The Bible: Ancient Authors and 21st Century Readers

In recent conversations I have had with friends and classmates about the Bible, I have seen a common theme that has been throughout all these discussions. This is theme is how people read and interpret the Bible. This may sound silly, even Sunday-schoolish but I think is the fulcrum of where all theological or biblical discussions go south. Because there is such a confusion about the Bible and how it applies to us in the 21st century, major walls are built between parties. This is my attempt to reconcile these differences and contribute to the discussion on how the Bible should be read. 

As the title of this post hints to, I would like to talk about two things, the authors of the Bible and we as readers of it in the 21st century. 

The first, and I think the most important aspect to discuss is the ancient authors of the Bible. The Bible is a document of ancient proportions. Some of the documents of the Bible are supposed to be up to 3500 years old, we have to recognize that. Because the Bible was written in an ancient cultural context, the Bible contains different genres of literature that reflect that ancient context. Whether that be through an ancient view of cosmogony or structure of, or through an ancient way of describing natural phenomenon. These are just a couple of examples of how the ancient culture of Israel is seen in the Bible. 

Due to the fact that the Bible was written into an ancient culture to an ancient audience, we have to recognize that as readers in the 21st century we have a completely different understand the world and how it works. The Bible was written in ancient languages, not ours, it was written into an ancient Near Eastern culture, not the United States. Because the Bible has a context to it, we have to read in light of that. There are specific questions that we as readers must ask. First, how would the original readers of the text, or hearers of the oral tradition understood the message? Second, how can this ancient theological message be translated to our time and culture? These are just two key questions we should be asking as we are reading the Bible. 

In terms of practicality, this means that we may need to adjust the way we read the Bible and seek to understand what it was originally trying to convey at its authorship. For example, the evolutionary discussion cannot be applied to the biblical text, evolution is a scientific claim whereas the Bible is making theological claims. Though there are some who disagree, I would stand by this assertion that the Bible is not seeking to answer 21st century scientific questions. Instead, we need to be conscious readers of the Bible and seek to understand its original intention. When we begin to read the Bible in light of these propositions, the Bible can be better understood and answer questions and contribute to discussions it was intended for.