Granted,
of course, among my many lenses, I have a Christian lens because I was raised
in a Christian home, from birth. So I know that I have embedded theology that I
constantly have to examine, reflect upon, and re-think (we all do). Thank
goodness! Even though I’m more familiar with the Bible, I’ve read the Bhagavad
Gita and parts of other sacred texts. But
somewhere along the way, as much as I valued the reading of scripture as a
spiritual practice, I also knew that the Bible could be turned and manipulated
to fit just about anything people wanted to put some kind of authoritative
stamp on, even slavery. I've learned about the many mistranslations, redactions,
and the bad “cut and paste” jobs, and that it is not exactly a history book. AND, there's no theology in the Bible!! But
still, there is something that draws us to our sacred texts.
One
of the greatest inventions in human civilization besides fire was the written
word, the ability to write and capture a thought in physical form. Could this possibly
be one of the reasons why words seem to become “law,” etched in stone, once
they’re written down? Look at the print media, for instance. We seem to attach
some of our identity to words. We are constantly reading trying to find
something to hang our hats on that we can identify with, that resonates with
us, that tells us more about ourselves, where we belong, where we fit in the
world, etc. And while I believe we should all have the right (the freedom) to
seek our own spiritual understanding by reading whatever sacred text we desire,
I also believe we should not be so legalistic and literal and enforce our
beliefs on others. This is another one of the many paradoxes with which I wrestle:
freedom and responsibility. Just as the
man in Starbucks has every right to believe in his holy book, I would hope he would
afford me the same freedom. I think it’s my personal responsibility to value
other viewpoints. But to what extent? Do I let other denominational or
religious viewpoints then run over me? I think not; but I think my
responsibility is to be open enough to listen and weigh what I am hearing for myself
and then act or respond accordingly.
I think
our reading of sacred texts is related to a basic need we humans have along the
lines of identity and belonging. Sacred texts can be a common focal point of
bonding for people, a touch point, a point of reference, if you will; so much
so, that once the words become so intertwined with one’s identity, deep
identity issues can cause division and cause some to come to blows or start wars
even. Those sacred words can become “fighting words.” Nevertheless, as people
come to a church for many reasons with various needs, I think there is a great responsibility
to balance how scripture is used and applied in a spiritual community, in our
world, and in our lives. Our challenges are to find new ways of making scripture relevant and workable in our current times, to become more aware of
our lenses, learn about other sacred texts and religions, and find ways to open up conversations about the commonalities
in our sacred texts as we become more of a global community.
