If anyone is interested I thought that it might be interesting to have a discussion about the Bible from a minimalist position.
The topic would assume the theistic position, and that God is represented by a consistent, just and loving intelligence, with a sense of morality based on the Golden Rule, and that this is also the model of what it is that He wants us to image. We would also assume that God is responsible for the fact that life exists and that He continues to reach out to us through our hearts and minds, revealing Himself to us subtly inspiring our consciences, reason and understanding. I also want to assume that evolution is a fact and that all of the messiness of the evolutionary process is necessary and that suffering is a necessary evil so that we can experience joy.
I would also like to assume that we consider the Bible as a book written by men inspired to write down their thoughts and experiences, but inspired in the same way that we might say that Beethoven was inspired when he wrote his symphonies. This would mean of course that what they wrote would be coloured by their personal, political and cultural biases. However, at the same time though God does touch their hearts and minds, and as a result we wind up with a blend of all the various ideas that were rattling around in the head of all the various authors.
The time line in the Bible is relatively chronological and so from this I think it is safe to conclude that the later writers would be influenced by what their predecessors had written just as today’s theologians refer back to their predecessors. Based on the assumptions that I have used then we should over long enough periods of time be gaining a more accurate and clearer image of the nature of God and His desires for us.
Talking to a friend the other day I mentioned that I was a Christian. His response was that he couldn’t believe himself because of all the various atrocities in the world. When we go back to the Old Testament era I think it is largely pretty clear that that wouldn’t have been an objection people would usually have. People primarily viewed their god(s) as an entity that was to be reached out to in order to serve their own purposes which would include creating death and destruction for their enemies. My friend assumed that if God did exist He wouldn`t cause or even allow for these atrocities. My point in relating this is that we can see that people who are completely non-religious hold a view of what God should be that people centuries of god wouldn’t have held.
However of course we can see that this isn’t universal. I would say that the reason is that we are still encumbered with what C S Lewis calls the great human sin which is at the root of all sin and that is the sin of pride. Out of pride of course comes our lust for power and influence along with our desire to be admired and recognized. There is still the on-going tug of war between good and evil, selfishness and un-selfishness and truth and lies.
One of the dangers inherent with taking religious texts as being essentially dictated by God is that it provides an avenue, still undergirded by pride, to revert back to the ancient beliefs where God is an entity that can be used to gain power and recognition. However so as we can see that craving for power and recognition crosses over people of all religious and secular beliefs.
So, what can we understand from the Bible, if we understand it as a narrative, and if we assume that it is written by fallible theologians, historians and story tellers trying to unravel the story of our evolving understanding of what God has done, is doing and what He is planning to do with and for our world?
I have mentioned that I assume that God reaches out to us through our hearts and minds but I also believe myself that The Bible is a very important tool that God uses to touch and inform. In that regard, as a Christian, I believe that it is absolutely crucial that we do gain an understanding of just how it is that we should interpret what it is that we read in the Bible. From that point of view I don’t personally hold as minimalist a view of the Bible as I have outlined. I believe that it is more than just another theological text. I believe that it is a book used and blessed by God to guide and inform us.
Does understanding of the Bible this way, based on the theistic assumptions that I outlined, reasonably fit with what we conclude through basic logic and reason.
I have only given a very general synopsis of my own thoughts on this and I can add more detail but I suggest that it is better to just use broad brush strokes for the OP.
I imagine that if anyone wants to promote this it should be in Faith and Belief.
He has told you, O man, what is good ; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
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