The
theologian and pastor, R. C. Sproul, points out a couple of other reasons
individuals might utter to defend their distance from Scripture. He refers to
them as myths and summarizes them thus:
Myth 1: The Bible is
so difficult to understand that only highly skilled theologians with technical
training can deal with the Scriptures.[1]
and
Myth 2: The Bible is
boring.[2]
In reference to the first of these justifications for not
reading God’s Word, we must admit that there are certainly some portions of
Scripture that we find confusing, at least at first read. Training in the
biblical languages, logic, culture and history certainly help us in our
interpretation. However, understanding the Bible is not as difficult as many make
it out to be. Sproul explains:
When
we express this myth, we do it with astonishing ease. The myth is so often
repeated that we do not expect it to be challenged. Yet we know that as mature
adults, living in the United States of America [or Canada!], having a
high-school education or better, we can understand the basic message of the
Bible.
If
we can read the newspaper, we can read the Bible. In fact, I would venture to
guess that more difficult words and concepts are expressed on the front page of
a newspaper than on most pages of the Bible.[3]
I wonder how often this argument (that the Bible is difficult
to understand) is put forth by those who have a bias against reading and
obeying Scripture in the first place? How often is it an excuse, rather than a
road block? Soren Kierkegaard comments on this myth. Philip Yancey explains:
“Kierkegaard dismisses the objection ‘There are so many obscure passages in the
Holy Scriptures, whole books which are almost riddles’ with the reply that he
would only consider that objection from someone who had fully complied with all
the passages that are easy to understand!”[4]
The suggestion that “the Bible is
boring” needs some comment as well. Perhaps the most helpful idea that can be
stated here is simply that many people strongly disagree with this sentiment.
Borrowing again from Philip Yancey and R. C. Sproul:
The Old Testament portrays the
world as it is, no holds barred. In its pages you will find passionate stories
of love and hate, blood-chilling stories of rape and dismemberment,
matter-of-fact accounts of trafficking in slaves, honest tales of the high
honor and cruel treachery of war. Nothing is neat and orderly. Spoiled brats
like Solomon and Samson get supernatural gifts; a truly good man like Job gets
catastrophe.[5]
and
When people say the Bible is dull
it makes me wonder why. Biblical characters are full of life. There is a unique
quality of passion about them. Their lives reveal drama, pathos, lust, crime,
devotion, and every conceivable aspect of human existence. There is rebuke,
remorse, contrition, consolation, practical wisdom, philosophical reflection
and, most of all, truth. Perhaps the dullness some experience is due to the
antiquity of the material that may seem foreign. How does the life of
Abraham—lived so long ago and so far away—relate to us? But the characters of
biblical history are real. Though their life settings are different from ours,
their struggles and concerns are very much like ours.[6]
These are not the words of individuals whose eyes glaze over
and whose minds wander as they read from the Holy Scriptures. At times the
Bible shocks us, then it convicts us, it teaches us, entertains us and
challenges us to be more than we have been. This is not to say that it is
without less exciting sections for us to read. I admit that genealogies, for instance,
do not stimulate my imagination the way that narratives do. However, the
number of passages which I find intellectually, emotionally and spiritually stimulating,
far outweigh those which I find “slow.”
[1] R.
C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture (Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977), p. 13.
[2]
Sproul, Knowing Scripture, p. 14.
[3]
Sproul, Knowing Scripture, p. 14.
[4]
Philip Yancey, The Bible Jesus Read (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), p. 30.
[5]
Yancey, Bible, p. 11.
[6]
Sproul, Knowing Scripture, p.
