Reading the Bible As Literature

This is a great thought by Eric Russell in his blog A Motley Vision.

"But I think there’s great value to reading the Bible as fiction – as literature. I think the greater variety of ways we can interpret the scriptures, the better...Christ’s parables all had a central purpose, but they are imbedded with innumerable lessons directed at multiple audiences. I think much of the Bible is the same way. The more we can mine out of the text, the richer our experiences will be."

Well said. When we read the scriptures as modern-style history, we miss a lot if we do not let the tools of literature jump out at us. For example, there is a definite parable in demons jumping out of a madman into unkosher pigs, only to have the little porkers plunge into a tempestuous sea. Or there is symbolism in Christ causing the blind man to see, besides the history of Jesus healing an afflicted man.

The good news messages linked with the story as a parable reinforce each other. Read it only as history and you risk missing spiritual truths behind such events.

"The significance of this miracle [at the marriage of Cana] may be better appreciated if the unique symbolism of water and wine in Old Testament theology is recognized. Water appears in ancient scripture as a powerful symbol of universal death, particularly that which results from disobedience to God...The transmutation of water to wine foreshadowed the work of the Lord in overcoming death..." [The Waters of Destruction and the Vine of Redemption, 37 Allen J. Christenson, Provo, Utah]

Then there are the nuances of the actual story and how meaning can shift significantly depending on how you might read the detail of a single word. Often I can only see what I have been trained to see. I find taking a legalistic approach in asking myself to see only what is in the story helps me check my assumptions and gain additional insights into the scripture.

Those are the approaches that work for me.