So You think the Bible is Boring and Irrelevant?

So you don't like reading the Bible?

You say it is boring and irrelevant.

You say it is filled with a lot of ancient hocus pocus superstitions that are out of step with the modern scientific world in which we all live. 

You are turned off by all the blood shed and violence in the Bible. 

You say its contents are out of date not to mention that the names in the Bible are way too hard to pronounce; and those god-awful begets!

You say all those wild predictions about the future are just way too much to comprehend.

You say that once you attempted to read Leviticus and actually fell asleep. I concede your point but there is more to the Bible than Leviticus.

These are the things I hear you saying about the world’s number one best seller yet the most unread book ever. Well you're not alone. Some of your criticisms have merit.

But . . . what if I could convince you (as a start) to begin reading the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) with a good modern updated translation (say, The Message). 

As you read them ask yourself: 

What are these stories trying to teach me about my own life? 

What are these ancient stories saying about God and how he sees us?

What are these stories telling me about my relationship with God (assuming you have a relationship with God but even if you didn't they still could teach you something).

How does my inherited view of the world stack up against these Gospel stories and teachings?

Now as a Christian reading the Bible is crucial. The stories and teachings in the Gospels alone can serve as a corrective to what we learn from our culture, even from our parents in some cases.

We all grow up in some specific context. In that context there are powerful influences that have shaped the way we see and understand our world; influences that shape the way we think. Most people never give this one thought. They grow into adulthood never questioning their inherited views of the world.

I grew up in a social context in which racial attitudes were deeply engrained in my way of thinking. By the time I was a young adult my own views on race had crystallized and I never once questioned the validity of those views (or where they came from for that matter).

Now this doesn’t mean that the people who helped shape my views on race were bad people. Most of them were not. But like me they were people of their own times and were the products of their own social and family contexts.

It’s not that we hated people of color, we just viewed them in ways that were not consistent with the values of the Gospel. But I had to read those Gospels to discover this truth.

As I read the Gospels a noticeable shift in my thinking began to take place. The more I read the Gospels the bigger the shift became and what I began to realize is that the Bible offers a serious critique of all societies and all worldviews (including Empires and nations). 

It offers a counter narrative that disputes all the narratives we learn from the world. 

I began to see a different world unfold right before my eyes. Now this didn’t happen overnight; it took many years to unravel all the hurtful and negative things I had been taught about people of color, since my childhood. 

For what it's worth, I still struggle with race issues today. But the Gospel helps keep me centered.

Perhaps the single most influential verse of Scripture that has contributed to the reshaping of my views comes from Paul: 

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Perhaps the Bible really is important for all of us to read today. There are so many destructive and divisive narratives that influence us today. As Christians maybe we should seek a life-giving narrative that is centered on the grandest narrative of all: Jesus Christ. 

Pick up your Bible my friend and begin reading the four Gospels. Read a little each day. Absorb the stories until they become your story. Allow those stories to get deep into your bones and critique your inherited worldview. 

It will be life shaping and life changing for you. 

It was for me.