I was thinking about the Old Testament. I have always struggled with it but I seem to more as I explore my faith more deeply. I think that looking at it as a theological document as opposed to a historical document is a good start. (Thanks Tim)
A friend of mine suggested that it is best looked at through the lens of the cross, meaning I believe, that we look at it with the overlay of Grace.
I think that when we are able to abandon the strict literal interpretation and consider it as a guideline and theological record it makes a little more sense. I guess I struggle the most with what to take away as relevant for us now, in the world we live in, no longer under the Law. I grew up hearing preachers pick and choose passages and verses that fit their point, glossing over the sister verses and commands and I began to build this sense of frustration with both the Bible and them.
How can you cherry pick truth? If one command is truth we have to follow, why not the next? Looking at it through Grace, we can select what fits the "new pattern" but it is still a bit of a challenge, leaving us as the ones to interpret the "wisdom of the ages". Frankly, I feel more qualified to interpret the thinking of my 15 year old daughter and her friends (meaning not at all) than to be the judge of the truth in the Old Testament.
I have settled on this. (for now)
- God is the source of Truth.
- God is the inspiration for the Old Testament.
- The Old Testament reflects truth that God deemed relevant for humanity.
- The change in God's interaction with humankind between the Old and New Testament is explained solely by Grace, fully revealed when God became Man.
- Much of who and what God is will remain a mystery until the day He chooses to reveal it.
- We have to be content with what we have been given.
- God is an awesome, awe inspiring mystery that we cannot explain, reason away, or fully understand.
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