Book Review (Part 0)-- This Book Will Change Your World: How All Things Become New

Here's the book review as promised. I've decided to review this book one chapter at a time because of the weighty issues that author Kevin Beck addresses as far as Biblical interpretation and praxis is concerned. Part 0 of the review will deal with the book's introduction.

I’m writing this from my local café. Besides me, three tables are occupied—all of them with people doing Bible studies. The first is a young lady in private meditation. The second is a group of two men planning “strategic outreach.” The third has a gaggle of men discussing how we’re witnessing the unfolding of Biblical end-times events. I don’t know what the woman is thinking about, but the men are preparing the way for world domination or destruction based on their reading of the Bible. I can’t help but think that if similar conversations were taking place over an open Qur’an someone might call Homeland Security. (Beck, p.10)

Here's a very pertinent passage of Scripture. Please read it very carefully, although it is a bit lengthy:

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he [Jesus] said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." And they asked him, "Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?" And he said, "See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once."
Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let not those who are out in country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.-- Luke 21:1-24 (English Standard Version: emphases mine)

Before you read on, let the passage above speak for itself and let it soak in. Don't try to explain things away and dismiss them just because they don't fit your theology or what you have been taught. Set aside all preconceptions and everything you think you know. The Word of God interprets itself, and it can open windows to vistas you may have never visited before. It might even change the way you approach Scripture. It did for me.

Done? Great!

So, what was the above passage about? Are you sure? If you said that this section from the Gospel of St. Luke is about the last day of history, the end of time, or the catastrophic destruction of our planet and universe, look again. Would a natural reading of the text lend itself to such an intepretation? Would Jesus' audience have understood his words in that way?

The passage above is a prophecy by Jesus about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. This is the most natural way we can read the text. We Christians today make a big mistake by taking texts such as this and project them into an indefinite future. It is vital to remember that Jesus was not prophecying into a void. The words of Jesus must be taken contextually and the context must be understood in its 1st century historical setting, for that is when Jesus carried out his ministry among the Jews.

This is exactly the point Beck is making in the introduction to his book. Of course, he said it much more eloquently than I just did. But the point is made. We are so accustomed to imposing a catastophic future onto the texts of Scripture that it has become second nature. Beck is calling us to stand back, take a deep breath, and look again.

Current conventional readings of apocalyptic sections of Scripture make Jesus out to be a soon-to-come, 80-foot, cloud-surfing tyrant who's hellbent on destroying everything, except for a chosen few who will be "raptured" away to heavenly bliss. For a growing number of people, that's not very good news. In fact, it sounds quite hopeless. You can say "Jesus loves you" all you want, but that doesn't help in alleviating so much end times angst among the people of God. There is still an unspoken anxiety among many Christians who have been taught that Jesus is coming back sometime in the future that there's a chance that they "might not make it." This is what happens in the hearts and minds of many who listen to preachers like me talk about the everlasting destruction of those opposed to Jesus. Says Beck,

For centuries, people have told the Biblical story in terms of humanity's rebellion and God's intense yearning to make us pay. That way of telling the story portrays an irate God who resolves to whack all humanity in a genocidal act of revenge because the first couple took a piece of fruit. He decided to give us a second chance by taking out his frustrations on Jesus. People who believe these facts will escape never-ending torture. Moreover, these believers need to think the right thoughts about the metaphysical make-up of the Lord God—sputtering doctrinal, traditional, and creedal shibboleths. Then they need to agree to a certain cosmology, regardless of what the visible evidence suggests, and they need to behave according to preset dictates; otherwise, they're going to regret it for a long, long time.
Those lucky enough to believe, think, and act in harmony with God's revealed and hidden purposes call their good fortune grace. To them, God in his infinite mercy is waiting patiently for all people to come to their senses. Yet, the vast majority of them won't. One day God's patience will run out and he'll get so fed up that he'll send Jesus back to earth. Upon his arrival, zombies will come forth from the ground and the planet will miraculously flourish and/or explode.
This is the good news?
No wonder there is so much anxiety surrounding religion. This way of telling the story portrays God as a petty, neurotic, and secretive tyrant. It puts humanity in the position of seeking to appease this God by the performance of enigmatic rituals and adherence to arbitrary moral standards. It gives us all one chance to get it right. Our fate is sealed by death, and even God is bound by death's decision. Most disturbingly, it places God at enmity with humans and our world. (p. 12, 13)

According to Beck, we have the power to tell stories any way we want. This can be a curse, as he demonstrates in a retelling of The Wizard of Oz in a way that makes Dorothy seem like a terribly naughty person, while keeping the narrative intact. However, we also have the ability to tell stories in a very positive light. What Beck suggests is that there is a way to tell the Biblical story in a way that doesn't make God out to be the godfather Vito Corleone. Again, Beck:

I simply must believe that there's a truer way of telling the story. One that pictures God as someone kinder and gentler than the godfather. One that honors God for walking with us through the hurts, sorrows, and wounds of life. One that depicts God as love incarnate. One that sees Christ on the cross as the ultimate expression of divinity and humanity. One that blesses all families of the earth. One that finds God to be infinitely immanent rather than completely separate. One that recognizes humanity’s comprehensive connection in the ultimate all-in-all. One in which God decrees, “There's no place like home,” and so God has already made his home with us—not as an abusive despot, but as a tender and understanding presence (Revelation 21:3). (p. 13, 14)

I agree. This kind of reading of Scripture is truer to the overall sweep of the Biblical narrative. Never once, as many scholars now point out, did God's covenant people foresee the annihilation of the space-time continuum. We must learn to tell the story of God as revealed in Jesus Christ in a way that isn't fatalistic toward God's marvelous creation. Kevin Beck has given us a fantastic start in understanding the Scriptural narrative afresh by the tedious, but ultimately satisfying, study of history. Beck realizes that this cannot be accomplished in the matter of a 137 pages of text. But at least it's a start.

I have taught the Biblical narrative all the way through (including the Apocrypha) twice in my 15 years of ministry and have become convinced that we read the Scriptures with predetermined doctrinal lenses that turn Jesus into an amateur philosopher. I've also become convinced that we must learn the themes that weave their way through the Bible, tie them together, and then behold the beautiful tapestry that the Lord God has made for us!

Part 1 next time.