In this season of Passover and Easter, my thoughts are drawn
to mankind’s search for God and Wisdom and how that is relayed in Bible
Stories. I approach those stories with
21st Century reasoning while keeping in mind that each generation’s
search reflects their society’s stage of development. Do I believe the Bible is God-inspired? Indeed I do; but God’s inspiration passed
through the minds and hands of men in an era of limited knowledge. Before there was writing, information was
passed on orally thru story telling with no requirement for factual
accuracy. The Bible writers were from
that tradition and used stories to convey the wisdom that was beyond their
ability to fully reckon with.
In our present information age, we read stories to find the
essential facts or points the story is making—that was not the ‘norm’ four
thousand years ago, they just told interesting stories to get something
across. I’ve considered some essential
points from stories in Genesis. The
first chapter of Genesis is the story of creation; I’ve selected the wisdom points
that it conveys.
1)
God is the Creator. Can we translate that to mean ‘that which
called being into existence’? [Being = materialization; (i.e. the universe,
world, life forms, humanity . . .) existence = the known and experienced
reality]
O.K., that’s a bit much to process, but the rest of Genesis’
wisdom is easier.
2) It describes an order of creation (1st
day, 2nd day, 3rd day, etc. that
agrees with Science)
3) God made man in God’s own image (able to
create and bring order)
4)
In contrast to other creatures, humans had the
unique ability to make choices (free will)
5)
some of the choices made by man would be to his
own detriment. (sin,. . . Atomic bombs?)
From Creation, my thoughts take
a jump to Abraham and the ‘chosen people’.
Chosen how? Why? For what?
The story tells of God directing Abraham to “leave your home country,
your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show
you. I will make you into a great nation
. . .” [Gen. 12, NIV]
The point seems to be that the
Jews were to make a significant contribution to the world and civilization. (they have)
Some four thousand years ago
(estimated to be the time of Abraham) humanity was emerging from the primitive
world whose only rule was largely ‘survival of the fittest’ and ‘might means
right’ with honor going only to the rulers and virtual enslavement of the
masses. Yet since the beginning of
civilization there is evidence of humanity’s reaching for ‘something’ beyond
the immediate experience of life—1) burying of their dead, 2) collecting and
honoring totems, 3) developing dances and rituals, 4) calling upon spirits . .
. the ‘something’ sought was vague and without a clear direction. The descendants of Abraham and Sarah were to
begin the movement of humanity toward a God of purpose and direction. God as God truly is. Over time the Jewish people (the ‘chosen
people’) established laws, both for settling disputes (legality), and of
personal conduct (The 10 Commandments); to teach of One God; and to assemble
sacred literature (the Old Testament/the Torah). From my vantage point I see that as the advancement
of civilization. But the essential point
was not that the Jews would advance civilization, but they were chosen to be
the genetic line from which the Messiah was to come. Messiah:
“the one chosen to lead the world and thereby save it”, “the anointed”, “God’s appearance on earth”.
Approximately two thousand years after
Abraham, Jesus entered the world. Jesus
was a Jew. He instructed people in how
to live with compassion and kindness, forgiving enemies and caring for all in
need. He performed miracles, prayed to
God, calling him ’Father’; his followers—first Jews then others—believed him to
be the Messiah, but the Jewish authorities did not. He was crucified and rose from the dead.
Stories of Jesus’ life, death
and resurrection were added to the Bible as the ‘New Testament’ for Christians. For Jews, the Torah alone is their sacred
scripture.
Each year Passover and Easter come
at the same time. I am pleased that
there is mutual respect and at times there is sharing together of their
celebrations.
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