God's Sovereignty, Mankind's Dominion, and Cultural Influences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nJRFVG5xlY

When C.S. Lewis was asked to write The Problem with Pain, he stated in his introduction that he was a man who believed in principles he did not yet attain to. I feel like this is true of most people on an honest spiritual journey. We all take the knowledge we have acquired, which is filtered through our experiences, and we attempt to create a narrative that makes sense, even if it is in theory alone. Nothing proves this more than suffering, loss, and injustice.

The question arises many times over. Why do bad things happen to good people? How can God be just and loving, yet still allow these things to happen? I am not answering these questions in depth in this statement but the thoughts are integral to our topic.

Without going into a long theological lecture, I believe the answer is in a combination of interactions and issues of collaboration. When God created mankind, He gave them two gifts, choice and dominion. God wanted to work in collaboration with man in this creation He designed. However, because of a series of rebellions, both among mankind and the heavenly host, creation has become corrupt and less than perfect. This is the short answer. Of course, for those who need some good news, God also created a plan to redeem creation, not just leave it to its own devices of destruction, but more on that later. For today, I want us to have some proper understanding about the filters which skew our personal narratives and how we think.

How do you read the Bible? This isn't a question about what order to read books in, or what version you use, but how to comprehend what we are reading. How do you understand what you read in the Bible? Every part of the Bible was written at a point in time, immersed in a culture and a mindset. In fact the Bible isn't one book, but a collection of writings; books, prophetic statements, songs, and letters. Many of us read the Bible today as though it was written in the thought patterns of Western cultures with our modern understanding, but that's not the case. Most churches teach that the Bible, existing as the word of God, is "inspired" by God. What does that mean? Really stop and think about it. Now I know that you Bible scholars are ready to quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where Paul writes in his letter to Timothy that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." But, let me ask a question, and think before you answer. What did Paul think of as Scripture? Would Paul have included this letter to Timothy as part of Scripture? The honest answer is no. It was a personal correspondence written for the purpose of instructing Timothy. This doesn't take away the value of his words, nor does it make it any less inspired by God. However, we have to understand what we mean by inspired. God didn't sit down with these guys and say, "okay, now write this". Only part of the words we call scriptures are "God dictated". Inspiration and dictation are two different things.

So, why do I bring up this topic of inspiration and what does it have to do with God working in collaboration with mankind to redeem creation? It's because we need to be able to discern between God's truth, and people's perfectly imperfect humanity. This might break you for a minute, but if you will keep your trust in God, He can use this teaching to make you stronger in the end.

Many of us are aware that there have been those who have been able to twist the scriptures in a way to support doctrines of error. Most of us would speak of "cults", or fringe groups of "Christians". But did you know that for hundreds of years the Bible was used to support and justify slavery? The mark laid upon Cain after killing his brother in Gen. 4:8-16, and the curse of Canaan the son of Ham in Gen. 9:19-27, have both been wrongly interpreted to make dark skinned people inferior. 1 Peter 2:18-19, as well as many of Paul's writings were used in support of slavery, and passages such as Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:22-4:1, Titus 2:9, and 1 Timothy 6:1-2 seem to condone the act of owning slaves. Furthermore, Philemon is a letter that Paul wrote to a man to whom he was sending back a runaway slave. History tells us that many British colonialist, American Christian plantation owners, and the clergy which served them, all taught that a good Christian slave would submit to his master as unto the Lord. In fact, conversion was encouraged among slaves simply for the purpose of subjugating slaves through theological control. Obviously, we could discuss cultures, time periods, and other related issues, but that is the point. These writings we call scripture were produced immersed in a culture with perspectives and practices that are not our own, nor should we attempt to enforce them in light of our modern thought processes. The ability to rightly discern truth has been muddied by our own intellectual biases.

In our western mindset, we have done the same with how we handle gender differences. For example, how do you handle 1 Corinthians 14:34-35? Paul writes, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." How do these words relate to us today? Back in the 1960s and 70s there was a man named Bill Gothard with the Institute in Basic Life Principles who taught the "umbrella of authority". This teaching uses passage such as 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 to place all women under the authority of men. Gothard used it abusively to take advantage of women, as have others. This teaching has infiltrated the American church in such a way where women who have suffered such abuse are now being faced with trauma triggers in theological teaching. Now, I can hear the response of those justifying themselves saying, "this scriptures clearly states that this is the order God put into place". But does it? Most of the readers today don't even understand that this passage, which also speaks about head coverings and hair, was written with a different perspective than we have today. Socially, there was a drastic divide of education and gender roles between men and women which does not apply to our modern culture. Women today are just as educated and adept in social positions as their male counterparts. Theologically there is a reference to Genesis 6 and other Second Temple writings which talk about heavenly host rebelling, seeing the "glory" of women, and taking wives for themselves. Scientifically, Paul is also referencing the biological belief of his day, as proposed by the Greeks that hair had a sexual component relating to gender differences, and the storing of semen and conception. This passage in scriptures is once again a statement of the responsibility for men, not to subjugate or suppress women, but to protect them and to be a covering for them in a very real and spiritual sense.

So, are the issues of the subjugation of women and slavery to be concepts whose endorsements are inspired by God? Many of you may be struggling with this question because, if you say yes then you find fault with God, but if you answer no, then how can the Bible be the inspired word of God?

I believe the Bible contains the Word of God. I believe there are parts that are as much dictations from God as we can have, but I also believe there is a living breath and movement to the Word of God which infiltrates various writings throughout history. I've heard God's voice while reading Spurgeon, Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis. Paul Young, Frank Peretti, and Ted Dekker. I have learned spiritual truths through these authors' words. Would you say they are less inspired? I have grown in understanding while listening to the academic works of men like Michael Heiser, and N.T. Wright. I have found other non-canonical writings which add to the understanding of what the New Testament writers were thinking as they penned their words. I simply think that we are restraining God when we make His voice limited to the imperfect academia of a volume of writings, especially when we take it out of context and attempt to impose our cultural understanding. We are reducing the collaborative work God desires to have with mankind by reducing the voice of God to academia.

God speaks in a very real way if people have ears to hear. The Gospel of John tells us that according to Jesus, one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit is to teach us and guide us in all manner of truth, (John 14:26). This is part of that collaboration God desires to have with His people. In my spiritual journey and my search for connecting with God, I have always desired more than words on a page. We live in a world of rationality and reason because it's safer than the messiness of relationships. I don't want to swim in the shallow end of the letter. I want to drown in the ocean of connection, connection with God and others.