'Cause I Could Never Understand...

I saw this on Facebook earlier and thought it was so good, I needed to share it here... but then I wondered how I was going to make a proper post out of it. Mid-way through the training course I was on today I worked out what to say, and I hope no-one finds it "Very Interesting".

The thing is, there's so much truth in this - because actually, almost invariably, the "translation" on this is spot on... particularly when we're dealing with colloquial language, with the everyday kind of language we use amongst ourselves. We all understand exactly what we mean, but for an outsider to "get" it, even an English speaker, they would need to understand the cultural context of the things we're saying, otherwise they could get completely the wrong message. 

And, no doubt, as the language of today evolves and changes, then people looking back at today's communication will struggle to make sense of it, even if they speak English, or if they have a scholarly accurate translation.

And that is exactly where we are today, when it comes to reading and understanding the Bible. Because actually, if we don't take a bit of time to understand the cultural context in which it was written, we can struggle to understand what on earth it is talking about. For example, in English, we often talk about feeling things in our heart, to talk about our emotional response to things. However, at least as I understand it, the bible talks about our emotional reactions being in our "guts" -- an understanding which casts a different view on a number of biblical passages. 

Of course, with any kind of contextualising the Bible, we run the risk of overlaying the actual Word of God with our feelings, our own interpretations, our own ideas, or those that come to us from centuries of history, rather than actually reading and taking the Bible as it is written seriously. But actually, if we don't make the effort to understand the context, the history and the background as it was written, we are actually more likely to overlay our own views, interpretations and pre-conceptions... 

So do I need to learn Greek, Hebrew and whatever other languages the Bible was actually written in? Or do I need to do an advanced course in Biblical history to understand what is written. Actually, I don't think so, because I do believe the one of the many things the Holy Spirit enables us to do is to understand the word of God, even where it isn't always clear, at the time and place where it is important and appropriate for us to do so. But, I do appreciate the time, energy and effort of those biblical scholars amongst us who do understand these things, and who do make the effort to communicate the truth of the context and background and help me to understand just a little of the complexity and depth that is there within God's word. 

So, I hope you all read this, and if anyone wishes to comment "with the greatest respect", "I'll bear this in mind", or "I almost agree", then I'll be very happy to debate the matter with you further... just so long as you didn't find it "Very Interesting"!