The Rest of the Story
I am generally not a huge fan of the Speculative Bible Class. You know what I'm talking about. The one where you sit in a circle, and the leader asks a question vaguely related to some passage or biblical incident, and everyone spends and hour "sharing what that means to me." Before you know it, you're smack in the middle of an episode of Oprah (or, if it's a really unlucky day, Jerry Springer).
In truth, I guess I have a love-hate relationship with this type of class. It's easy to see why I'd hate it - a bunch of half-baked ideas and irrelevant anecdotes all posing as fodder for spiritual growth; a class taught by its students (especially a Bible class, where there are no preparatory readings or assignments) is generally a recipe for disaster - or at least for an hour of wasted time. On the other hand, I can't help enjoy the challenge of these classes - my heart starts racing the minute a crazy comment is made, and then it's a contest of wit and will to see what cracked-up ideas will rise above the rest. I almost can't help but jump into the foray (of course, always believing that my cracked-up ideas are superior to all the rest - a belief that is comforting, though wildly unfounded), even though I know that my comments probably won't make a difference and will likely add to the general Confusion of Truth occurring in such circumstances.
There are many variations on this type of class; P and I have been attending a particularly sly version of it on Wednesday nights. The class really isn't quite as crazy as some, and really, the ideas discussed are often intriguing in one way or another. We're discussing "The Rest of the Story," which translates into topical speculations on the aspects of Jesus and his life that are not specifically addressed in scripture. Yeah, you see it now. Whole lot of room for the type of half-baked ideas that give me chest convulsions and superiority complexes. Anyway, we've discussed both Jesus' childhood and Joseph and Mary's parenting, with interesting (and a few not so interesting) thoughts attending both topics. Of course, neither subject is addressed in much detail in the Bible, so as a group we could only "imagine" possible scenarios based on what we do know about Christ and his parents.
The discussion brought up one point of interest to me: why isn't the Bible more specific about Jesus' own family life? I am a firm believer that Scripture is God-breathed, and that although it is written by men, it has always worked perfectly through the power and Spirit of God to speak to us in specific and critical (not to mention soul-saving) ways. So with that in mind, why didn't the Spirit feel like Christ's childhood was something we needed to know more about? I think it's pretty safe to say that the story of Christ's birth is pretty awesome, and we are all familiar with his sole teenage rebellion (staying in church too long) - so why only that? Really - what do you think?
ps - I apologize to those of you who thought there might be a Paul Harvey reference in this post. Maybe next time.
In truth, I guess I have a love-hate relationship with this type of class. It's easy to see why I'd hate it - a bunch of half-baked ideas and irrelevant anecdotes all posing as fodder for spiritual growth; a class taught by its students (especially a Bible class, where there are no preparatory readings or assignments) is generally a recipe for disaster - or at least for an hour of wasted time. On the other hand, I can't help enjoy the challenge of these classes - my heart starts racing the minute a crazy comment is made, and then it's a contest of wit and will to see what cracked-up ideas will rise above the rest. I almost can't help but jump into the foray (of course, always believing that my cracked-up ideas are superior to all the rest - a belief that is comforting, though wildly unfounded), even though I know that my comments probably won't make a difference and will likely add to the general Confusion of Truth occurring in such circumstances.
There are many variations on this type of class; P and I have been attending a particularly sly version of it on Wednesday nights. The class really isn't quite as crazy as some, and really, the ideas discussed are often intriguing in one way or another. We're discussing "The Rest of the Story," which translates into topical speculations on the aspects of Jesus and his life that are not specifically addressed in scripture. Yeah, you see it now. Whole lot of room for the type of half-baked ideas that give me chest convulsions and superiority complexes. Anyway, we've discussed both Jesus' childhood and Joseph and Mary's parenting, with interesting (and a few not so interesting) thoughts attending both topics. Of course, neither subject is addressed in much detail in the Bible, so as a group we could only "imagine" possible scenarios based on what we do know about Christ and his parents.
The discussion brought up one point of interest to me: why isn't the Bible more specific about Jesus' own family life? I am a firm believer that Scripture is God-breathed, and that although it is written by men, it has always worked perfectly through the power and Spirit of God to speak to us in specific and critical (not to mention soul-saving) ways. So with that in mind, why didn't the Spirit feel like Christ's childhood was something we needed to know more about? I think it's pretty safe to say that the story of Christ's birth is pretty awesome, and we are all familiar with his sole teenage rebellion (staying in church too long) - so why only that? Really - what do you think?
ps - I apologize to those of you who thought there might be a Paul Harvey reference in this post. Maybe next time.
This is funny. I left a bible study last week and felt like it was an anecdotal session of "Jesus' parents must have felt like this because when I was raising my teenagers..." So I felt disappointed in the "study" aspect. How does one get to the more philosophical points in these situations? I remember thinking, that maybe so little was said about Jesus' childhood because it wasn't important to who he was...maybe illustrating a point that what one does as a child is not as important as what one does as an adult, or that his parents were just birth parents, and not to be confused with his Father...I just wish bible studies were more directed, more on point (though what the "point" is, is the very thing in question right? I mean, who am I to say anecdotes are less enlightening than the direction I would want to go in?)...
ReplyDeleteMichelle -
ReplyDeleteI like your idea that the childhood is left out so that we won't confuse "father" with "Father." I wonder, too, if some of this isn't evidence of "the times" - specifically, a time when childhood was short and much less meaningful than in today's America.
As for the value of anecdotes v. philosophy, as much as (obviously) I agree with you that I wish we could get deeper in our Bible "studies," I'm beginning to wonder if some of this isn't just another of God's paradoxes. In the same way that He calls us to be like children, to be servants instead of masters, to be in but not of the world - and in the same way that He works through the greatest hardships to bring about the greatest blessings, and the way that by giving His life, He saves us all - perhaps in this way, God has formed His church to function in ways that may not *seem* important or awe-inspiring - but produce truly great lessons nonetheless.
Because as much as I want to cringe at the anecdotes, I can't help but thinking that I should be nothing less than grateful for the chance to know someone better; after all, God has called us from the beginning to relationship, communion, and knowing *people* is an important part of knowing Him.
Maybe I'm annoyed by these classes because what they really do is confront me with my own need for more humility...but, boy, do I need that confrontation! :)