Is It Important that Abraham was “Real” – or That He Is “in Us?”

January 2011

Recently I felt a wave of guilt sweep over me, as I read a “reminder” from the church office that my monthly blog was not only due, it was past due. Remberences of my tarnished youth swept over me: late homework, incomplete essays, and book reports that were best accomplished through the help of a once-popular comic book, Classics Illustrated (pity those of you who are too young to be unaware of this superior, pre-Cliff Notes means of gaining quick knowledge).

I was given email and phone forgiveness by Mary Knurek and Pastor Nathan, and encouraged to submit something as soon as possible. Note: the primary reason for my negligence was due to the fact that I’ve entered into the realm of those ancient ones we used to see on Sundays – the ones with all manner of health issues and even walking devices. In my own case, much of 2010 was spent in one form of surgical procedure or related healing cycle. By the time January 2011 rolled around, I had shelved “blogging” somewhere between “I’ll get to it” and “Maybe they’ll forget about it.”

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I hope that you’ll work with me as I attempt to share my thoughts on a subject that is near and very dear to my heart: Biblical metaphor.

During the healing process for arthroscopic knee surgery (which failed) and total left knee replacement (which I’m told is progressing satisfactorily) – an orthopedic passage which began in March 2010 and is still a work in process as 2011 begins, I came across a new book (more addictive than hard drugs to a publisher who can’t get enough). Written by a former Southern Baptist, tweaked by Roman Catholicism, and Episcopalian educated, John R. Coats’, Original Sinners: A New Interpretation of Genesis, offered me validation that I was far from alone in how I view (and have viewed since my years as a teen in a German Reformed congregation in suburban Philadelphia, PA) the Bible.

As I explored the pages of this fascinating work, Coates reinforced my feelings that the metaphors, found within the stories of the first book of the Bible, apply to all of us – the religious, less-religious and nonreligious alike. The lives portrayed in Genesis (love, loyalty, betrayal, stupidity, brilliance, greed, as well as madness) wonderfully illustrate how we (all of us) have inherited the moral and ethical DNA deeply embedded in this ancient text.

If, like me, you were raised in a family with strong-willed -- what I call “old school religion” grandparents, you might relate to how Bible characters (not to forget God) were portrayed. My grandfather drew the line in the sand, when it came to “knowing” these people: they were real, they lived, and they were far from “stories” used to illustrate a point. My grandmother once slapped me for telling her, after I fell and hit my head, remarking that it “hurt like the Devil.” She made it clear that one never “evokes” his name, because it makes him “live.” And…one never challenged the reality of these characters or asked for proof of their existence. “Historical characters” weren’t as important as “faith characters.”

Over the years, probably beginning when I was around twelve, the metaphor concept began to rattle around in my head. And by the time I was in my late teens and, definitely as a young married in my mid-twenties, the fear (“tyranny” is Coats’ word) within the Bible was lost to me. Today, in my own grandfather stage of life, the metaphors of the entire Bible (not just those illustrated in Genesis) bring a new appreciation for the “unhidden humanness” (Coats’ words) in all the people portrayed on those pages – including Jesus. It is through metaphor that I can read the Bible, comfortably participate in Bible study classes (such as the last one taught by Pastor Nathan, or the new one coming up this Spring), when listening to sermons, or discussion in one of the adult St. Stephen Sunday School classes.

Reading the Bible and reflecting on the vast array of metaphors found in every nook and cranny, has given me an entirely fresh approach to understanding. Rather than spending time, as my grandparents had on the “admonishments” found throughout the Bible – the rights, the wrongs, the good, the bad, metaphoric reading allows for reflection on our own lives (both individually and collectively). Those Bible characters that I grew up with (before I could read or write on my own) were no longer “people of story.” They were “me.” They lived out their lives in ways little different than my own. Their woes were mine. Their acts of bravery were mine – as well as those of stupidity. I agree with Coats, when he suggests that reflective use of scripture in teaching is a model that makes sense. It makes the Bible accessible to everyone – even those with no religious point of view.

While my point of view may not be for everyone, I appreciate you giving some consideration to it. And, if you agree or not, you might find Original Sinners: A New Interpretation of Genesis by John R. Coats a worthy read. Composed by:Dennis McClellan