The Cult of Literalism

LITERALISM (A 21st Century Idolatry)


Definition: "A commitment to strict exactness of words or meanings in translation or interpretation."

A recent article in the London Times reported: "With creationism gaining hold in the US, Catholic bishops in Britain are instructing the faithful that parts of the Bible are not historically accurate."

Although I admire their attempt - these well-meaning bishops are merely adding fuel to the fire of literalism that is pervasive in the world of so-called conservative Christianity. Creationism has become a non-negotiable theology that sets itself up as the enemy of science.

Whenever apparent contradictions between science and religion are debated, the recurring problem seems to be that neither side understands the context, or legacy of thought, that precedes the conclusions which they argue.

When all you know is hammers, everything looks like a nail.

Generally science works best as a tool for measuring the observable, while spirituality or religion works best as a tool for interpreting the immeasurable. Therefore, over and over again, when you try to use science to interpret religion or vice versa, you end up with some illogical conclusions or, at the very least, conclusions that demand "supernatural" explanations.

Truth vs. Facts.

The Bible is a spiritual book. It recounts the experiences of people in time, recording for all time their spiritual encounters with God. In Orthodox theology there is much more concern for the meaning of these encounters than for whether or not they are factually true.

According to one of the great Church fathers - St. Gregory, the creation account(s) is/are "Theological truths told in the form of a story."

Much of the bible is rooted in Jewish rabbinic theology, where biblical interpretation is a sacred practice. It was a common practice for great Rabbis to express deep spiritual truths through the telling of stories - a tradition that Jesus followed and used effectively in His parables recorded throughout the New Testament.

A very common traditional method of biblical interpretation that is found in rabbinic practice is a technique called "Midrash."

A clear definition that I found of Midrash is "a type of exegesis or interpration that is the result of applying a set of hermeneutical principles evolved by the community to guide one in reading the canon, in order to focus one's reading. The ultimate goal of midrash is to "search out" the fullness of what was spoken by the Divine Voice."

What this says to me is that the Word of God is to be interpreted from within the traditions of the community from which it originated, with the intent of conveying the spiritual truth that is contained within and beyond the actual words - we are to see beyond their literal meaning into the deep eternal meanings.

There is so much more that can be said on this subject and perhaps I'll return to it again at another time, but suffice it to say that if the Christian community continues to fall prey to the cult of literalism and tries to turn allegory and spiritual symbolism into fact, the world outside the church will be driven away from the truth that it's searching for.

One last comment, and this fits the context of bad literal interpretation. In fact it serves as a good example of how extreme literal interpretation, out of context, can cause misunderstanding and create serious historical consequences.

Many people, particularly feminists, are driven away from the truth of the gospel because of the "traditional" church's suppression of women - often quoting Genesis 3:16 as justification for encouraging men to "rule" over their wives: "thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Now, I encourage you who might find this disturbing to look at the WHOLE passage in context, according to the circumstances of the statement. When you do this you'll see that it is a quote of the divine voice of God recounting the consequences of the self-centered disobedience of Adam and Eve - in short, it's the explanation of how things are under the "curse," not an endorsement of the behavior.

The Bible is a collection of spiritual encounters - eternal spiritual truths expressed through the images of words used by historical people as they experienced the activity of God in their lives and in their communities. It uses poetry, stories and proverbs to illustrate its message. It records the imperfections of human nature and offers both the spiritual explanation for them and reveals the ultimate spiritual solution.

To paraphrase a popular "Creationist" ministry - the answer's NOT in Genesis, the answer is in Jesus Christ and His church as it lives out the life of God's kingdom on earth.

Schools should teach that the Bible is a spiritual textbook on human nature - it's emphasis is on our relationship to God and each other. There are only two references to creation in the bible, yet there are hundreds and hundreds of references to worship and human interaction.

Let's teach kids how to have scientifically oriented minds - minds that seek to investigate things and their causes. Kids need to learn that the Bible offers a spiritual interpretation, while the textbooks of science offer a physical interpretation. In this context, the two don't conflict, they show how wonderful life is in all its dimensions. Let's not lose the beauty of a work of art like Michelangelo's masterpiece by reducing it to just a mixture of oil and canvas - it's good to know how the painting was created - but we mustn't overlook the why, and more importantly, its meaning.