Faith – I Don’t Care What The Bible Says

I am serious about my faith.

I am serious about the importance and power of words.

But I don’t care what the Bible says.

That may seem contradictory. But the first two statements lead directly, for me, to the third. Here’s how:

The words you read weren’t the words that were originally spoken or written. The Bible you read is almost certainly written in a modern language. Even the King James Version (1611) or the Douay-Rheims (1582) is in a language that did not exist at the time of the Gospels. With only a tiny number of exceptions, none of the words of Jesus that we like to quote were ever spoken by him. He didn’t speak English and if he had, no one would have understood.

Everything we read is a translation. And translations come with all kinds of pitfalls. Idiomatic phrases can only be approximated, cultural connotations cannot be clearly indicated just by reading the words. Words in the original texts may be “lost”, meaning we are no longer certain as to their meaning. Our “best” translations still come from copies rather than original documents. All of it means that we must be cautious as we approach the words that make up the Bible.

The argument will be made that God will ensure that the truth will be preserved from translation to translation. That is certainly my belief as well. But I see no reason to assume that means that through so many versions and translations that every word is precisely correct. There are too many examples of careful translations that disagree in tone or meaning with other careful translations.

The simple answer here is to just declare a single translation “authoritative” and end the discussion. I’ve met many folks over the years who’ve adopted just such a stance. The most prominent are the “KJV Only” group. While convenient, it skirts my core issues. Older translations lack access to some of the oldest versions of Scripture. They rely on the understanding and biases of their own age.

So, am I advocating for simply tossing the Bible out? Certainly not. It remains the bedrock of the faith. A source of inspiration, challenge, and instruction.

I don’t care what the Bible says, but I care quite deeply about what it means. The challenge of the Bible is that it does not lend itself to a simple, one size fits all, straightforward reading of the words. Beyond the issues noted before, we have to deal with differing accounts of the same story. There are two versions of the Creation given within pages of one another in Genesis, no less. Those who would reject the Bible outright point to these “contradictions” as evidence to support their stance.

Because I decline to be trapped by what the Bible says, I am free to focus on what it means. What is the lesson that we are intended to find in these passages? Is there an overarching theme to this collection of stories gathered together over thousands of years?

To that last question, I believe the answer is a resounding “Yes”. From beginning to end, God calls us, through the Bible, to love. Humanity, in the form of Adam and Eve, do not love God completely, disobey His instruction, and are separated from Him. Cain and Abel also fail to love completely. Jesus will codify this in the Gospels telling us to love God, love our neighbors, and love one another as He has loved us. Paul goes on to remind us of the empty noise of a life without love.

If the central thesis of the Bible is love, now I have a tool to go back and look at the words. Now I have a key to help me unlock that which is unclear. What is the understanding that supports this thesis? Interpretations that do not align with this theme may be safely questioned and even rejected.

Rather than relying on anyone understanding of what the Bible says, I would argue for beginning with an understanding of what it means and then confronting the challenges.

Rather than trying to parse the syntax and word meanings in the “hard sayings” of Jesus, what can be explored if we begin by saying “These words are part of God’s message of love. So how does that open my understanding of their meaning?”

This way of approaching the Bible is harder. We are rarely given simple answers. In this approach, we get a light to shine on these passages that carry past lost words and cultural bias.

I don’t care what the Bible says.

I care what it means.