Spirituality: Part Three

Church is often the most dangerous place to be spiritually honest'. This was a quote I read recently in a great little book by Peter Enns. And he makes a great point. How often have we sat in church and heard something said from the front, or even read from the Bible, which has really raised our hackles? In saying this, I don't of course mean the challenge to forgive more or to love the unlovely, those things are hard but they are essential to the message of Jesus. I tend to believe that Jesus might just know what He's talking about.
What I mean are those parts of the Bible that make us wonder what's going on in the authors mind when they're writing that piece. Like grown men being swallowed by big fish and being bussed to distant shores. Jonah was possibly the first eco-traveller to use a water taxi. And things about flaming chariots carrying preachers up to heaven, although we've often wished during a long sermon that some miracle would remove the preacher so that we can get home for dinner. There's a fine line between a long sermon and a hostage situation.

These are the sort of tall tales that if we heard someone on the bus saying them then we'd probably make sure to find another seat and try to not get off at the same stop. But because they're in the Bible, we don't give them a second thought. And while it's one thing to accept the stories of old, what about some of the opinions we find in the Bible? Again, please try to imagine this as the ramblings of a random person on the bus or, and this works quite well, a politician on Question Time.

'Women should be silent and don't have the right to speak'. 'Slaves should be beaten but not to death'. 'The children of our enemies should be put to death'. Can you imagine the hue and cry if any of those things were on the next election manifesto. And yet we find them all in the Bible, and in our churches. And maybe those ideas don't sit well with us any more. But what do we do with them? These are found in the same Bible which tells us to love our neighbours and forgive our enemies. The Bible is a very confusing place. It's also the main guide for our spirituality.

I don't want any of you running to the hills (I'm assuming you're scared of catching the bus since this is where you meet crazy people and politicians), instead, I offer this advice to grow spiritually. Try to describe how these phrases make you feel, and try to explain why. I know that being spiritually honest in church can be dangerous, but there's nothing stopping you from being honest with yourself. I find it helpful to keep a journal, a book of my thoughts on these passages. I write down how I feel and why I think I feel that way.

And the next time we meet, I think I'll share with you a little of that process, and maybe a little honesty will go a long way.