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Permalink Reply by Forrest Curo on 5th mo. 22, 2016 at 6:40pm

The spirit in which it was given forth -- would be God's desire to bring people into closer alignment & communion with God and 'His' good will for us.

The spirit in which it was received and transmitted, however, has necessarily varied considerably with the limitations of particular human beings involved in the process. Necessarily such persons have had different initial conceptions, expectations and hopes as to what God intended and how God intends to bring it about.

I believe that the Bible itself, if read closely, illustrates that quite well. "Forever", for example, seems to have meant something different from our automatic chronological assumptions, something more along the lines of "under the terms of this [implied] contract, contract subject to cancelation for nonperformance  by descendants of original parties."

And continually one sees God's purposes being carried forward by people who aren't fitting demurely into their customary social roles, are even in direct violation of their contemporary cultural expectations, coming to prominence in the story out of tribes & categories 'whose names would not at first have occurred to' the religious authorities of their times.

I am entirely "negative" towards efforts to make the Bible (as necessarily interpreted by "any man, or any number of men")  "authoritative" over the conduct of actual human beings living in the far different social, political, economic conditions of our lives today.

I consider such misuse of the Bible responsible for much of the widespread contempt and aversion it presently enjoys. Its contents were appropriate as a social-control mechanism for the people who initially received and transmitted it; but its longer-term purposes are different.

The Bible points to God as being present, potent, and active in the world at all times and places. It shows us that people have been approached by God, and have conceived of God in myriad ways, throughout our history -- much to their astonishment, despite all their theoretical familiarity with God as a Being their spiritual ancestors had encountered in the past.

It shows that we are not the first; that others have encountered God before us, and were to some extent mistaken in how they understood and applied that experience... and many many times fell short of the glory of God, but other times came through magnificently with God's help.

Instead of making us smug about our present superior vantage... The Bible should also remind us that we have made and will make mistakes of our own. One of them has been to take the Bible too critically, another has been taking it too uncritically.

It's a starting point for the Divine/human conversation, because we weren't just hatched with all the instincts we're ever going to need, because we probably will in fact need to transcend the cultural baggage that initially served to nourish us, but need some good examples of how this has been done before us...

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