In our church hallway, we have a little wooden box where we invite suggestions. The other day, I checked to see if there were any. I found a little slip of paper, and on it was written in a young hand:

“Do you think the Bible is always right?”

What a wonderful question, and what a delightfully inquiring mind! I wish I had an answer worthy of the question. But I like a challenge! Many years ago, I visited McCormick Seminary in Chicago. My Pastor took me there as part of my process of deciding to become a Minister. I attended my very first seminary class, and the question of Jonah and the Whale came up. The professor said something that has always stayed with me:

“Jonah may not have actually been in a fish for three days – but the story is true!”

In our tradition, we believe that, for scripture to be truly helpful, the Holy Spirit must be involved twice. We believe that the Spirit inspired the people who wrote the Bible. But we also believe that people must be inspired by the Holy Spirit to understand the real meaning. It is easy to misunderstand what God is trying to tell us through scripture.

For example, when Jesus says: “love one another as I have loved you” that makes perfect sense to me. But when the Apostle Paul supposedly says to Timothy: “I don’t let women speak in the Church”, I know that there has to be more to the story!

We love the Bible. We love God enough to know that it takes a whole community to make sense of it. Our denomination has a concept called “The Law of Love.” It suggests that if an interpretation of the Bible doesn’t reflect God’s love for us, and our call to love God in return, we need to keep working. I like that!

So, thanks, whoever you are, for the question. Every once in a while I will update this corner. Feel free to email me with questions, and I’ll try my best to answer them here. (As best I can!)