Approaches used in the analyses of this work

 

1. Introduction

In order to make the stories of the Bible, as well as the teachings associated with the Bible, more relevant to a modern audience, the essays in this work will, broadly, analyze the stories and teachings based on those stories in the following manner. The analysis is carried out by connecting each of one or more points of inquiry to a conclusion using a reasoning process that will be plausible and understandable to a lay audience having a 21^st Century background while remaining within the constraints of the themes and teachings of the Bible. The points of inquiry are chosen by what might puzzle a modern audience based on what is said in a sermon, or a seminar or study group in their synagogue. Hence, the title of the work: Musings from In Front of the Pulpit with the subtitle Speculations by a modern congregant on teachings from the pulpit and Jewish Literature. If the particular inquiry had not occurred to the audience, it is hoped that it will prove interesting to the audience after it is posed in the essay.

Specifically, the stories in the Bible will be analyzed in the same manner one would analyze short stories in a collection of short stories. Some of the stories will fit with other stories, some will stand alone but all will come within the scope or purview of one or more overarching themes of the collection.

More specifically, the analysis will utilize several tools as necessary. The choice of tool will depend on the story being investigated. These tools will include: (1) a lens of modern scientific knowledge; (2) a lens of modern ethos and attitudes, especially as applied to religious topics; (3) a lens which accounts for modern history, especially the Holocaust; (4) a lens of human behavior; (5) a lens of accepting that the story was fabricated by the author either out of whole cloth or based on a legend that would be known to the Biblical audience or based on other evidence which would be known to the Biblical audience in order to make a point or present a teaching^[1]; and (6) re-visiting an aspect of the Bible that is related to modern civilization, such as applying the teaching of the prophets to the needs of modern civilization.

 

1. Some examples of the tools used in the approach
2. The Characters in the Bible Stories are Human Beings

Human nature has not changed from Biblical Days even though human knowledge and experience has matured and increased. The Bible uses human beings in its stories. These stories were written during Biblical times, by Biblical authors and for a Biblical audience. As such, the characters in the Bible stories acted accordingly. While human nature may not have changed from Biblical times, the way it is related and understood certainly has changed for a modern audience. The brevity of many Biblical stories might be used to bridge this gap. While this approach has been attempted in the past, for example Midrash^[2] often fills in the blanks left in Bible stories by telling stories of what humans might be doing, this approach has proved inadequate and often unrealistic to a modern audience. This approach often visualizes fantastic attributes for people and events which are quite foreign to a modern audience. As such, many Midrashic stories are often dismissed, often out of hand, by modern audiences. If the Bible is to remain relevant and moving for today’s audience, a new approach might be necessary. The essays in this collection attempt to adopt a new approach by trying to view the Bible stories through the eyes of humans in a modern audience.

One step in this process is effected in the essays in this collection is by trying to humanize the Bible stories by analyzing them from the viewpoint of events which happened to real human beings who have similar, and perhaps the same, human reactions and motivations as we do today. The stories are analyzed and presented so the audience can put themselves in the place of the character of the story and thus learn from the events of the stories as they happened to real human beings. By placing real humans in the stories, a modern audience can readily place themselves in the situation, and the stories should be even more meaningful, especially to a modern reader.

As stated by Nahum Sarna at page 199 of his book, Understanding Genesis (Schocken Books, New York, 1966):

one of the unique features of the patriarchal narratives is that the fathers were not, as among other peoples, mythological personages, super-human heros or idealized saints. They are vividly portrayed as human beings, vitally involved in the struggle for existence, subject to temptation like all other men and like them, too, possessed of human frailties and strength of character, and experiencing the joys and sorrows of life.

Real human beings, both Biblical and modern, are skeptical, cynical, greedy, self-aggrandizing, ignorant, irrational, mean, and insightful, they have common sense, they love, they hate, they lust, they plot, they are ambitious, they plan, they scheme, they protect themselves and their loved ones, and they can, and do, change. The characters of the Bible exercise their free will subject to their own needs, fears, desires, personal outlook, upbringing, heredity and character, one minute they are a hero and the next they are a villain, one minute a saint, and the next a sinner, they are inclined to both good and evil – just like us.

In fact, their humanity is often what makes some of the Biblical characters so great and so admirable, and so complex. Human beings just do not agree to do the things the patriarchs did. Can the reader imagine himself agreeing to leave home for an unnamed location based on a vague promise of being the father of a nation from an entity not previously known? Abram^[3] did. On the other hand, could the audience visualize themselves as passing their wife off as their sister and subjecting her to the possibility of life in a harem in order to save himself? Abram did. Can the reader imagine himself agreeing to lead a rebellion against the most powerful nation in the world based solely on instructions emanating from a bush? Moses did. Can the reader imagine himself submitting to being a human sacrifice because his father said his god told him to do this? Isaac did. In fact, can the reader imagine himself sacrificing her only son simply because an entity that calls itself God told him to? Abraham did. Could the reader visualize herself in a situation where her husband took her only son to be sacrificed because her husband said his god told him to? Sarah did. On the other hand, can the reader visualize herself banishing her adopted son into the dessert and almost certain death due to starvation and thirst in order to protect the inheritance of her natural son? Sarah did. Still further, can the audience visualize themselves stealing their father’s death-bed blessing from their brother? Jacob did. Can the audience visualize themselves working for seven years to earn the right to marry the woman they loved only to have her older sister substituted for her, and then agreeing to work for another seven years for this woman? Jacob did.

