I have been in such a quandary since getting back from seminary this time. A multitude of things. First, the instructors didn't keep the class under control and it became an "unsafe" place to have doubts, ask questions and not "go with the esoteric flow". Then I stayed with persnickety people who didn't tell me what they expected, but got upset if I didn't do things the way they wanted. I've never been that good at mind-reading! Lesson 1 - get my own place!
Third...the material is disconcerting. So, just read this and suspend your judgement so that this blog is not 30 minutes long with explanation. Let's just say the Old Testament is myth. It's a bunch of stories that somebody (ok - several somebodies) thought were important. Very few of any of the stories or books of the Bible were written by the name of the book...so back to that basic conjecture...the OT is myth.
So, holy shit, that's kind of a big deal. So if that is true - what does it do to my faith? (or yours?) Let's also go with the assertion, that just b/c a story is not factual, does not make it not true. So if the Bible is myth...with truth, even inspiring truth...the bottom line? I get to decide what is true for me, what inspires me and what doesn't work for me!
Religious leaders? They should always be judged as human, fallible, possibly gifted...but no different than someone who is good at math or music. Then each individual is required to discern what works for them, rather than swallow everything- "hook, line, and sinker"! Then when Jesus says, "...and greater works than these shall ye do..." it becomes a little more feasible...b/c we don't truly know what Jesus did, only what other people wrote about him YEARS! later.
How about Mary Baker Eddy? Fallible. Much of her inspiration was from a guy named Quimby. Does that take away from her healing the sick and raising the dead? Not if you see her as human, with a gift that she discerns for herself. Each religious leader as I see it, is gifted, fallible and have a VERY strong and charismatic personality. What we need to be careful of is thinking they can't be wrong, or human, or judging them with a "right or wrong" lens and nothing in between.
Religion emerges from a culture. It's language and it's symbols. If that religion survives, then the people in that religion, see their life through the lens of that religion. Just like the first 5 years of your life and what you absorbed, can't be erased from your DNA and how you respond to things...so do you see things through the religion you were raised in...even if you have changed religions.
Ok - these are my musings for today. They probably make no sense except to me. If you want to read the book that is helping me to clarify this mess...read Marcus Borg, "Reading the Bible Again for the First Time...Taking the Bible too seriously to take it literally". It's awesome.
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