DATE: Saturday, November 15, 1997           TAG: 9711140058

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Issues of Faith 

SOURCE: Betsy Wright 

                                            LENGTH:   85 lines

A WEEKS-LONG STUDY GETS DOWN TO THE BOTTOM LINE

For the past six weeks, I've devoted this column to the series ``Understanding the Bible.'' This is the final week. The week where we wrap it all up. Ask what it all means. Try to figure out why this stuff is important to us.

The Wrap-up. The Bible is an incredible library of many, many books. Exactly how many depends on your faith tradition.

All Jewish and Christian traditions contain the Torah, or the Pentateuch. The Torah - meaning ``The Teachings,'' but often translated as ``The Law'' - consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Beyond that, there are books by the Jewish prophets and books of Jewish wisdom. There are also Christian testament books of history, pastoral guidance and prophecy. Some faith traditions even include Apocryphal books, which are revered more for their content than for their authenticity.

We who cherish these books as Scripture believe the human authors worked under divine inspiration. There has been, however, a centuries-old debate surrounding the theological mystery of divine inspiration: exactly how much is God's ``breath'' and how much is human?

Also, who were these divinely inspired human authors? They were men - almost certainly all men - who lived over a span of 1,000 years. In most cases, little is known about the actual authors, though tradition, folklore, history, archaeology and scholarship has given us many clues about them and the times in which they lived.

As books were written, few were instantly regarded as Scripture. Most went through a long process - sometimes taking several hundred years - in which they were accepted by religious leaders, accepted by the people and finally accepted by a council or governing body, which declared it ``Holy Scripture.'' It is important to note that many books that were immensely popular and regarded as divinely inspired in their day have now passed away into oblivion because they were not selected as part of the Jewish or Christian canon.

Today, the greatest divisions about the Bible come from humans taking two different views about it. The first view is that only the Biblical/Traditional Account is valid. This is the stance taken by mostly orthodox believers who say we should accept only what the Bible says about itself and the ancient traditional beliefs about it. This, many feel, is the only true faith.

The second view - the non-orthodox viewpoint - is much more broad. This view accepts that believers cannot ignore the important discoveries of the last 250 years: discoveries in archaeology, science, technology, biblical textural criticism and history. From these discoveries, believers have formed an Extra-Biblical Account of the Holy Scriptures, an account many feel has enriched and matured their faith.

What's it all mean? That question must be answered by each individual. I speak only for myself.

To me, all this information about the Bible only reinforces my belief that the Bible contains the Word of God. The trick, as a human, is to figure out which parts are of God and which aren't. In that endeavor, I know I am fallible.

I also believe it's important to remember that those parts of the Bible that aren't of God are from a bunch of ancient guys who speak out of their limited world views. They had faults, prejudices, pain and even political agendas, and often times that is what we find in the Bible.

So, should we purge the Bible of this faulty humanity? No! God set up the world so that he would have to work through humans. We are his agents here on Earth. If God did not want debate on these matters, he would never have given us free will and the power to reason.

Also, if God did not want debate on these matters, he would have made a Bible that was absolutely indisputable. He could have done that. He's God.

But God doesn't work that way with humans. He chooses to give up his power over us in order to get the thing he wants most from us: faith.

Why is it important? I believe that is best answered by Alice Parmelee in her 1979 book, ``Introducing the Bible'':

``The Bible records one of humanity's most important quests into the vast unknown in which we live. Probably it is the most crucial search of all, because it involves the questions that haunt our inmost being: Who am I? Why am I here? Is there a God in heaven who cares for me? What is the final goal of life? Are there moral values which have ultimate significance? To these questions, the Bible gives convincing answers to those who read in expectancy and faith.''

F or the past six weeks, I've devoted this column to the series MEMO: Readers' responses to the seven-part series on the Bible will

be printed next week. Send them to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,

921 N. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake, Va. 23320; or call 446-2273; fax

436-2798; e-mail bmw(AT)pilotonline.com. Please include name, city and

phone number.

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