The Need to Read - - Are Our Sacred Texts Our Sacred Cows?

I overheard an interesting conversation in Starbucks last night. A person was discussing with a young couple the differences in Christians and Muslims. I couldn’t help but want to listen for some theological topics he might cause me to reflect upon. So I listened.  I was hard pressed to come up with just one topic, but here’s one. As the discussion seemed to continue along the lines of what the Bible says versus what the Qur’an says…I wondered just what role does the Bible and the Qur’an, or any religion’s sacred text, play in our lives? How are we using these sacred texts and why?

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.