Jenn.Lindsay

If had any interaction with me last semester, you probably heard me mention various fascinating tidbits from my “Hebrew Scriptures” class, taught by Rabbi Barclay. And by taught, I mean learned.

Rabbi Barclay gave a speech on the first day of class I thought was a bit of a crock; he said “By the end of the semester, I will have learned just as much from you as you have learned from me.” Sounds hokey, right? He was just saying that to seem humble and boost our esteem so we’d raise our hands and get our full participation points. How could I possibly teach this teacher, this Rabbi, who has studied the Old Testament (ahem, don’t tell him I called it that because he said that assumes there is a New Testament) for years and years and is a highly regarded “expert” on the text? Throughout the semester and still more today, I am beginning to fully understand what the true meaning behind his words.

All of our individual thoughts or beliefs about what Scripture says are simply our own individual commentaries on the text. Meaning, I can interpret a verse one way and my friend could interpret it another way, and my pastor can interpret it another way… and who is to say whose interpretation is “truth?” Why should one person’s interpretation be the right one?

As my boyfriend, Peter, mentioned last night in his talk at Quest concerning the Biblical evidence for and against homosexuality,

Even when we believe the Scriptures are “infallible” or “without error,” it’s terribly dangerous to think that our understanding of every biblical text is also without error.

So I think what Rabbi Barclay was trying to say is that my interpretation of the text is just as valid and true as his interpretation. It didn’t matter that he had a reputation for being so wise because my interpretation was just as true. He would always shout to the class “So which interpretation is right, A or B?” and it was our duty to all shout back, “YES.” Both can be right.

I guess I’m just not one of those people who see issues as black and white. I believe there is grey most often because who defines black and white anyways?

A friend and sister in Christ said last night “the Bible never contradicts itself,” which I lovingly disagree with. One of my intern reading assignments is a book called “A Handbook to the Christian Faith” which is basically a paperback textbook on all things Christian. In one section it talks about the “majority rule” of reading the Bible, going on to explain that when there are 6 verses in the Bible about women in church leadership positions and 4 of them say it’s fine and 2 say it’s not, you should go with the majority who portray women in a positive role in the church. And that’s how I believe the text should be read.

But hey, I could be right and so could you.

What do you think? Does the Bible ever contradict itself? Is it possible to say that my interpretation of a certain verse is true as well as someone elses, as long as it is rooted in the text?