Comments for October 9, 2011
It is time to jump right into the first three chapters of the book of Genesis. With the leaves changing color and beginning to fall, it is a fitting metaphor to take a flying leap into the gorgeous shades of meaning that fall out from this wonderful book.
If you watch the first session of Bill Moyers’ Genesis, either by streaming it on Netflix or by going to pbs.org, you will first note that he has assembled a VERY prestigious group of people with whom to carry on this discussion. But they each bring something different from their own knowledge and experience: some know Hebrew and the rabbinic traditions about Genesis; one is an artist and has some incisive things to say about ‘creation.’ One professor had just recovered from a very recent heart attack and so had some comments about the value of life; many were married and were interested in the relationship between Adam and Eve, and between parents and children. All had intense questions about the image of God portrayed in Genesis, and of course they ran into the barbed wire question about the problem of evil.
After an hour’s discussion, the video just fades out. No conclusions are drawn; no take-aways; no homework. It was like watching a creation in miniature—sparks of life erupting from the minds and hearts of these people and illuminating the room, causing other ideas to burst forth like so many bubbles of light. Bill Moyers did ask questions, but usually only to follow up on someone’s observations. In fact, he doesn’t even start the discussion.
Dr. Beal’s book, Biblical Literacy, will be like Moyers’ facilitation. He writes very little. He likes to point out later art, music and literature that have their origin and inspiration from the biblical texts. He relishes the idea of showing us how pervasive words from the Bible are in our everyday speech, and in the speeches and songs of our political and entertainment celebrities. It will be interesting to see if these allusions provoke discussion and to see if we ourselves will be inspired by the scripture.
This is a different way of looking at the Bible, very unlike the heavy academic approach of textual criticism and close, exegetical interpretation. Far less time will be spent in asking who wrote things and when. The arguments of the scholars over disputed readings and authorship will be pushed to the background. The important thing will be to look at the text, swim around in it, and attempt to make meaning.
Genesis is a great place to start. There are things to discuss, such as the image of God that comes through, the relationship of God to us, the position of women, the tree of knowledge, the banishment from Eden, the promise of hope. We may even want to get into whether God was creating out of nothing or simply drawing order out of chaos. We may want to ask if that process is still continuing today, and what our role is in it.
Will we be like a group of middle schoolers discussing sex during recess, not knowing much about it, but feeling free to share their expert opinions? Will it be prudent to ignore any scholarship? Shall we put ourselves back into an age when people did not or could not read to see what fresh insights we come up with? Can we safely ignore sentences like this from the New Interpreter’s Study Bible: “Readers today should understand the structural differences between ancient and modern societies and be careful about using ancient social norms as models for modern ethics” (p. 11)?
We are going to proceed. What jumps out at you as you read these chapters; which colorful leaves you press in the book of your life—these are the important things to bring to our discussion. Then, would it be too bold to say that, like the Creator, we’ll see what happens!
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