Bible Matters

Where does the Bible fall in terms of guiding day-to-day lifestyle? The Evangelical world has tagged the Bible as the all-purpose answer book for most every need. Not sure what to eat? How to deal with that ex-girlfriend? What shoe-sole works best for keeping blisters down? Just look it up in the Bible!

Ok, so I'm exaggerating, but not by much. How much does the Bible really have to say for daily living? A lot of Christians hold to the belief that the Bible should be the guide for living life to the most minute level, yet discerning that guidance is a daunting task that most people don't bother taking up anyway. The Bible, I'm sorry to say, seldom has a clear message simply based on the fact that it's a collection of ancient documents. Culture has changed significantly in the last 2000-3000 years. Our lives are not driven by finding food every day lest we starve, or searching for clean drinking water. Our lot in life is not set in stone. The businesses we work in and the people we work for differ greatly from the professions and businesses that existed then. Though similar in some respects, life is so drastically different from the time that Jesus walked the earth.

What's more, does the Bible even claim to be that guide for us? Controversial, I know, but look at who's writing. The Bible, on most accounts, is a story told about God's interaction with the world. From creation to incarnation to resurrection to the end, the documents in the Bible attest to God's action within the world. It doesn't claim to be a book of doctrines, and for the most part any advice for living is set in very specific contexts. Almost all the Pauline epistles are written in response to a specific problem or problems in particular churches. If not, Paul is writing concerning a specific issue that he deems requires some sort of intervention on his part. In other words, he does not have a general letter or writing in the Bible that says here is how Christians should act in general, here is how Christians should live in general. The closest there is to that is Romans, which most scholars agree is a fundraising letter, and even there, the advice is very brief and not thorough. The Biblical literature we have was compiled and is accepted as canon because it best explains and provides foundation for the doctrines of the church through the story it tells. It's purpose is to tell the story of God's interaction in the world and asks for a response.

Where the Bible does provide guidance, as I said before, it does not do so clearly. In one letter, one can find the encouragement to obey local authorities and governments, where in another one can find the call to oppose the government. In one writing, the wealthy are considered the favored of God where in another they are the bane of humanity's existence and every wealthy person is destined to rot in Hell. The only truly consistent message in the Bible concerning living is to help the poor as well as only worshiping only God.

And yet I think there is an expectation to live a certain way and conduct your life in a way pleasing to God. However, I don't think this is clearly spelled out in the Biblical documents, and I think that's purposeful. God didn't create us to be robots and life is not a mechanical thing. Different situations call for different actions and what is appropriate in one context is inappropriate in another. So where is the guidance? Perhaps that is where reliance on God outside of the Bible comes in. The Bible is an essential part of the Christian faith, don't get me wrong, but God wants more than a commitment to a book. He wants a commitment to Him, and though He is written about in a book, he himself is not the book. Perhaps that is where prayer is most important, but also engaging in life and asking for discernment in what is true and not. Appreciating life in facets other that "Christian" works but knowing where to draw the line. It's an interesting thought to ponder.

Purpose

I'm trying to figure out exactly what this blog is going to be. I feel it should be a little more sophisticated than my other blogs because it has a more sophisticated look - at least I think it does. Eventually this site will have more posts on it and different from xanga and myspace. I'm still determining its function.

Wayward Movements

I find it fascinating to look for trends in different facets of life. I develop my own theories on human behavior and cycles, development and things of that nature. One of the patterns that it seems many college students are interested in or at least seem to be aware of is the conservative-liberal continuum. Generally the conversations concerning that continuum have to do with what type of people tend to be conservative or liberal, is there a certain point in life when someone moves in one direction or another, does that change stick, etc. The one trend that I always noticed had to do with a person's stance based on intelligence. This is not to say that I thought all conservatives were stupid and all liberals were smart. I thought, mostly, that conservatives tend to be ill-informed and liberals tend to be overly informed. Conservatives tend to to embrace stubbornness while liberals tend to embrace ambiguity. Conservatives tend to not ask enough questions while liberals ask too many questions. Overall, I was always of the mind that conservatives were surface level, unwilling to dive deeper while liberals would dive down to depths so great that they'd never find their way out again.

