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On February 17, 2014 by Brian Zahnd My Problem With the Bible My Problem With the Bible Brian Zahnd I have a problem with the Bible. Here’s my problem… I’m an ancient Egyptian. I’m a comfortable Babylonian. I’m a Roman in his villa. That’s my problem. See, I’m trying to read the Bible for all it’s worth, but I’m not a Hebrew slave suffering in Egypt. I’m not a conquered Judean deported to Babylon. I’m not a first century Jew living under Roman occupation. I’m a citizen of a superpower. I was born among the conquerors. I live in the empire. But I want to read the Bible and think it’s talking to me. This is a problem. One of the most remarkable things about the Bible is that in it we find the narrative told from the perspective of the poor, the oppressed, the enslaved, the conquered, the occupied, the defeated. This is what makes it prophetic. We know that history is written by the winners. This is true — except in the case of the Bible it’s the opposite! This is the subversive genius of the Hebrew prophets. They wrote from a bottom-up perspective. Imagine a history of colonial America written by Cherokee Indians and African slaves. That would be a different way of telling the story! And that’s what the Bible does. It’s the story of Egypt told by the slaves. The story of Babylon told by the exiles. The story of Rome told by the occupied. What about those brief moments when Israel appeared to be on top? In those cases the prophets told Israel’s story from the perspective of the peasant poor as a critique of the royal elite. Like when Amos denounced the wives of the Israelite aristocracy as “the fat cows of Bashan.” Every story is told from a vantage point; it has a bias. The bias of the Bible is from the vantage point of the underclass. But what happens if we lose sight of the prophetically subversive vantage point of the Bible? What happens if those on top read themselves into the story, not as imperial Egyptians, Babylonians, and Romans, but as the Israelites? That’s when you get the bizarre phenomenon of the elite and entitled using the Bible to endorse their dominance as God’s will. This is Roman Christianity after Constantine. This is Christendom on crusade. This is colonists seeing America as their promised land and the native inhabitants as Canaanites to be conquered. This is the whole history of European colonialism. This is Jim Crow. This is the American prosperity gospel. This is the domestication of Scripture. This is making the Bible dance a jig for our own amusement. As Jesus preached the arrival of the kingdom of God he would frequently emphasize the revolutionary character of God’s reign by saying things like, “the last will be first and the first last.” How does Jesus’ first-last aphorism strike you? I don’t know about you, but it makes this modern day Roman a bit nervous. Imagine this: A powerful charismatic figure arrives on the world scene and amasses a great following by announcing the arrival of a new arrangement of the world where those at the bottom are to be promoted and those on top are to have their lifestyle “restructured.” How do people receive this? I can imagine the Bangladeshis saying, “When do we start?!” and the Americans saying, “Hold on now, let’s not get carried away!” Now think about Jesus announcing the arrival of God’s kingdom with the proclamation of his counterintuitive Beatitudes. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” how was that received? Well, it depends on who is hearing it. The poor Galilean peasant would hear it as good news (gospel), while the Roman in his villa would hear it with deep suspicion. (I know it’s an anachronism, but I can imagine Claudius saying something like, “sounds like socialism to me!”) And that’s the challenge I face in reading the Bible. I’m not the Galilean peasant. Who am I kidding! I’m the Roman in his villa and I need to be honest about it. I too can hear the gospel of the kingdom as good news (because it is!), but first I need to admit its radical nature and not try to tame it to endorse my inherited entitlement. I am a (relatively) wealthy white American male. Which is fine, but it means I have to work hard at reading the Bible right. I have to see myself basically as aligned with Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and Caesar. In that case, what does the Bible ask of me? Voluntary poverty? Not necessarily. But certainly the Bible calls me to deep humility — a humility demonstrated in hospitality and generosity. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with being a relatively well-off white American male, but I better be humble, hospitable, and generous! If I read the Bible with the appropriate perspective and humility I don’t use the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus as a proof-text to condemn others to hell. I use it as a reminder that I’m a rich man and Lazarus lies at my door. I don’t use the conquest narratives of Joshua to justify Manifest Destiny. Instead I see myself as a Rahab who needs to welcome newcomers. I don’t fancy myself as Elijah calling down fire from heaven. I’m more like Nebuchadnezzar who needs to humble himself lest I go insane. I have a problem with the Bible, but all is not lost. I just need to read it standing on my head. I need to change my perspective. If I can accept that the Bible is trying to lift up those who are unlike me, then perhaps I can read the Bible right. BZ (The artwork is by Marc Chagall) Secular or Sacred Time? posted on November 27, 2015 Matthew and the Big Story of Jesus posted on November 29, 2015 God Is Not A Monster posted on October 26, 2015 ..................................................................................................................... This has always been Good News for People in my Tribe (and yours) http://clubadventist.com/forums/topic/63142-more-lgbt-staying-in-church/ Even though the Devil has used too many to block it from View since Antiquity http://brianzahnd.com/2014/02/problem-bible/ TT

