Confusion

It is becoming increasingly difficult to know what the correct interpretation of the Bible is these days. Gone are the days of old when one could sit happily within the context of a shared communal interpretation of the text and declare "Thus sayeth the Lord..." Now a plethora of competing readings abound for every conceivable Biblical topic under the sun.

Take just one theological issue, for example. Anything. Then try and master it. The complexities, the arguments, the opposing viewpoints, the counterarguments, the rebuttals. Intricate hermeneutical considerations, the chest pounding, the shouting matches, blah, blah. This could, at a very generous estimate, take a few years of devoted study to master.

Now, multiply that by the hundreds of delicious issues that face us in interpreting the Bible and, well... I not only end up scratching my head, but my arse as well. It gets very itchy and confused.

Life is in your face. Really, it is. Not all of us who have jobs, a family, a social life, a private life and whatever else we humans do suddenly have the energy, time, motivation and desire to earnestly contend for the narrow-minded interpretation of some, say, Reformed heresy hunter - God's appointed pontiff and safeguard of our wonderful heritage (but yours sucks, btw).

I am not advocating withdrawal from studying the Bible, or for giving up on theology, or whatever some zealous ignoramus nitwit might charge me with. I am calling for a little more humility on the part of those who think they have a corner on God's truth and have the correct Biblical interpretation. Chill out, wouldya?