The Bible Is Still Unfolding

Do you believe that someone can continue to discover new things, or unnoticed things, in the Bible? Do you think that as new discoveries are made and archaeological finds are uncovered, we could possibly see the text in a way that was not previously known?

That is a scary thought for some.

We tend to think of the Bible as static. All that can be known has been known and revealed somewhere between the second and fourth centuries. People like St. Augustine said all that needs to be said, and now all we need to do is be faithful and obey.

But what if they were wrong? Not in a deceitful way, but simply because they got what they thought was right, wrong.

What if the Bible could have been as easily misread back then as we claim it is by people today? Who gets to say it is settled? When do new points of view shape how we read a text?

I actually think the Bible is continuously unfolding in front of our eyes. What the ancient church fathers thought, wrote, and debated was good, but it was only one part of the full story. Sometimes they may have missed the forest for the trees altogether.

We should not be scared of new ways of thinking about the text, or even of changing long-held beliefs about what the text is saying. If the evidence is pointing in a direction, we should be free to move in that direction. If you are unconvinced the evidence is moving that way, continue the dialogue. Ask others why they see it that way.

I guess what I am saying is that the Bible is not static. It is not fixed in one particular understanding of what it is saying.

This should not worry us. It should make us curious.

Curious about what it is saying, or not saying. Curious about what it meant for the people who first heard it, and the wisdom it is speaking to me today.

Have an open hand when reading the Bible. Entertain new thoughts and new ways others are reading it.

You may find new life in the Bible when you do.