so whether we like what the texts say, or
find them offensive, or if we find them relevant or dated, or whether we
believe they are authentic to their original authors or insertions by others,
they are all still authoritative.
One of my seminary professors liked
to say that it is all authoritative and we have to deal with it whether we like
it or not.
No church, no matter how much they
claim to follow the Bible to the letter, does so. The Bible is a huge collection of
writings. It contradicts itself numerous
times. The newest parts of it are still
over 1800 years of age, and some appear to reach back 3000 years. All of it was written in a time and place and
language vastly different from our own.
Most people, whether they will admit
it or not, accept some parts of the Bible and reject others.
A different seminary professor used
to say it was best to see the Bible as a target with a bullseye. The question was what is the bullseye? For Lutherans and many protestant churches it
is the book of Romans. For Catholics it
is Matthew’s gospel. For many
evangelicals looking for the end of the world it is Revelation.
For me, I find the Bible to be
centuries of writings inspired by God that show the struggle of humanity to
grasp the ungraspable. Context and
structure are highly important in interpretation. And even those parts we don’t like we can’t
chuck out. I’ve often said that if the
Bible doesn’t offend you every time you read it you aren’t reading it carefully
enough.
The Bible is not a book to cozy up
to. It is a book that will challenge and
inspire and teach and shape you.
Complex and messy as it is, it will
authentically and undeniably reveal God’s love for the world and God’s grace to
humanity. It is a holy book. It will not give you simple answers to
complex problems. It will invite you
into a journey for wholeness.
Regardless of whether you have long
hair or short hair, or are bald, or have bedhead because you haven’t combed
your hair this morning, or if you’re wearing a hat - or not, you are God’s
beloved creation. May God speak to you
in the Bible, and through prayer and through others around you; in order to
love you and shape you every day.
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