That Book !!!
Let’s face it; the Bible’s an extraordinary book. It’s a best seller - translated into more languages that any other piece of literature, and distributed all over the world. The first part of it is a basic text for three of the largest world religions, and for the constitution and legislative system of this country, exported to an empire that circled the globe. And that in spite of massive adverse criticism, and scholarly dissection, and even governmental proscription.
And it is the literature of an ancient culture in many ways quite alien to ours today, and most of it is in what up to a century ago was virtually a ‘dead’ language, less used than Latin, so difficult to translate effectively that in English alone there are well over 100 translations, with many of those going through repeated revisions. With such disadvantages, its success cries out for explanation.
‘Of course, the Church got it all going,’ we might say. Except that for 1000 years, the church leaders resisted any attempts at translation, regarding the book as for them alone. One could appreciate that the Israelites might have had an interest in keeping it, except that most of its narrative is about national failure and flawed heroes. And its religious writing (the prophets) is mostly a scathing condemnation of the nation’s moral apostasy. What a weird business!
Looking into what it claims for itself may afford some clues. Much of the book is narrative, and its chief theme is the story of a nation chosen by God to be under the spotlight of His self-revelation to the world. In itself the nation seems to have been about typical - a mixture of high ideals and violent rejection of them, but somehow the record shows it up in a way not found in other national/tribal histories. Its critics see the nation as brought to court before their judge - God for condemnation, and they are witnesses for the prosecution. But in spite of that is a note of hope - God will not give up; He’ll send Someone to make it all right. The second half of the book maintains that Jesus came to fulfill that hope, but true to their historical nature, they rejected him, had him executed for treason. But then he came back from death to transform the lives of anyone, Jew or Gentile, who would follow him. And this was history, it really happened: the writers were eye-witnesses: they dared not lie about it, even if it meant torture and death, and look, the whole thing had started already.. He was taking over the world!
Funny thing is, a lot of people have got the book but never read the story, let alone join the movement. But then the book does mention that, too.
John Peck