I know what I don't know

Before I became a minister, I had an incredible thirst for knowledge--for truth. When I encountered Pentecostals, they were willing and eager to share with me all they knew about the Bible. And I was eager to learn. When I found out that they had Bible colleges, I wanted to go. I wanted to learn everything I could. Later, when they were starting a graduate school, I wanted to attend there as well. However, in its fledgling state, and in their effort to become accredited (for which I applaud them), I was not able to be admitted without first obtaining an accredited undergraduate degree. Then I found out about another recognized graduate school for theology that may accept me on a probationary basis. So, I applied and was admitted to the Regent University School of Divinity. I again was eager to devour all that I could in my pursuit of more knowledge, more understanding, more truth. What I learned in my abbreviated tenure at Regent was how much I don't know.

As a minister, I prided myself on knowing the Bible and knowing it well. I loved to study. I loved to prepare for sermons. When I attend graduate school, I was humbled by how much I didn't know. I began to learn ancient Greek. I gained a great deal of respect for Greek scholars. The ancient Greek language is referred to as the language of "never-ending endings." The nuances are many, and the relationships of words within sentences are critical to understand for proper interpretation. I also took a class in Hebrew. Again, I gained great respect for Hebrew scholars.  There are Hebrew poems that don't make a lot of sense in English--especially King James English. There are things that are immediately visible in the Hebrew Bible that disappear in the English translations.

Another thing that I learned is that to truly understand Scripture, one needs to understand history--ancient history. To properly understand and interpret a biblical passage, a knowledge of the cultural, political, economic and religious setting of the day is necessary. It's not enough to understand the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) that existed in Jesus' day and all that entailed, but one must also understand the history that first century people had learned. What did they read? What were they taught in their schools and in their homes? What stories were commonly circulated between families and from generation to generation? Believe me, the book of Revelation is a mystery without understanding what first-century Christians (and Jews) understood about their world, about history, about mythology. Many images portrayed in the book of Revelation were images immediately recognizable to these first-century people. They are foreign to those of us in the 21st century, unless we take the time to study.

For another example of how important it is to understand the mind of the first readers (or hearers) of the biblical texts, consider Genesis 1:1. A gentleman who I consider a good friend, Tim Mackie, Ph.D. in Hebrew and Jewish studies, shared this with our church recently. When you think of the word "Earth," what comes to mind? For most of us a big blue ball floating in space is the image we see. We picture a globe. That is not what the first readers of Genesis pictured. When they read or heard the word "earth," they pictured "land." This little clarification is one of many that helps us better understand the creation narrative. What else did the first readers know and understand as they first read these words penned by Moses? I am not going to go into a long explanation of this passage. I just wanted to give an example of how easy it is to misunderstand or misinterpret what we read in the English Bible. And for that matter, how important it is to respect those who have taken the time to learn in depth the ancient languages and histories.

I am not saying that one cannot understand the Bible without understanding Greek and Hebrew. Obviously, reading the Bible in today's language is very beneficial. It would be impractical and even absurd to think that we need to become scholars of ancient languages and history to begin to enjoy and benefit from reading the Bible. However, I also believe that it is equally absurd for us to think that we can develop major doctrines and teachings without a deep understanding of these things. When we do, we commit a major error in biblical interpretation called "eisegesis," which is reading meaning into the scriptures--or "adding" meaning, if you will. We unwittingly take our own personal ideas (like picturing a globe when we read "earth") and we apply it to what we read. Proper interpretation, on the other hand, invovles "exegesis," which is getting the meaning "out" of the passage. We simply can't begin to properly interpret the Bible--for doctrinal and teaching purposes--without an extensive knowledge of the original languages and the histories of the first readers of the Bible. In saying this, I do not discount the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding our understanding. Quite frankly, it is the Spirit that draws people to study more, to desire to understand more. I believe it is the Spirit that draws people to become biblical scholars. It is what drives them to keep pursuing truth, and to endure while learning the "never-ending endings" of the Greek language.

Some day I will return to Divinity school. I may never become a scholar, but I will never stop hungering for truth and for a deeper understanding of Scripture. I have learned that I don't know nearly as much about the Bible as I used to think I knew. I have learned that there is an ocean of knowledge out there, and I have only been wading in the surf. I don't know much, but at least I know what I don't know.