What is the Bible? How does it relate to Jesus? What is the foundation of faith?

 I'm going to preface this with: my position here is evolving. I'm not 100% sure what I believe, I can only write what I'm wrestling with, and pray for further prompting. Right now, I have more questions than answers. I'm sure some of what I'm saying is going to make people uncomfortable, it makes me uncomfortable! But Jesus didn't call us to comfort, He called us to follow Him.

I was listening to the "A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk Into a Bar" this morning, and they were talking to Pete Enns. I think I need to listen again to what they talked about, because talk about foundation shaking! I never really expected after I asserted "Jesus is real, I will follow" that I would find my religion (by which I mean neither my faith in Jesus, nor my faith in the Church Universal, but the specific practices and beliefs that I have built in support of the goal of following Jesus [thanks Brian Zahnd]) so thoroughly shaken.

Before I start asking too many questions, I should start with where I've been. I was trained in a fairly fundamental Christian school, though I never really accepted all of their fundamentalism. The earth is not 6000 years old, God (probably) didn't speak each animal into existence by name, one by one, Revelation is not meant to be understood (and least ~99% of it) literally. Clearly there is both symbolic and prophetic language (Daniel and Revelation, for example), and things that literally happened (Paul went to Rome). I once held that sort of literal belief about the bible, but that was smashed by one of my fathers of the faith who explained that Jewish writers would leave important people out of genealogies. Westerners would be unlikely to leave out grandpa Bob, who got married, worked, had some kids, and died without doing much of worth. Ancient Jewish writers would. Poof, Biblical Literalism destroyed.

What I would have said this morning is "The bible is not a science or history text book, but on matters of practice and doctrine it is clear, doesn't conflict, and is 100% truthful." Now, I'm not so sure.

There is a cognitive dissonance in reconciling much of the Old Testament with the New Testament. There are disagreements between the Apostles. James and Paul seem to disagree about the value of faith and works in our lives. There is little historical proof of a number of pretty critical events: The Exodus for example, is not well attested, even in its more mundane elements such as a Jewish group leaving Egypt and returning to Canaan. If I understand Enns' view, it's that Exodus is symbolic. It's not meant to be read literally. This idea is… challenging.

What is meant to be understood literally? Was Moses a person? David? Jesus? The real challenge is that as a Protestant, the bible is basis of faith. It is the testament of Jesus. Are the miracles of Jesus just stories? Or are they actually true? What about the Acts Church?

Then he proposes something even more shaking, that the fallibility of the writers of the bible show through. We can see this in the views of the Jewish law regarding slaves, after they are rescued from slavery, that slavery is still allowed. The disagreement between James, Paul, and Peter showing through in their writing. What does that mean for faith?

One question I have, is: "Am I looking at Jesus wrong?" Have I been so steeped in modern, intellectualism that I look at theology and Christ as something that can be quantified, labeled, and understood in the same way I understand a programming question? There must be a point at which the bible is actually true more or less as written. If Jesus is not the Son of God, and the one way to the Father we are separated from, who died and rose again to restore us, then what good does it do to follow Him? By my nature I am… fearful of being wrong, of making mistakes. Am I afraid because my faith is being tested not by stagnation and my own actions are lack thereof, but by actually be challenged to have faith in Christ, despite the fact that I feel the safety and certainty of Christian intellectualism slipping away?

I've been pondering the mysteries of Christ, and of God lately. I've been wondering whether I have an unhealthily intellectual view of God, with no heart, no experience. Maybe this is just God saying, "Yes, stop thinking about me and come experience me."

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