Deeper Studies
The Book of the Elephant
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greetings, my friends: be at peace. Welcome once again to the story fire. The s'mores are ready, the cider's hot, and the rising moon shines a silvery glow around our circle here.
When last we met, I told the tale of the Blind Men and the Elephant. But I also said something that we may need to consider more closely.
And then someone could come along and say "But we know what the elephant looks like--for lo, the Elephant has told us in His book." Well, perhaps, that is so, but how am I to believe your Elephant Book over that one over there, or this one here, or the one they used a thousand years ago in some other place, or the one they'll be using a thousand years from now on a planet far away.
But this ducking around and speaking of the "Elephant Book" is so much sophistry. Let us be blunt: I speak of the Christian Bible, and of the belief put into it. Now, it must be understood that I am not "picking on" the Bible, or those who place their faith in it. I feel that the Bible is a a book that contains much wisdom, when read wisely. But I am writing this website in English, and for most English-speaking people, the Bible is "The" holy book. Using the Bible as an example is not intended to try to "debunk" the Christian Scripture, or the Christian faith, but it is a readily understood example.
When you hear a book being criticized, such as the Odyssey, or the Tain Bo Cuailinge, or the Mabinogian, most people in our Western Culture offer no defense for any lack of historicity. There are no long theses on why the bones of the Cyclopes, or the Sirens, have not been found; there are no archaeological digs to try to find evidence of the Battle of Cooley, or to find the head of Bran the Blessed, or the Cauldron of Ceridwen. This makes sense: the Odyssey, the Tain, and the Mabinogian are all myths--they are culturally significant, but none of them claim to be the inspired word of the Gods.
Not so with the Bible: but the Bible is not alone in this regard. There are other books that proclaim themselves to be the Words of God, or at least to speak authoritatively about God/the Gods. From the Egyptian Book of Going Forth By Day to The Book of Mormon to the writings of the leader of the next "kool-aid cult" that splashes briefly across the headlines, we have documents clamoring for our attention, our acceptance, and our faith. How are we to decide which one speaks the truth?
We could use tradition as our standard of authority. This is all well and good, but if tradition ruled all, we would still be worshiping the spirits revered by our tribal ancestors. Every single one of the religions extant in the word today was, at one time, a break with tradition. Christianity broke away from both Judaism, and from Greco-Roman Mystery religions and philosophy; Islam broke away from Judaism, Christianity, and the pre-Islamic Paganism of modern Saudi Arabia; Sikhism broke away from Hinduism and Islam; and the list could be carried on indefinitely. Even within a religion, one can have multiple schisms, separations, disagreements--hence the bewildering multiplicity of Christian denominations.
We could go for subjective experience, and indeed, there are some religions that encourage this. I'm given to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints states that those who are called to receive the word of God will feel a "burning in the bosom" when they read the Book of Mormon. Evangelical Christians often state that "you will know" when God lays his hand upon your heart--and while this is a common occurrence, it is still a subjective one. In Voudon, and some other Afro-Caribbean religions, certain practitioners are subject to divine possession by the Loas. In my own faith of Wicca, the possibility does exist for ecstatic vision, divine inspiration, or even divine possession (usually significantly less dramatic than Voudon), and we certainly have those who claim to have experienced one or more of these states. Yet while these experiences are subjective, each and every religion has its own set of subjective experiences...and each and every living religion has many, many adherents who experience the appropriate things.
We could use logic to evaluate the various claims, but again, we are left with subjective evaluations. One person may decide to favor books based on historical accuracy, while another one may decide based on ethical parameters, and a third may decide based on perceived literary merit. As a tool of inquiry in matters of faith, logic is a feeble reed at its best.
We are, then, left with chance, choice, and faith.
We all were born into our various countries and cultures through what a secular view would call "random chance." (A religious view would say "Will of God/the Gods," but remember--we haven't even gotten far enough to decide which Book to read, much less which God to believe in!) We could have been born in Communist China, in which case there are very good odds that none of us would have even heard the names "Jesus," "Kernunos," or any other God-name. We could have been born in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, where Islam is the only faith taught, Witch-craft is forbidden by law, and Jesus is described only as a teacher.
