By Steven Norris
A church member recently approached me with a question. He has been reading through the Bible this year — something he has done a number of times. This year, however, a few passages hit him differently, especially those around violence connected to God.
“I always grew up singing songs like, ‘Jesus loves the little children; all the children of the world…’” he said. “Then, I come across this: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey (1 Samuel 15:2-3).’ How can this be about the same God?”
Any serious student of the Bible knows that the Bible does not speak with one voice. Rather, it was written by a collection of different authors over a 1,200 year period. Though we may affirm that the Bible has been inspired by God, each of the books are written in the voice of their respective author (or compiler) and reflect a unique perspective and historical setting.
The Bible is more accurately viewed as a library instead of a single book. Therefore, it is important that we have lens through which to make sense of these differences in voice, perspective, and theology to bring the larger story into focus and keep from getting “lost in the weeds.” It is not really a question of if we will “pick and choose” in resolving these tensions but how we “pick and choose.”
I want to suggest that the best way for us to do this is to use Jesus as our “hermeneutical key.” Jesus should be the lens through which we read everything else. He is the clearest picture we have into the heart of God. Therefore, the guiding question of faithful life shifts from “Is it biblical?” to “Is it Christlike?” For example (to adapt the words of Jordan Harrell):
Genocide is biblical. Loving your enemy is biblical. But only one is Christlike.
Slavery is biblical. Chain-breaking is biblical. But only one is Christlike.
Patriarchy is biblical. Counter-cultural elevation of women is biblical. But only one is Christlike.
Retributive violence is biblical (“An eye for eye, tooth for tooth). Grace-filled restoration and mercy is biblical (“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”). But only one is Christlike.
Segregation is biblical. Unity is biblical. But only one is Christlike.
I am a lot less worried about “living biblically” than I am about “being Christlike.” The point of scripture, after all, is to give witness to Jesus, the “Word made flesh.” For Christians, the whole point of the life of faith is to become more and more like Jesus. Jesus is the lens through which everything else comes into focus.
Therefore, let us focus on being Christlike. It may not resolve all the tensions that my church member experienced, but it was enough to keep him moving forward towards bringing the Commonwealth of God “on earth as it is in heaven.”