Difficult Passages in the Bible

Difficult Passages in the Bible

From time to time, I have given myself what have turned out to be difficult preaching assignments. What makes them difficult depends on the task at hand. For example, once I set out to preach at least once from every book of the Bible. This was difficult because it is next to impossible to attain any level of continuity from week to week if you do this (one could, I suppose, break it down into series where themes are developed throughout the Bible, but I did not do this; perhaps I was not even equipped to do this at the time). Usually, though, the difficulty takes the form of looking at a large chunk of scripture or an overarching theme, that forces me to preach on a text that is particularly difficult.

Now, what makes a text difficult? Sometimes, it is difficult because it tends to be interpreted in a particular way over and over again so that there is one particular interpretation that overshadows the text so strongly that it seems like it is the only way to read the text, when it is, in fact, distorting it. When preaching on such texts, one cannot simply say, "If you interpret this text this old way, you are an idiot." Not only is it not tactful or loving, it simply isn't true. Many brilliant and faithful interpreters have contributed to the misunderstanding of some texts, not because of any fault in themselves but because the influence of that particular interpretation is so very strong. When addressing some texts, the difficulty often comes in, not only because it requires a great shift of thinking of the preacher themselves, but also because one needs to take the central insights of the dominant interpretation seriously, even if a correction needs to be made.

When I think about preaching on difficult texts, however, it is a different kind of text that I am thinking about. I am thinking about texts that tell me things I don't know if I want to know about God, texts that, at least at first glance, make me want to skip over them (if I am preaching through a book, passage-by-passage) or interpret them in a way that basically says, "It doesn't really mean that." The problem with the first way out is that it shows that certain passages are helpful and worth studying while others are not. It means that there is something that is revealed about God (or humanity) in those passages that I do not want to take seriously for one reason or another. The problem with this is that, even if Christian preachers are afraid of taking those passages seriously, those who read the Bible in order to make Christians look foolish are not afraid of doing so. If we as Christian leaders are not willing to take those difficult passages seriously, we are terribly ill-prepared to dialogue with those who are and such a weakness will not have good results for us.

The problem with the second way out is that it presupposes that there is something wrong with the Bible that we need to correct. Now, as many of you know, I think that the position that has classically been known as "Biblical inerrancy," has some serious problems and that I do not hold it (though I am very interested in discussing the issues at stake with anyone who wants to), so my concern is not "If there is even the tiniest problem with any part of the text in any way, the authority of the Bible collapses to the ground." Rather, it is because my sustained encounter with difficult texts has shown me that they are often precisely the points where our nice, neat ways of understanding God are challenged by the reality of God itself and shown to be wanting.

What I have learned after forcing myself to take difficult texts as seriously as possible is that the sermons are, in my opinion, better, my understanding of God is drastically deepened, and I find more joy, knowing that God's revelation continually demonstrates to me that God is far greater, far richer, far more faithful and good than I could ever imagine. Those passages that once seemed so difficult, so troubling, so frightening to have to explain to a congregation or youth group have, more often than not, become some of my very favorite passages. At the very least, they quickly become crucial texts for the interpretation of the whole tapestry of Biblical passages, as their significance proves to be more comprehensive than we would be led to believe, considering how seldom people actually talk about them.

What I am saying is that, regardless of whether you are a Christian preacher, or even a Christian leader, take those hard texts seriously. Do not brush past them, do not interpret them in a way that makes their offensiveness vanish into thin air (though you may find they are not as offensive as you first thought, when you learn what they have to teach). Read them, ask the tough questions, work with others in trying to understand them. Your hard work will be richly rewarded.