What Is the Bible?

What exactly is the Bible? In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul tells his protege: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Many Christians have interpreted this passage as the basis for stating that every word of the Bible is perfect and therefore applicable to our lives. However, there are scores of passages that are deeply troubling. Psalm 137 is a lament written in exile, with beautiful imagery about missing Jerusalem, longing for home.  It ends with these two verses against their oppressors, the Babylonians: “Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.”  I believe if we regard this as a prayer written by a man in pain, we can let the shock of the image instruct us on how important it is to overcome our hatred.  Any phrase like that should be appalling, but especially so if we think of the Bible as “the perfect word of God”.  This verse is “useful for instruction” then, NOT taken as a commandment (obviously?), but instead to do the exact opposite and to “love your enemy” and “pray for those who persecute you”.  

To understand the Bible properly, we must recognize that some Bible passages:

• Are specific time and place, such as when God instructed the Israelites to destroy everyone in the Promised Land (which they utterly failed to do).  

• Must be taken in the context of the time, such as instituting slavery, which was supposed to be a kind of ancient social safety net, if the masters obeyed the Law and treated their slaves with kindness and generosity, setting them free at the allotted times.  

• Must be seen as ideals, not commandments, such as one man and one woman for marriage (noting, for instance, that polygamy was essentially commanded in Deuteronomy 25).  

• Simply describe human nature.  In the Garden of Eden, we see how easily we are tempted to do things we know we should not.  In the book of Judges, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”  In 1 and 2 Kings, Chronicles, and throughout, we see how sinful we are and how we need forgiveness.  Murdur, incest, rape, betrayal.  This is what we do with the gift of Free Will.  The Bible does not shy away from any of it.  

• Are the True Word of God, applicable to any situation.  The “red letters” when Jesus speaks are good indicators of these passages.  But even here, there are difficult sections.  “I did not come to bring peace but division” and “Bring those enemies here and slay them before me” are examples.  

None should be taken out of context.  As Jesus said in John 10:35, “Scripture cannot be set aside”, meaning we cannot look at one part and ignore others because they don’t suit us.  In Matthew 4:5-7 Satan tempts Jesus in the desert. “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Notice, Satan quotes scripture, taking it out of context.  It is crucial that the Word of God be taken as a whole, not broken up or only looking at one verse.  

How can we know how to view a given verse?  In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment.  He replies, essentially, Love God and Love your neighbor.  “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  That is, if we are interpreting any part of the Bible in a way that is not loving, we are not reading it correctly.  The greatest commandment(s) must inform how we understand every verse.  

God’s word, the Bible, tells us just as much about who he is and what he is like as the Incarnation in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  However, there is still much in it that I do not understand.  The question facing anyone who picks up the Bible is this: when you come to a part that does not make sense to you, do you say “the Bible must be wrong?” or “I do not understand this”?  

Is the Bible perfect?  I would argue yes.  So far as I understand it, I have found it to be inerrant with regard to history, science, theology and helping me to get to know God on a personal, experiential level.  That does not mean it is to be taken literally, every chapter and every verse.  Context matters.  Apparent contradictions can lead to great insights (more on this in another post).  Can you approach difficult passages with humility, accepting that some parts you may never understand?  Or will they keep you from, as CS Lewis said, giving in and admitting that God is God?