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This blog started as a 'Lenten Writing Project', where we wrote each day in Lent. Now that Summer is here, let's keep up the discipline of writing with a weekly writing challenge! A prompt will be posted each week and anyone is welcome to join in and post their writing here or participate just by reading it.
Every writer has their own special light to add to this blog and all of your writing offerings are appreciated, whether poetry, prose, essay, thoughts, lists or comments and encouragement.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Lenten Writing Prompt #41
Write about something unexpected or confusing that you found in the Bible and how you processed, resolved or rejected that information.
Has anything you read in the Bible seemed confusing to you? It has to me, to the point that I began to doubt how to believe it at all. But I wanted it to be true, and I wanted to believe it.
I remember the first time I thought these thoughts. I was about 8 or 9 years old. I had the idea that knowing and following God was the most important thing in the world, in life. But if God is love, why is there so much killing in the Bible? Killing cannot be love.
When I was 11, I read Jesus’ words in Matthew, “Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect” and then a bit later, Jesus says, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!" I asked my parents about that and only heard, “well, we give what we can. God doesn’t mean to give everything.” I thought to myself, “how can this be? If God says give it all, shouldn’t we give it all? But then what would we live on?”
When I was 13, I memorized I Corinthians 13. I understood it to mean how I was supposed to love others. But it seemed contradictory to me that many passages in both Testaments ordered us to shun sinners, to have nothing to do with sinners, to keep sinners out of church and out of our life. Are we supposed to love only “good” people?
By the time I was 18, I knew I was not capable of being good, and I began to see that no one else was always good, either. I still tried to be “a good Christian”, but in my heart I had a lot of confusion.
It took me many years to understand God’s message in Jesus Christ is “It Is Finished” and truly true. It took many years for me to learn that the Bible is not to be taken absolutely literally, line by line, but that it is ongoing dialogue with the God and God’s people. Once I took a red pencil and colored all of Jesus’ words in the New Testament, then read just those words. I discovered that Jesus spoke differently to different people in different situations, and in every situation Jesus called people to love God by loving others.
I am so grateful for Lutheran understanding of the Holy Bible. Lutherans believe that people meet God in Scripture, where God’s heart, mind, relationship to - and intention for - humankind are revealed. Through an ongoing dialogue with the God revealed in the Bible, people in every age are called to a living faith. The Bible is the cradle in which we find Jesus Christ, the living Word and center of our faith.
OK Ruth, I will post more. :-) In college at California Lutheran University, Professor and Rev. Handsead-Meador's religion course challenged us to find as many literal contradictions in the Bible as possible - there are MANY. I had always known this to be the case in my own studying of the Bible, but had never really been able to voice or articulate this until my class and professor challenged us to do so. We were invited to talk about our reservations and doubts and ultimately challenged into a deeper and more complete understanding of God’s Word. I embrace confusing parts of the Bible, as those are the ones I dig and learn the most from. Thanks Professor Handstead-Meadors! Hilary Wirkkala
Yes, the 'thou shalt kill' commandment has confused me as well. One the one hand, we are told not to kill and yet throughout the Bible God has commanded kings and leaders to lead their troops into war or to overtake and conquer a people or to smite those who challenge them.
I have not yet resolved this and other contradictions found in the Bible.
According to Merriam-Webster, incarnation means; “1. the embodiment of a deity or spirit in an earthy form 2: the union of divine and human natures in Jesus Christ.” The birth of Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man is perplexing to me. The Incarnate God who came to earth as a human to walk among us in order to bring his message of hope, love, and salvation is filled with complex words, concepts, and understandings. Theologians and lay people have struggled with this conflict for years. Our western minds are challenged when we are taught to think and believe only in reasonable and provable things. When I was a child, it was all very simple. I heard the story and believed it. God and Jesus did those kinds of things. I have always believed in the “Son of God and Son of Man”. However, as I became older and studied the Bible, with others and myself, the foot notes and discussions of just the “Son of Man” alone, became like “splitting hairs” for me. It was too much. I became aware that I did not need to know every detail. My understanding of the Incarnation has come nearly full circle. I know it is true. God did this. He did this for me and all his beloved children. My human mind cannot comprehend something this miraculous. But, my heart and soul can know the truth of this gift. I know God and his works are a Mystery. I can experience his Mystery at Christmas, Easter, Baptism, Communion and life itself each day.
