My interaction and talks with friends and students has revealed an attitude towards the Bible, that makes me rather uncomfortable. Why am I uncomfortable you ask? First I wouldn't be writing this blog is the attitude was from non-Christians. Secondly is the way I have grown up as a Christian in Kenya. Authority is something valued, appreciated and respected in that part of the world. Whether it is your Boss at work, Pastor at church, a parent at home there can be no denial that authority is respected. I remember as a Primary school pupil being told to stand up whenever a grown up was passing or stop playing when a grown up was passing as a gesture of respect to the figure of authority.
Of course this does not answer the question why I am uncomfortable, yet I am trying to lay the foundation so that you see where my discomfort comes from. Norway is a country where equality is celebrated and I must say there is no problem with that. It is an environment where all religions are equal and no particular religion should raise its flag high and declare itself to be the true one. It is an environment where everyone is a boss or an authority to themselves. The general tendency is for people not to have anything outside of them that tries to control them or show them what to do.
My question is, if you have come to a reasonable conclusion that God exists, don't you think you are responsible to Him?My problem which a little bit scares me; is challenging of the authority of scripture (Bible) as the word of God.You know it is one thing to for a non-Christian to question the authority of scripture and totally another thing for a Christian to question it. I am not saying that as Christians we are not suppose to ask questions regarding what the bible means in a given situation, but to the extent that a Christian says I don’t agree with what the Bible or what the apostle Paul says about this and that, makes me wonder which parts of scripture are we to agree with and which ones are we not to.
Does it mean that Christians should read scriptures selectively? I bet that will be a religion of our own creation such that we will want to hear only that which is pleasant to us and dismiss that which is not pleasant (usually intended for our discipline and correction) as personal opinions of the writers.
How do you preach to Christians of this calibre? Why is it that some reject the authority of scripture while the Bible is the most reliable book of all History?
Well, I will try to answer this question using my limited knowledge.
- My observation is that there is an abundance of biblical illiteracy among the young people here. Many it seems to me know the book by its cover and not by the content of its instructions.
- Secondly there has been a circulated rumour that the bible contains lots of mistakes. This is carried around being handed from one person to another without the recipient caring to found out for themselves.
- But thirdly which according to my experience through talks and interactions could be the major reason, is the types of Christians that I have come to categorize into three categories.
- Those that believe in the Existence of God
- Those that believe in God and Jesus
- Those that believe in God, Jesus and the Bible
The first group are the type that have logically come to the conclusion that the complex design of the universe must have a designer and that designer is God. They neither believe in the claims of Jesus and the Bible is just any other ordinary book. They could also be born in a Christian family.
The second Group also have come to the Logical conclusion that apart from the universe having a designer, the claims of Jesus being God are worth considering. To them the Bible has a lot of moral lessons to learn, but since it is written by human beings it contains many mistakes and personal opinions that can be challenged and dismissed. The Bible also is an old book which has to an extent lost its relevance. They are also born in Christian families.
The third group is what you may call staunch Christians. To them God has revealed himself through scripture and Jesus Christ. These are ther kind of Christians you may refer to as committed who are obidient to what scripture says and are willing to search for more information to clear the discrepancies they may come across.
Myself I haven't read the whole Bible to say that it doesn't have discrepancies or “mistakes”
as the usual sceptic would say, but I am convinced that the central message of the Bible is one and the same. Well, there could be discrepancies, which we may not understand of now but if we are patient; in the light of new information we may just discard the discrepancies.
