The Bible as Literature

In popular culture, when someone says, “don’t judge” or “who are you to judge,” what they mean is, “how dare you criticize me?” This common adulteration undermines the commandment’s original purpose, namely, to invalidate and supplant human opinion (whether critical or complimentary) with a written text: “But to me,” St. Paul writes, “it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by a...

The disciples in Mark's gospel struggle to understand the Bible because they refuse to surrender their ideas to it. They approach Jesus with preconceived notions—of God, his Kingdom and his Messiah—that breakdown whenever Jesus speaks or takes action. The same is true of us. We approach Mark's gospel with our ideas of its meaning and its symbols, only to flounder when our idols are smashed against...

Much of what passes for religious debate is driven by a desire to be pure or to be right. A lawyer approaches Jesus to make sure he knows how to follow the Law, so that he can be right. A rich man approaches Jesus seeking the best of both worlds—he wants to be right and keep his money. When we believe that we are right or good because we have followed the Law, we look down upon those who have not...

What is going on when Jesus talks to his disciples about cutting off a hand or a foot or, worse, of plucking out an eye? Too often, readers stumble over these words, ignoring, dismissing, glossing over, or worst of all, inventing an interpretation. In fact, the meaning of the Lord's warning--that it is better to cut off a stumbling appendage--is simple, straightforward and easy to understand. Its...

“Don't waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.” Insofar as Paulo Coelho's quote reflects the truth of human behavior, it also reflects the behavior of the disciples in the Gospel of Mark. Time and again, Jesus explains to his closest followers that he must fail: he must be judged, treated with contempt, made the least of all, and finally, put to death shamefully...

If you want to understand someone, you need only examine their motivations. What does a person want? Why do the crowds in Mark approach Jesus? Most often, they approach because they want to save their own neck; they want something for themselves. Rarely do they approach to gather supplies in order to help others. In Mark, the example of the father of the demon possessed mute presents an interestin...

People like to complain. They complain that they don't have enough time; that it's too difficult to understand; that it's impossible to do; or that something else gets in the way. Worse, when they see another person do it, they heap praise, saying, “I don't know how you do it.” But that's a lie. You do know how. It's not hard at all and you know it's not hard. You just make different choices. The...

In the Gospel of Mark, the teaching of the Old Testament is the teaching of Jesus. In obedience to his Father, when the Markan Jesus speaks, his words never go beyond what is written in Scripture: most notably, Isaiah, but also Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Zechariah and Malachi—all these are quoted or paraphrased by Jesus. Not interpreted, b...

In our culture, great emphasis is placed on the opinion of the individual. We are told that our opinion counts; that our vote matters; and that our personal preferences are relevant. We are taught to think this way because it benefits the institutions we serve. In truth, an institution asks your opinion, 1) because it wants to increase its power, or 2) because it wants to increase its profit. At t...

When students are challenged in the classroom, their first impulse is to avoid being tested by attempting to test the teacher. Is the assignment difficult? There must be something wrong with the teacher. Is it hard to understand? It must be the teacher's fault. *Am I failing the class? *Surely, the teacher has credibility issues. I could go on, but you get the point. A student avoids responsibilit...

When people use the word “truth” they usually mean a worldview framed by personal experience or established by philosophy. For these ideological systems—whether personal or corporate—truth is understood as someone's abstract statement about the world. In sharp contrast, biblical truth—like scientific truth—deals with observable phenomena in the world. Where modern science discerns the mechanics of...

All through Mark's gospel, Jesus instructs those around him not to tell anyone about his miracles. Most dismiss this pattern as the “Messianic Secret,” an attempt by Jesus to hide his true identity. When William Wrede coined this phrase in 1901, he wrongly assumed what the Gospel of Mark rejects: the importance of identity. In Mark, Jesus deliberately dismisses identity in favor of his sole missio...

People make assumptions about each other based on appearance, personal affiliation or both. A well-dressed person is assumed the better candidate; good taste is mistaken for competence or moral credibility; worst of all, people judge each other by association, as though a person's social circle, identity, family, or organizational affiliation have any bearing on their knowledge or wisdom. For inst...

A wise person, no matter his or her beliefs, understands that human motivations and desires are naturally selfish. We humans think and act from the shallow perspective of personal experience on behalf of our biological imperative: self-preservation. Our view of others, our understanding of the gods we create, and, most importantly, our actions in the world are corrupt because our core motivation,...

Human communities fixate on self-preservation, naturally forming traditions and customs that protect them from outside threats. The problem of protectionism is amplified when a group's leaders benefit from it, turning the community against itself—even alienating children from parents—for self-gain. With this in mind, it's easy to see why religious rules often devolve into an “us against them” para...

According to the website of the US Postal Service, their motto, “chiseled in gray granite over the entrance to the New York City Post Office on 8th Avenue,” comes from an ancient account of the Persian Wars by the Greek historian, Herodotus: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”  The saying lauds the fidelit...

When studying biblical literature, it's easy to fall into the trap of attempting to lock down the meaning of the Bible's characters and symbols. For example, students of the Bible often assume that “Egypt is evil,” or, “Assyria is evil,” ignoring contradictory evidence in the text. “Egypt and Assyria,” proclaims Isaiah, will be “a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has bles...

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” These words, spoken by Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese author and civil leader, reflect almost perfectly the biblical teaching about fear and the power of death. King Herod, a man who would sell his people's honor to appease their occupiers;...

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes the will of his Father in Deuteronomy, that any prophet or worker of miracles who seduces people from “the way (ὁδός) in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk,” should be ignored, or worse, put to death. Along these lines, in the story of Mark, miracles are given for the teaching; the teaching is not given for miracles. When signs and heal...

When people are taught to change their behaviors or to admit their shortcomings, they use whatever means available to transfer blame for their sins to someone else. Almost always, they lash out against the messenger, pointing to the hypocrisy of their teacher or explaining how a person's identity invalidates the message. In doing so, they shift everyone's attention away from the elephant in the ro...

Self-righteousness is dangerous. When people who believe they are “right” apply rules to each other, even rules that were meant to protect us become instruments of abuse, cruelty and exploitation. You need look no further than the barbarity of Twitter mobs—liberal or conservative—to understand this dynamic. For politicians, sooner or later, this lack of humility results in civil strife. For clergy...

When Jesus permitted the unclean spirits to leave the Gerasene, he demonstrated two things: not only his ability to control a man whom no one could subdue, but his total power over Caesar's legion. You had better believe everyone was terrified by the drowning of the swine, because when you mess with Caesar's immutable power, you undermine the stability of the country. By freeing the demon possesse...

When it comes to bowing, our culture is schizophrenic. We teach people not to bow down to others or to let others tell us what to do, yet we bow down all the time. We bow to men of wealth; we bow to people and things of beauty; we bow to eloquent speech; worst of all, we bow to power: military power, economic power, and individual power. When Jesus entered the country of the Gerasenes, he encounte...

Like the prophet Jonah, Jesus was sent to sow the seed of God's teaching on other soil. Unlike Jonah, Jesus trusted God's will, carrying out his Father's instruction without hesitation or the slightest hint of rebellion. So you can imagine the Lord's frustration, when at the first hint of danger, the disciples cower from God's mission. "The floods," David cried, "have lifted up, O Lord! The flood...

A farmer sows seed because he wants security. He wants to know that he will have enough money and food in storage to secure his family until the next season. This understanding of farming is anti-Scriptural. In the Book of the Twelve, we are repeatedly warned that man's lust for security is the cause of human suffering. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus assigns new meaning to the act of sowing seed. Wh...