Here in England and America, we have something that many nations cannot say: we have the freedom to choose what Gods we wish to believe in. In America, there is no state Church: in England, there is, but there are no longer enforced legal penalties for not joining the Anglican Church.
We have faith, which boils down to a very simple question: who do you believe in? Some take the song "God of our Fathers" literally, and follow a God or join a church "because Mamma and Daddy went there." Some closely evaluate what church will enhance their social standing, or will allow them access to other business people, or political power, or for any number of mercenary reasons. And some earnestly seek a church that speaks to them, and aids them in seeking the will of God/the Gods.
Ah, but for all that we have, there are several things that we do not possess.
We have previously discussed the historicity of the Biblical narrative: there are several points that are of disputable historicity. This is not the appropriate place to discuss specifics, but one thing needs to be made perfectly clear here: these issues of historicity do nothing to devalue the Bible.
And indeed, issues of historicity plague every faith, including my own religion of Wicca. In Wicca, much is made of the "history myth" of Medieval and Renaissance persecution of "witches," without also acknowledging that those accused "witches" have nothing to do with us.
We do not have extra-Biblical verification for many of the items in the Bible narrative. Like direct historical confirmation, this does nothing to devalue the Bible, especially since absence of evidence does not qualify as evidence of absence.
Again, Wiccan doctrine suffers this flaw in equal measure. Many of the specifics of our history myth are just that; elements of myth, with no historical basis.
Depending on your interpretation, we may have no clear moral authority--at least, by the moral and ethical standards of modern culture. There are a few points of Judeo-Christian ethics and myth that are of questionable morality, including: commandments to commit genocide (several citations, but see especially the book of Joshua); probable human sacrifice (Judges 11); punishment of innocents for the sins of one man (several, but see Joshua 7); and the entire concept of scape-goating, or substitutionary atonement (Lev. 16, or the entire "Jesus died for the sins of the world" doctrine). Now, all of these issues become understandable when we study the cultures that produced them: so the conflict with modern ethics and morals does nothing to devalue the Bible.
It must also be acknowledged that there are currently moral and ethical issues within Wicca that have not been addressed, much less resolved. On these issues--such as abortion, euthanasia, the role and responsibility of the clergy, and responsibility of Wiccans as individuals to a largely non-Wiccan community--the dialog is just beginning. This is not entirely to our deficit: Christianity has a two-thousand-year head start on these issues, and has still not resolved all of them.
Generally speaking, there is no objective standard for accepting the Bible over other books that claim to be the Word of God/the Gods. However, it must also be acknowledged that there is no objective standard for rejecting it. Each person has their own criteria for acceptance or rejection, and frankly most people would not change their beliefs no matter what contradictory facts were presented. The average LDS member is no more concerned that the cities of the Hebrew Tribes cannot be found in North America than a typical Christian is concerned with the absence of documentary evidence concerning Jesus, or than a representative Israelite is concerned with the lack of evidence of an Egyptian Exodus. All have chosen to follow their particular faith for their own peculiar reason...and there is no arguing matters of taste.
Now, as I said at the beginning, it is not my intention to "pick on" the Christian Bible, or on Christianity. All of the above objections to the "accuracy" of the Bible can be applied equally to any sacred book--including my own Book of Shadows.
As an exercise, think about your own faith. What subjective experiences led you to choose the path that you follow? Don't describe the experience in terms of external phenomena; describe it in terms of internal feelings, in the sense of "I felt this...." I would be profoundly grateful if those who choose to do the exercise would share their experiences, but these were (and are) extremely individual, and may be very private, so if you choose not to share, I certainly understand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1997-2003 c.e., et seq., Justin Eiler. This text file may be freely distributed via computer, print, or other media, provided that no editing is done and this notice is included.
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
Prev Message