The rule is this: To understand the respectability of science one must understand the scientific process. Why? When you understand scientific process you understand the boundaries and limitations of science. In addition, you have the knowledge to evaluate whether or not a hypothesis has been properly tested and whether the conclusions reached by that testing are consistent with the scientific method.

I would imagine that while we are in heaven for those 1000 years, there will probably not be any marriage's going on. But after we get back to the earth made new, that could be a whole new story!! Just a thought!

I've been thinking about this. It's a bit challenging to find the right words, but a couple of thoughts. One is that the "worm" comment is from Psalm 22, which is Jesus Himself speaking, so if He could feel like a worm, that can happen to us too. The hymn writer was Isaac Watts, who wrote some of the most profound hymns. Among his phrases is the following, Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. So he definitely "got it". Regarding why God rescued us, is it because we deserved it, or is it His love that makes us worthy? A chicken/egg question. What was involved was God's risking His Son. We hadn't been born. God could have simply left Adam and Eve to die, and started again. That God would send His Son at the risk of failure and eternal life is not an intuitive thing to do.

It is the love of God that leads to repentance. That could have been any one of us sitting there.

I agree. It is God who defines me. I "have value" BECAUSE God says so. This is why Darwinism, and atheism are sooooo very destructive. They reduce our value. Schools in the US have been teaching Darwinism (and excluding special creation) for a generation now. We are just beginning to see the results. Islam says the individual has value only as that individual serves Islam. All else are without value. Which is why they can kill them without hesitation.

I assume you include in your statement, only those who were taught the "goodness of God" and taught the Law of God. Millions were raised from infancy - to HATE (especially Jews and Christians). Those would be Muslim children. Millions were raised with abuse - in the name of God (a total misrepresentation of God who "is love"). These children were deceived!!! The fact that these children grow up to be persons who "believe the lie" is not their FAULT, and will not be laid to their charge. It is a sin of ignorance. "They know not what they do." I believe these persons will later be resurrected to HEAR the truth, and to then CHOOSE whom they will serve (This during the 8th millennium.) SDAs mostly believe such persons will simply be left dead "like the beasts". Either way, they will not be raised to hear judgment pronounced against them. Why? Because they were deceived. Eve sinned BECAUSE she was deceived (admittedly because she lingered near "the tree"). It was BECAUSE humans were deceived by the Serpent, that God consented to their rescue. Which is WHY, the greater one's true understanding of God and "His ways", the greater one's guilt when he CHOOSES sin. Yet even then, if the heart is truly repentant, God will forgive. King David would be a prime example. But God's forgiveness of David personally, did NOT prevent the ensuing bloodshed among David's offspring.

Powerful words, I'm feeling blown away. And I have come to love and respect the artwork of Mark Chagall and how he used art to show his love for God.

Interesting!

O.K. So, you reference some people who went to Willow Creek and what you believe happened in a congregation afterwards. Well, you are attempting to apply a generality to TOP and TOP is not Willow Creek.

Unity said below: Yes, a One Project Gathering is not there to reprove open sin by anyone. It has the belief that Christ is the answer and if a person has a connection with Christ that connection will result in changes in one's life.

Unity said below: Please explain. It is not a violation of any commandment to sell tour boat tickets. Some people make their living selling tickets on airplanes, boats and rental cars. I am not being trite. I simply do not understand your statement.

