2000 Years Later...

Well, we've had 2000 years to get it all sorted. We've had the bible, in just about every language. We've had countless theologians working on it. Endless discussions, arguments, wars. Its gotten pretty ugly, and is still is. We can't even get people in the same church to agree on anything, let alone two churches in the same street. Everyone has the correct understanding of scripture and everyone else is wrong. Divisions are getting worse - not better. Extremes in understanding are getting even more so.

Everyone keeps turning back to scripture saying that is the only place to find the truth. Except after 2000 years we are not one iota closer to determining what that is. I mean, we all think we know the truth from scripture, of course. But so does the church down the road. If we take a little time to step back, pull our heads out of our own precious ideas and look around, I think we'd all agree that things really are a HUGE mess.

Doesn't this tell us something? That maybe we are looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place? That NO amount of biblical interpretation will bring us a single step closer to the truth and unity that Jesus desired for us? Haven't we figured that out after all this time?

Where does that leave us? In a scary position no doubt. Do we throw away the bible? Good question! What is the value of the bible if NO ONE can ever agree on even the most basic stuff - never have done. Could it be that God knew all along this would happen and that there was a very good reason why the scriptures are so open to interpretation - why he chose a language to write the New Covenant in that would be "dead" not long after they were written? Why Jesus spoke in Aramaic and even His words were translated into Greek before they were ever recorded (we will never know what he really said because that version of Aramaic is also dead).

So What do I think? God wants us to understand the spirit of the word, the Word Himself, the heart of Father - realise that he never meant for every single word to be analysed. That he just wanted us to "absorb" the author of the written words. That the Holy Spirit in us is the source of all truth and that the scriptures bear witness to Him in us. I refuse to call scripture the Word, because Jesus is the word. Scripture is a collection of thoughts and dialogues about the interaction between God and His creation. It is totally inspired by Him and is exactly what He wanted for us to have for this time - warts and all!

I'm tired of endless quoting of scriptures to prove a point. It will never happen. We use scripture as a weapon, for our own selfish purposes. We refuse to let go of our pet dogmas (go Killer Kat!!) and look at the heart of the Word himself and how the scriptures verify that. I'm convinced that this is probably the most central issue in the church now. Not any particular doctrine. Doctrines are just theories made up to disguise the fact that we really don't know what we are talking about. Its all about Jesus - nothing but Jesus and what he has done for us. He is the beginning and the end. He is the expression of Father's love for us, and that love will never ever fail!