I still want to know more about who the mysterious Nephilim were, in the Old Testament; as well as who their equally mysterious friends, the sons of God were. They are first mentioned in Genesis 6:4. "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men of old, men of renown." They are referred to again in Numbers 13:22&33, Deuteronomy 2:10-11&21, Joshua 11:22&15:13, and again in I Samuel 17:4-7.
I do know that the Bible says that they were tall; "a race of long necked giants"; "the mighty men of old"; and "men of reknown". The Patriarch was Anak, whose father was Arba. Anak had three sons, Sheshai, Amman, and Talmai.
They lived in what was later called Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Another name for their ethnic group was Rephraim. After the Israelites invaded Canaan and proceeded to carry out a mass genocide of the area(so they could take over their Promised Land), a few remnants of the Anakin (descendants of Anak), dispersed to Gaza, Gath, and Ashod. The last we hear from the Anak is in I Samuel. It turns out that Goliath was from Gath. Can you guess why he was so mad at the Israelites?
Some say it isn't important information. If this is true, than why was it left in? And why is it referred to so many times? Were the Nephilim the product of the sons of God and the daughters of men? Are some of them from outer space? (right!) Were they merely a kingdom of giants, as some believe? or a biological species of giants that died out? Many mythologies do include giants in their stories (ie. Titans, Norse myths, etc). Again, why giants? Giants from where?
In the end, I guess all I can do now is wait for further discoveries to clarify what little the world knows. After all, the Bible is a book about Faith, not science; and I do choose to keep the Faith. s.h.
Has anything you read in the Bible seemed confusing to you? It has to me, to the point that I began to doubt how to believe it at all. But I wanted it to be true, and I wanted to believe it.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I thought these thoughts. I was about 8 or 9 years old. I had the idea that knowing and following God was the most important thing in the world, in life. But if God is love, why is there so much killing in the Bible? Killing cannot be love.
When I was 11, I read Jesus’ words in Matthew, “Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect” and then a bit later, Jesus says, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!" I asked my parents about that and only heard, “well, we give what we can. God doesn’t mean to give everything.” I thought to myself, “how can this be? If God says give it all, shouldn’t we give it all? But then what would we live on?”
When I was 13, I memorized I Corinthians 13. I understood it to mean how I was supposed to love others. But it seemed contradictory to me that many passages in both Testaments ordered us to shun sinners, to have nothing to do with sinners, to keep sinners out of church and out of our life. Are we supposed to love only “good” people?
By the time I was 18, I knew I was not capable of being good, and I began to see that no one else was always good, either. I still tried to be “a good Christian”, but in my heart I had a lot of confusion.
It took me many years to understand God’s message in Jesus Christ is “It Is Finished” and truly true. It took many years for me to learn that the Bible is not to be taken absolutely literally, line by line, but that it is ongoing dialogue with the God and God’s people. Once I took a red pencil and colored all of Jesus’ words in the New Testament, then read just those words. I discovered that Jesus spoke differently to different people in different situations, and in every situation Jesus called people to love God by loving others.
I am so grateful for Lutheran understanding of the Holy Bible. Lutherans believe that people meet God in Scripture, where God’s heart, mind, relationship to - and intention for - humankind are revealed. Through an ongoing dialogue with the God revealed in the Bible, people in every age are called to a living faith. The Bible is the cradle in which we find Jesus Christ, the living Word and center of our faith.
