In last night's show, he also pointed out some obvious flaws in more liberal interpretations of holy texts. He basically asked that if one doesn't accept the Bible's account of creation, because science has proven it to be false (or at least non-literal) and if one doesn't accept the Biblical condemnation of homosexuality, or its dietary requirements or views on women, because they're immoral or patently absurd, then why claim to believe the Bible at all?
From a book I'm writing and will almost surely never finish: (Jon is a Christian coming to grips with the fact that he believes evolution)
After the service, I approached our pastor. "Jon, what's wrong?" he asked me as I walked up. Was my distress this obvious? No wonder my wife was insistent! "I'm having a crisis of faith, Terry. Can you help me work through some things?" He invited me into a classroom to talk.
"I'm having trouble with the creation account," I told him, bluntly. Terry and I had been friends before he became the pastor here, we didn't need to beat around the bush.
"I see," he said, "What problems?"
"Well, the Bible says that God created plants, and only later, on a different day, did he create the bees. How did the plants get pollinated before there were bees?" I stated this last as if it were the worst thing I'd ever had to say. And at the time, it felt like it.
"Bees, eh?" he smiled at me, "You're disheveled and roaming around looking lost because of bees?"
I felt a little affronted. "I'm serious, Terry, this is really shaking me up. The Bible is wrong on this. What else is wrong in there?"
"The Bible says when God created bees?"
"Sure it does, on the 5th day," I told him. Didn't he know this stuff?
"Show me," he said. We looked it up together. "See? The flying creatures were created on the 5th day." He still seemed unimpressed, even a little amused.
"Let me show you a scripture, Jon. Let's flip to Genesis chapter 2, verse 4."
[in the day god created the heavens and the earth]
"So which is it, Jon? Did God create the heavens and the earth in a week, as Genesis 1 says? Or a day, as Genesis 2 says? Which one is wrong?" Why was everyone smiling at me lately?!?
"Well, I would say that the Genesis 2 'day' is more of a grouping, than an interval. Like when I say, 'Back in my grandfather's day...'. But the Genesis 1 'day' is speaking of a specific time period."
"I see, so you're sure one of them is meant to be taken literally, and you're sure one of them is not. You seem very sure of these things, Jon."
I did sound pretty sure. I couldn't identify in my life where I went from ignorant of the Bible to sure of my interpretation of it, but he was right. It had clearly happened.
"Jon, the Bible is everyman's book. It isn't yours or Stephen Hawking's or Mother Teresa's. It wasn't Moses' book, even though he got to write some of it. God was writing a book for all the ages, a book to stand the tests of time. Through centuries of time, hundreds of cultures, it has shown itself to be of inestimable value in establishing family values, suggesting morals, improving lives. Through its pages, you gain an insight into who you are, who God is, and what the two of you can accomplish together." He let that sink in. "If God had explained to Moses how he had assembled the DNA of the bee, wrapped it in a nucleus, surrounded it with tiny factories, guards, and transportation mechanisms, and wrapped the whole thing in a fatty skin, would your faith in him be strengthened?"
I had to admit that it wouldn't.
"Worse," he went on, "Moses wouldn't have had a clue what he was writing. And neither would the Apostle Paul a few millennia later. The Bible was written for you, for Paul, and for Moses. It had to be understandable to us all."
The critic in me still had a voice, though. "But that just says there's no need to reveal lots of accurate information. I can agree with that, the Bible's thick enough. But why allow patently false information into it, such as this plant/bee thing?"
"You're thinking, Jon. Many people find that critical thinking derails their faith. But you know what? They're wrong. What it can and should derail is their BELIEFS. Beliefs are like opinions; we just call them 'beliefs' to warn other people not to question them. It's a shame, too, because there's nothing sacred about beliefs."
I couldn't believe this line of reasoning from a minister. "Terry, how can you say beliefs aren't sacred? Isn't that a heretical statement?" I asked, only half-joking.
"No, no. FAITH is sacred. God is there. He loves us. He provided his son to cover our sins and allow us to live eternally with him. These are statements of faith and they are sacred, beyond doubt, beyond question. But belief is something else altogether. If faith could be likened to hunger, then beliefs are your favorite foods. As a child, you may have preferred pizza. Now maybe you like fried chicken better. Throughout your life, your tastes will change. But you'll never stop getting hungry."
Dave