Being more academically minded, I chose the liberal side more often; I'd rather not remain surface level, and though I run the risk of falling down the rabbit hole, I'll take my chances looking deeper. And for the most part, my observations proved to be true. The more practically minded/less academic department of theology on campus was much more conservative, very surface level, and overall frustrating to me in my pursuit of graduation. The biblical studies department, much more academically minded, was more liberal but almost seemed to have a better grasp on the world. The problem was that the Biblical studies department also left me very close to leaving Christianity. Theology, with an even tempered mix of practicality and academics, seemed to be middle of the road, but at that time I still thought it leaned a little to the liberal side. Not a bad thing, merely an observation. What I concluded from that experience and experiences in other classes is that the more academically minded, and perhaps more book-smart people were more liberal because they knew more from their studies.

What has surprised me is what I've noticed since graduation. Many of the professors who I thought to be liberal are actually either middle of the road leaning right or pretty much conservative, and the professors who are liberal are not looking at the facts as fully as they could be. Amazingly enough, Princeton's seminary helped me realize that a bit. I was surprised at how middle of the road many of the professors seem to be. I was expecting to see a lot of very liberal professors, or simply expecting all the professors to be liberal, and I was a bit shocked to find that wasn't the case.

Perhaps it is more an indication of my bias, but I'm noticing that the really respectable scholars, the ones who tend to lead their areas of study tend to be a little more on the conservative side. That's not to say they're super conservative; I think they're much more middle-of-the-road. And obviously I have a lot more to learn and need to expand my experience. But I find that trend interesting. At least, it's interesting to me.

What a Day

It has been a very fun-filled, informational day, and I can't tell you how great it is out here. Princeton is absolutely beautiful. As one person said, it looks the way a college should look. The buildings are amazing, the environment is wonderful; it's nice to see naturally-occuring trees as opposed to we-planted-this-so-this-campus-will-have-foliage trees. But I think most surprising of all is that I feel comfortable here. In fact (and if you know me well, you know this can change instantly), I really love it here. That is not to say that I don't miss my friends and family back home. It is hard not being able to talk to a friend and show you my excitement and the pictures. I still have a longing to be home. But I am comfortable here, and I am confident that I will be able to finda good group of friends here that I can connect with and create community with.

To my surprise, the school has quite a bit in common with APU. The faith aspect of the community is much more present than I would have ever imagined. There are chapel services! I was not expecting that. The professors are very concerned about how your education impacts your ministry and your career. There are dorms, right at the heart of campus! It is the differences that make me excited. To name a few:

- Chapel NOT required
- No touchy-feely-west-coast evangelicalism!!!
- Lots of pass-fail classes (70% grade = pass for class; doesn't affect GPA)
- A greater opportunity to ask difficult, controversial questions
- Princeton is right next door and I can take classes from the university

The opportunities are wonderful. I am still not decided on when I will begin, though I feel the urge even stronger to start this fall as opposed to waiting a year. Part of me is still hesitant, and I still have a lot of weekend left to explore the campus and get to know what's going on.

And there are some things that do leave me a little worried. For example, one of the posters for on campus events is for an event called "Integrity and Choice: Celebrating 34 years since the decision on Roe v. Wade." If you don't know what that is, look it up. But that is a trivial reason in my opinion to be serious concerned and is another opportunity to learn and converse and hopefully become a little wiser along the way.

Anyway, I imagine I won't have much computer time the next few days as tomorrow is jam-packed with meetings and forums and what-not, and Saturday I hope to be on the Princeton University campus looking around as well as getting to know the seminary a bit more. But I look forward to sharing stories with all of you! I am very excited!

Internal Questioning

Do I have the courage to go through with it or will I miss the opportunity simply for reasons of comfort?

And the Fun Continues

So in planning my visit to Princeton, I didn't realize that Newark's airport, though it looks farther way, is in fact closer and provides many more ways to get to Princeton than Trenton. And since all the materials I received from Princeton tell me how to get there from Newark and only Newark, I find myself in a very interesting spot. Oh the joy of traveling.

Every time I speak to someone at the seminary, I do feel better about going out there and visiting. It's just a little stressful knowing that it could cost me a bit of money to get from the airport to Princeton, and when you're jobless, spending money is not an attractive option. But that is where my story lies.

Good quote

Thank you Ryan for letting me borrow this book.

"Is it possible, I wonder, to say that it is only when you hear the Gospel as a wild and marvelous joke that you really hear it at all? Heard as anything else, the Gospel is the church's thing, the preacher's thing, the lecturer's thing. Heard as a joke -- high and unbidden and ringing with laughter -- it can only be God's thing."

Frederick Buechner