Love this. I love your last line the best.
DeleteOK Ruth, I will post more. :-)
ReplyDeleteIn college at California Lutheran University, Professor and Rev. Handsead-Meador's religion course challenged us to find as many literal contradictions in the Bible as possible - there are MANY. I had always known this to be the case in my own studying of the Bible, but had never really been able to voice or articulate this until my class and professor challenged us to do so. We were invited to talk about our reservations and doubts and ultimately challenged into a deeper and more complete understanding of God’s Word. I embrace confusing parts of the Bible, as those are the ones I dig and learn the most from. Thanks Professor Handstead-Meadors!
Hilary Wirkkala
What a great class Hilary! Glad to see your post : )
Deleteby Pat Mason
ReplyDeleteYes, the 'thou shalt kill' commandment has confused me as well. One the one hand, we are told not to kill and yet throughout the Bible God has commanded kings and leaders to lead their troops into war or to overtake and conquer a people or to smite those who challenge them.
I have not yet resolved this and other contradictions found in the Bible.
That is a really good point, Pat! Worth continuing to pursue the answer : )
DeleteINCARNATION
ReplyDeleteAccording to Merriam-Webster, incarnation means; “1. the embodiment of a deity or spirit in an earthy form 2: the union of divine and human natures in Jesus Christ.”
The birth of Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man is perplexing to me. The Incarnate God who came to earth as a human to walk among us in order to bring his message of hope, love, and salvation is filled with complex words, concepts, and understandings. Theologians and lay people have struggled with this conflict for years. Our western minds are challenged when we are taught to think and believe only in reasonable and provable things.
When I was a child, it was all very simple. I heard the story and believed it. God and Jesus did those kinds of things.
I have always believed in the “Son of God and Son of Man”. However, as I became older and studied the Bible, with others and myself, the foot notes and discussions of just the “Son of Man” alone, became like “splitting hairs” for me. It was too much. I became aware that I did not need to know every detail.
My understanding of the Incarnation has come nearly full circle. I know it is true. God did this. He did this for me and all his beloved children. My human mind cannot comprehend something this miraculous. But, my heart and soul can know the truth of this gift. I know God and his works are a Mystery. I can experience his Mystery at Christmas, Easter, Baptism, Communion and life itself each day.
DyAnn Dennie
Lenten Prompt #41 Monday April 2, 2012
ReplyDeleteI still want to know more about who the mysterious Nephilim were, in the Old Testament; as well as who their equally mysterious friends, the sons of God were. They are first mentioned in Genesis 6:4. "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men of old, men of renown." They are referred to again in
Numbers 13:22&33, Deuteronomy 2:10-11&21, Joshua 11:22&15:13,
and again in I Samuel 17:4-7.
I do know that the Bible says that they were tall; "a race of long necked giants"; "the mighty men of old"; and "men of reknown". The Patriarch was Anak, whose father was Arba. Anak had three sons, Sheshai, Amman, and Talmai.
They lived in what was later called Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Another name for their ethnic group was Rephraim. After the Israelites invaded Canaan and proceeded to carry out a mass genocide of the area(so they could take over their Promised Land), a few remnants of the Anakin (descendants of Anak), dispersed to Gaza, Gath, and Ashod. The last we hear from the Anak is in I Samuel. It turns out that Goliath was from Gath. Can you guess why he was so mad at the Israelites?
Some say it isn't important information. If this is true, than why was it left in? And why is it referred to so many times? Were the Nephilim the product of the sons of God and the daughters of men? Are some of them from outer space? (right!) Were they merely a kingdom of giants, as some believe? or a biological species of giants that died out? Many mythologies do include giants in their stories (ie. Titans, Norse myths, etc). Again, why giants? Giants from where?
In the end, I guess all I can do now is wait for further discoveries to clarify what little the world knows. After all, the Bible is a book about Faith, not science; and I do choose to keep the Faith.
s.h.