Years ago, I was interviewed on an Irish radio show. I had been traipsing all over Ireland, giving sundry talks on THE DA VINCI CODE and i was pretty exhausted. When I’m not exhausted, I tend to give overly complex answer to simplistic theological questions from media types who are just looking for either a sound bite or something they can quickly dismiss. My being an over-explaining bore tends to make such folk’s eyes glaze over, followed by an abrupt cut to a commercial break.
But when I’m exhausted as I was that day in, I think, Belfast (it’s kind of a blur) I tend to be curt, particularly when the questoin is, as it was, the hundredth iteration of the same question.
That day, the question was, “You don’t mean to say you take the Bible literally, do you?”
Wearily, I replied, “Which part?”
The interviewer looked across the table in confusion and said, “Wh- what?”
I said, “Which part? Do you mean the parts about talking snakes or the part that says David hid in the cave of Adullam to escape Saul’s search parties?”
The interviewer muttered something about “not knowing much about the Bible”.
I said, “Right! So don’t ask questions like that.”
Here’s the thing: The meme above opposes things that are neither parallel nor opposites. Somebody who says there is no value in religion is, yes, a fool. But what does “taking religion literally” mean?
I don’t take talking snakes literally, but I do take “love your enemy” literally.
I don’t take Noah’s Flood literally, but I do take the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day literally.
I don’t take the tale of Jonah literally, but I do take literally the chronicles of the Davidic monarchy as broadly reflective of the political fortunes of House of David.
I see no harm and no folly in taking seriously and literally the reportage of the healings and miracles performed by Jesus and I think it great folly in reducing them to the same thing as a legend or a tale.
The Bible is, in the post-modern world, the one and only ancient text that people imagine can be completely understood by anybody who plunges into it without any tutoring, guides, or commentary. It is also the only ancient text post-moderns routinely assume can be completely dismissed as worthless without trial.
And all without ever having come close to even figuring out what on earth they mean when they recklessly deploy words like “literal”.
So tomorrow, we will take a little look at what the Christian tradition means by the “Literal sense of Scripture”.
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One Response
If I didn’t have adult ADHD I’d write, “Noah’s Ark, The Docudrama” –I so want it to be real. Didn’t it sort of happen somewhere near Turkey?
Apropos to the whole rising water theme, have you heard about the biggest glacier on earth that has had its base breached for miles by (warmer) seawater? The thought of the whole central valley of CA reverting to bayfront makes me somewhat happy.