This is one of the things that made the Patriarchs and Matriarchs great and admirable: they were humans who did things that were so extraordinary that we simply cannot grasp them and certainly cannot see ourselves doing the same – all based on faith. The ancestors in the Bible often were not held up to be role models for the audience to emulate but as examples in a lesson. Also, some of the stories may not even be about an individual even though an individual is named, the story may actually be about the nation of Israel with the protagonist being an individual who represents the nation of Israel (for example, does the conflict among the sons of Jacob represent the conflict between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms or does the story of David and Goliath represent the small nation of Israel defeating the larger and more powerful countries who are enemies of Israel?), or how a present situation developed (for example, Judah was not the first born to Jacob but he became the most powerful because the actions of his elder brothers disqualified them so that the Nation of Judah would have support in the Bible for being the most powerful rather than a Nation of Reuben, Simeon or Levi, also, David is a descendent of Judah). Sometimes, the character of a story may even have some evil motive among many other motives (all real people often have multiple motives which cause them to adopt and change directions multiple times within the same event). Sometimes, the morality and motivations are ambiguous and murky to us and perhaps even to the character himself….just like in real life. Actions often must account for multiple and competing estimates of consequences. This is also reflected in the stories and in the interpretations of them.  If we understand that the characters of the stories of the Bible are human beings just like us, many of the stories in the Bible become more palatable to the modern reader.

By visualizing ourselves in the situation being related in a Bible story. We can exercise our imaginations and place ourselves in the stories and try to envision how we might react in the situation. Or it allows us to learn from the mistakes of others and then exercise our imaginations so we do not make the same mistakes and thus learn from the mistakes of others^[4]. This is how progress is made: mistake, learning from that mistake and using imagination so the mistake is not repeated in later situations. That is why we have imaginations.

Some of the concepts proposed in the Bible regarding relationships among humans, as well as between humans and the other entities which inhabit the earth as well as between humans and the earth itself, need to be reexamined in light of modern global attitudes and environmental attitudes which were not existent for the Biblical audience. Many of the essays in this collection perform this reexamination and try to update these concepts and teachings for today’s audience. A prime example of this is the essay God’s Ground Rules where certain rules are proposed which make sense in a modern, global, world but which may not have been intriguing to a Biblical audience, or may not even have occurred to the members of that audience.

1. Many of the Bible Stories have Multiple Meanings

The Bible is masterful at packing layers upon layers of meaning into a short story. Some stores are only a few lines long, yet are presented in a manner that is short, but which illustrates, not only an overarching theme but can be read as supporting many concepts which support or are related to the themes of the Bible. The Flood story is one example of this. Even the lengthier stories, such as the story of Job, follow this approach and can be read on many, many levels and can be applied to many, many lessons and teachings. Where appropriate, the essays in this work will unpack a story and view it from many levels with multiple lessons being highlighted. The story of Job is an example of this, as this story can be viewed as showing the relationship of God to man, the relationship of man to God, the relationship of men to men, our view of God, even the very nature of God, and much more, all through the lens of the suffering of an innocent.

 

III. The Stories of The Bible

Lest we forget, the Bible stories are still just that: stories. Not only do these stories instruct us, they entertain us. These stories have captivated the imagination of people for thousands of years. The Bible stories may be the very first stories of Horatio Alger (who may have his roots in the Joseph story), of heroes (even Luke Skywalker may have his roots in the Bible stories of heroes), of supermen (many judges were quiet, unassuming people who performed great deeds), spy stories (stories of coups and rebellions may find their roots in Bible stories), on-the-road stories (where people bond while traveling on a road), palace intrigue (many operas as well as many popular television shows may have roots in stories such as David and Bathsheba), even science fiction (such as Star Trek: The Next Generation), and many, many more. Accordingly, some of the essays in this book will treat the stories as just stories which are entertaining as well as instructive.

 

^[1] For example, stories such the flood story, the Tower of Babel story, many of the stories associated with the Patriarchs, even the Exodus story itself, may be made up our of whole cloth or well-known stories and legends amended, expanded and flat-out changed, to tailor the story to a particular lesson or theme being espoused by the Bible, or to fill in gaps in the theocentric history being related by the Bible. In fact, the character David may even be a fabrication as there is virtually no archeological evidence (with the sole exception at the time these essays are being written being the Tel Dan Stole) indicating the existence of King of Israel known as David so that the David stories in the Bible become close to the stories of King Arthur.

[2] Midrash elaborates on a text with the intent to discover deeper meanings or new questions behind the text. The term “Midrash” derives from the biblical (Hebrew) term lidrosh – to search or to seek, to examine or to investigate, and embodies one of Judaism’s most vibrant modes of wisdom, wondering and creativity. Midrash is meant to make a point, to stretch one’s thinking and should not be taken literally or as historical fact.

 

^[3] Until Gen 17:5, the man is referred to as Abram, in Gen 17:5, God changed his name to Abraham ”And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham…” This convention will be carried out in the essays in this work: in events occurring prior to Gen 17:5, the name Abram will be used, and in events occurring after Gen 17:5, the name Abraham will be used. The same convention will be used for the woman Sarah, God changed her name from Sarai to Sarah in Gen 17:15 “As for your wife, Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.” Hence, in events occurring prior to Gen 17:15, the woman will be referred to as Sarai, and in events occurring after Gen 17:15, the woman will be referred to as Sarah.

^[4] Some say that without sin or transgression or mistakes, many of the books of the Bible would never even have been written. For example, the books of the prophets are nearly entirely concerned with such issues.