The Bible is 100% True

Back when I first started to share my deconstruction journey in a more public way, someone from my old church took it upon themselves to show me how dumb I was for thinking that the creation stories from the book of Genesis are not "historical", but "fictional" or "parabolic".  

NOW.

I used to think that the story of Adam and Eve, God's creation of the universe in 6 days, and ALL the things were historical facts ...

The Tower of Babel.

Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Flood.

David and Goliath. 

... but I've moved to a much different place where I think that those stories were little more than stories that were told by ancient people groups to convey deeper realities.  

(NOTE: do I think people who think they are real are dumb?  Stupid?  Misinformed?  No.  I just think they're in one place and I'm in another and we're both trying to figure out things that none of us can ever be 100% sure about.)

"So the Bible isn't true?", my friend asked, "Are you saying that the Bible can't be trusted?  Aren't you a pastor?  Didn't you go to seminary?  What's wrong with you?  Watch this YouTube video.  Read this book.  This writer says this, that teacher says that."

I tried to explain to my friend that I have just as much respect for the Bible as she does, but that the disconnect is that we see the Bible and understand the Bible in drastically different ways and that unless we came to see the Bible in the same way ... we'd never agree on anything regarding God, theology, doctrines, etc, etc, etc.

For my friend, the Bible is true because it relays RELIABLE historical data to us.  And for my friend, if something in the Bible proves to not be 100% historical, it would ...

Chip away at the Bible's reliability.

Discredit the Bible.

And make the Bible no longer trustworthy.  

And so her goal is and (according to her) always will be to defend the historical reliability of every aspect of the Bible to the point of calling modern science, archeology, etc. an absolute joke and a giant conspiracy to pull us away from "the truth".

For me, though, the Bible is true because it relays RELATABLE ideas and concepts to me about what it means to be a human being.  For me, the entire Bible operates much like one of Jesus' parables - the parable of the prodigal son, for instance, isn't "true" in the sense that it happened to a father named Bob and his 2 sons Bill and Joe, but it's "true" in the sense that it's relatable to me.  In other words, I know what it's like to be the father and both the younger and older sons; the things that happened to the in the parable happen to me every day of my life in some way, shape, or form.  

What I'm saying is that I can find my own self in the stories of the the heroes and villains of the Bible and, for me, that's what makes it true and reliable.  

Did God create the world in 6 days?

Were Adam and Eve real?

Was there a flood?

Did Elijah go to heaven in a chariot of fire?

Was there a genocide in Canaan?

Was Jesus born of a virgin?  

Did Herod kill all the babies 2 years old and under?

I tend to think that the answers to these (and many more) questions are "no, these things didn't happen at any point in history", but instead of that causing me to doubt the Bible, it causes me to trust the Bible all the more.  

Why?

Because it makes me realize that the Bible isn't trying to convince me that these far-fetched stories are historically reliable; instead, it's inviting me into it's pages to watch how the writers of these stories grew and evolved and progressed in their understanding of the Divine ... it's inviting me to take my place in a long history of people who have walked with an invisible God and as a result of that walking and following and pursuing, their understanding of who God is evolved and changed.

The Bible, for me, isn't true because it relays reliable historical data; rather, the Bible is true because it relays relatable truths from ancient stories that speak to the deepest parts of my humanity and  tug at my longing to be known by a higher power, loved by a power greater than myself, and part of something much bigger than my little world.  

The Bible, I think, is 100% true.

And so the question I ask when I open up my Bible and read a story isn't, "hmm, did this really happen?" ... I think that puts a burden on the shoulders of the Bible that it's not meant or set up to carry.  Instead, the questions I ask are "what is this story telling me about my own journey through this life?  What can I learn?  How can it make me better?  Am I the hero?  Am I the villain?  Am I both?"

... I could keep going, but it's super early whole I’m writing this and it’s definitely time for more coffee.

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