Unity said below; The One Project has never intended that people see it as Adventist evangelism. If you expect this from it, you have totally misunderstood its mission and purpose. It does not exist with the intention of converting people to Adventism. It intends to help people who have already taken the name of Christ to understand how Christ Is the center of the focus of doctrine and life style. The One Project does not replace Adventist evangelism. It does not have the focus and mission of Adventist evangelism. It should not be judged as one would rightly judge an Adventist evangelist. No one person can do all that is required of the SDA Church. After an Adventist evangelist brings a person into membership in the SDA denomination, there are others who must nurture that person in the spiritual growth that must take place. Even an Adventist evangelist does not do for a person all that is required of the SDA church today.

Reddogs: Let me commend you for asking an honest question and for including the two references that you have included. I understand your comment to be an honest question and an attempt on your part to be fair. I will respond to your questions in a following post. Let me give my qualifications to answer: 1) My wife and I attended the Gathering in San Diego. 2) I am currently a member of the congregation that has Japhet as the Sr. pastor. While I am in the process of moving to California, for a bit less than two years I attended his weekly services. So, I know what he preaches and the spiritual leadership that he has. 3) He is currently the Sr. pastor of the Boulder SDA Church in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Conference. 4) On the average, Japhet and I communicated, either by e-mail, or in person, two or more times a week. Those conversations were about equally divided between discussions of The One Project and local congregational matters. I have a very good understanding as to where Japhet is coming from as it relates to The One Project. 5) I have personally spoken to other leaders of The One Project as well as SDA administrators on Local, Union and General Conference level on issues related to The One Project. Much of this is covered by confidentiality and therefore I am often unable to name names and/or cite very specific statements. 6) Simply put: The goal of The One Project is to make Christ the center of belief and life practice of individual SDA members. There is no other purpose. 7) The Boulder congregation places its services on the Internet for all to view. You may access them at: https://new.livestream.com/bouldersdachurch 8) The password for the above is: SDA7sda 9) If you want to see what TOP says about itself, visit their website: www.the1projectorg 10) The leaders of TOP have written a book that tells of their founding of TOP and what it about. For some reason, few critics seem to have read that book. Going by memory, I think it is titled THE ONE. 11) The five major leaders of TOP are all SDA pastors. As such they are different individuals. Please distinguish between their individual spiritual leadership and TOP. 12) Japhet is probably the finest congregational administrator that I have ever experienced. The weekly sermons in the Boulder congregation are planed out more than one-year ahead with scriptural passage, title and the person who will preach that Sabbath. He typically preaches along with the other members of the pastoral staff who consist of two to three other people, along with a couple of congregational members. Those who preach will be asked to preach on the Biblical passage for that day. 13) Typically the Sabbath sermons come in a series. This may be a set of Biblical chapters from either the OT or the NT, such as lessons from the life of King David. They may be a series on a theme such as from the life of Christ. They do include sermons on beliefs dear to SDA members. 14) Japhet travels Internationally for TOP. So, he is very busy. While I could be wrong, I believe that Japhet has two International trips scheduled in the near future. 15) One interesting comment: Japhet has organized the Boulder congregation in a manner that is quite different from the typical SDA congregation. In his organization, the members take the lead in every aspect of the congregational life. They have the power and the pastoral staff is there to support them. In addition, there is a place for every member to take leadership in the congregational life. I will give you two examples: a) The Boulder congregation is reaching out to families with young children. The mothers found it hard to keep their children quiet during the preaching service. So, that now comes first when they are best able to keep them quiet. Sabbath School comes after the preaching service when the young children can be more active. 'b) The Sabbath Service has a person who is a "Producer." That person is totally responsible for seeing that the services take place as planned. [NOTE: It is not an Elder.} One Sabbath I discovered several of the Sabbath School class rooms did not have chairs set up for people to sit in. I informed the Producer for that day. It was immediately resolved. c) An extra item of interest: During the sermon, the congregation is invited to send a text message to the person preaching. That message is immediately responded to by the preacher during the sermon. [NOTE: People on their cell phones may be participating in the sermon.] 16)Japhet and other leaders have personally met with people who sincerely wanted to know what TOP was all about. As Japhet travels Internationally he has offered to meet with a major critic located in another country. That offer has not been accepted. All to many of the critics have made no attempt to personally interact and dialogue with the leadership of TOP. Yes, I know of exceptions. But, most have not been interested in interacting with TOP leadership. I will call it quits for now. Reddog, thank you for asking.