A New Outlet
The ‘Mythistory’ of Genesis 1-11: Introduction
18th July 2020...A new outlet
With the internet now full of vlogs, podcasts and tik-toks, I can’t help but feel that only starting a blog now is in many ways late to the party, and perhaps in some ways dated! Like many, when Boris gave the go-ahead to batten down the hatches, and, repeat after me: ‘Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’, I had made a strong resolve to use my lockdown time wisely. For me, I had determined that my weeks of solitude would be spent dusting off the many books from my bookcase, which had either been 1. unread, 2. half read or 3. already read, but in need of a refreshers course. Seven weeks in and six seasons of Modern Family later, I finally gathered them up and laid them beside me on my bed, surrounding myself with a theological fort of literature that would take many lockdowns to get through! It was at this point I started to remember why I had so many unfinished books; my attention levels were akin to that of a 5-year-old on Christmas morning, picking up his present for a few moments before being curiously drawn towards the next one to see what was under the wrapping!
In addition to the conscious awareness of my self-diagnosed RADD (Reading Attention Deficit Disorder), the diversity of themes and thought behind the pages in front of me was quite overwhelming. I started to recall the difficult paradigm shifts in my thinking that had occurred over the past five or so years which had both deconstructed and reconstructed my faith in ways I never intended, and in some instances, vowed I would never go. In short, I felt I needed an outlet to express what I was thinking, organise my thoughts a bit better and help focus my reading to one particular topic at a time…this blog is that outlet!
So, what’s this all about?
Faith in the grey is a result of my own personal journey over the years, a journey that has ultimately led me to see things - specifically theological matters - much less black and white than I once did. By black and white I am talking about many of the interpretations within Scripture which I had always assumed were settled as being right/wrong, clear/unclear, either because I had been told by someone that there was no other ‘biblical’ way to understand them, or because I was ignorant to the fact that other valid interpretations did in fact exist.
Now please don’t misunderstand me, I do not have an issue with the theological black and white per se. What I do have an issue with however, is the attitude that what some perceive to be black and white/right and wrong, is the only way to view certain matters, especially without giving other interpretations a fair trial and quickly dismissing them as theological hogwash or, to use another ‘h word’ – heresy.
"...our own perceptions in how we understand theological matters and biblical interpretation are in many ways influenced by our preconditioned assumptions and what we have been exposed to when coming to read the Bible"
Remember THAT dress?
For those of us who spend just a small fraction of our time on social media (or have had the misfortune of belonging to one of those annoying whatsapp groups which is frequently and discretely muted!), you may recall the incident of the infamous dress and the viral debate back in 2015 surrounding its colour. Some would observe that the dress was blue and black while others were convinced that it was in fact gold and white. Two completely different observations, leaving those on either side of the divide feeling perplexed and in some ways frustrated that others could not see what they were seeing.
Although the designer of the dress finally settled the dispute - it was blue and black if you remember or even care now! - what I found more interesting than the debate itself was the scientific explanation for the varying observations. Experts concluded that the reason for the divided opinions was down to the cognitive function of the brain and more specifically the amount of daylight a person had been exposed to before looking at the dress.
My reason for saying all this is not to resurrect the viral debate (please let it remain dead and buried!) but rather draw an analogy from it. I am of the opinion that in a similar manner, our own perceptions in how we understand theological matters and biblical interpretation are in many ways influenced by our preconditioned assumptions and what we have been exposed to when coming to read the Bible. These assumptions are not necessarily bad things and may result from influences such as our upbringing, tradition, gender or simply how we think the Bible should in fact behave. Inevitably though, it is difficult to read the Bible without viewing it through some kind of bias lens, and so I believe it is important to concede that no one comes to the text from a neutral standpoint. With this in mind, what proceeds from this blog has been a result of my own personal endeavour to remove many of these lenses and set aside bias in an attempt to understand other interpretations from as neutral a position as best I can.
The goal
I don’t think the internet needs another website for some layperson to put across their point of view and in turn condescend or demean those whose thinking is different to their own. Rather, it is my intent to use this blog as a channel through which other interpretations (some of which have been dismissed, overlooked or untouched) on various theological topics, are put forward as viable options worthy of consideration in how we think about the Bible and the God it attests to. Whilst some may disagree, I believe that these interpretations are not ‘wacky’, ‘liberal’ or ‘far out’ but are within the boundaries of orthodoxy that have been held throughout Church history albeit in varying degrees and at various times. For me, these alternative interpretations may not necessarily be the hill I will die on, although on some occasions I may argue that they do offer a better and perhaps more helpful way to read the Bible. As the title of this blog suggests however, sometimes there may be no concrete black and white answer and we may simply have to humble ourselves and allow our faith to function in the grey.
From the outset, I want to make it very clear that whilst I do believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, future blogs may challenge some assumptions as to what this can mean. The connotations that the word ‘inspired’ carries will mean different things to different people. I have come to realise that the Bible can indeed be an ambiguous book – a book which many have rightly said, was ‘not written to us but was written for us’. This distinction cannot be overstated as both the first readers and the antiquity of their ancient world need to be both understood and respected in contrast to our 21st Century thinking.
"Theology, unfortunately, does not always afford us the luxury of being dogmatic on every single issue."
Open-handed trust
As I draw my first ever blog post to a close (well done if you’ve made it this far!) I wish to make it clear that although it is not my aim to convince you to abandon your particular views on certain issues, it is my hope that you will at least be open to the possibility that what you perceive to be the theological black and whites, perhaps may not be so solid in colour.
Theology, unfortunately, does not always afford us the luxury of being dogmatic on every single issue. In mathematics, 1+1 will always equal 2. In history, the Berlin Wall will always have fallen in 1991 (okay I had to Google that as history was never my strongest of subjects!) My point is this though, whilst many other disciplines often operate within high degrees of certitude, theologising, more often than not, produces beliefs of various shades across the black and white theological spectrum - we need to look no further than to the vast array of denominations within Christianity to see this.
For me, learning to trust God in the grey has meant loosening my closed handed grip of much of the black and white. I am of the opinion now more than ever that solving certain issues and wearing dogmatic theological certainty as if it were a badge of honour should not be the goal. Rather, by faith trusting God despite not having concrete answers, that is the goal and what should give fuel to our faith. After all, if we were certain about absolutely everything then why do we need faith? Questioning these things and perhaps changing your position on them is not a sign of weakness of your faith. On the contrary, I honestly believe it is a major step towards wanting to deepen it and put into practice the worship of God with your heart, soul, mind and strength (Matt 22:37).
4 Comments
I really enjoyed this Nick and am really looking forward to your next Blog. Very interesting indeed.
Thank-you.
Valerie (from your connect group)
And credit to Lauren who listened to all the black, white, grey and multicoloured theological thinking’s of nicky’s brain for 3 whole years ????????
Great blog!! Glad you’re putting all that brain to good use. A first class honours if you ask me ????????
Great reading Nick!
Keep going!
Very well written Nick. Enjoyable and thought provoking.