Bible Thoughts

Who would have ever thought that I would be entitling a post, ‘Bible Thoughts’? That was a rhetorical question, I’m quite sure no one bothers to spare thoughts on what I might title my blog posts. Frankly I’m rather surprised when anyone claims to have even read it. I’m downright flabbergasted when they’re telling the truth. But onto the good book.

So I’m about 10 days into my month-long bible-thon. Before I address my thoughts on the bible itself (and yes I will have audacity to critique the Bible at some point), I wanted to talke about my personal experience so far reading it.
First of all, let me say it has been grueling. To try and read the entire thing in one month I have been trying to go at about fifty pages a day. That’s really hard. My best guess is that I have been spending about three and a half hours a day reading. It’s been hard to fit it in. Since leaving Dunedin my days have been filled with a lot of driving and a lot of hiking. I’ve done a few two day hikes and some other walks. The Southern Alps of New Zealand is an amazing place and I continue to be struck by the contrasts I find in the scenery; Rainforest to cascading waterfalls, black sand beach to Alpine Glaciers. It is difficult for my to read in the car because I’m often driving, the drives are scenic and there are distractions abound, and the roads are windy and I’ve never had a strong stomach so it’s rare that I get much done in the car. This all means that vast majority of my spare time has been spent reading.
Also it ain’t exactly Harry Potter, the pages don’t just fly by. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Old Testament is a bunch of sexy fire and brimstone stuff. In fact I haven’t even come across the work Brimstone and I’m about half the way through the OT. The first five books, often know as the Torah or the Law was downright brutal. Virtually devoid of story except for the first half of Exodus and some of Deuteronomy it is mostly Geneologies (i.e. blah son of blah had these sons…) the Law, and censuses. The Law is just as bad most of the time. Although it has the commandments and some other interesting things it is mostly very specific instructions on how to make sacrifices to God, hold celebrations, and make yourself clean. It was dull and repetitive and difficult to get through.
Since then it has gotten better, the histories came after that and they were come and go okay. It was interesting reading about David and Solomon because they are referenced so often even today. So it was better and there were some legitimate stories. Still it was at times very repetitive, with even the same verbatim passages being repeated in different books. Getting through fifty pages (were not talking Dr. Seuss pages either, they pack the words in this thing, no pictures either) was still a challenge. Only recently has it been easier as I got into Psalms. However, I think that is mostly attributed to the fact that the verse style writing uses less words per page.
Also I find that I have never been more conscious of other people while reading than I have ever been before. There are few books as evocative as the Bible and I can’t help but wonder what people think when they see me reading it. It has forced me to be realistic about what I would expect of the type of person I saw reading a Bible mid-day on a park bench. Mostly I try to avoid notice; read off by myself, place it face down when I’m not reading it. This is partly because I don’t really have much interest in hearing people talk about the Bible. I don’t enjoy discussing faith unless it is with someone I know well and I have found myself drawn into ‘conversations’ where I am forced to listen to some self-righteous twenty-something tell me that Mother Theresa and the Pope should be held accountable for genocide because of their stance on contraception. I make a point not to go out of my way to say that I am not religious, but if someone asks why I am reading it I explain that it is an act of scholarship. Some people find it admirable, others are simply baffled that I would bother.
Still as much as I would like to believe I separate myself purely to avoid distraction or annoyance, if I’m honest there is something else. I’m kind of embarrassed. Although I have done my best to disabuse myself of contempt and marginalizing of organized religion and it’s devotees I find I still don’t like the idea of someone assuming I’m a devout Christian. I’ve had people think I was seventeen, gay, or even Canadian and none of those bothered me. It would appear I am not as devoid of that prejudice as I may have thought.
It’s not all negative though. There are some moments when reading the Bible evokes of a feeling to match the uniqueness of it’s place in the history of the world. For so many people it was the only book they owned or even the only one they would ever read and that means something. There are times like when I was by myself in my tent. It was a bit cold and rainy, and although I was in the tent because I wanted the solitude, I’ve always been comfortable in the company of my own thoughts, my mind started drifting to people I missed. I was a bit bored and not quite tired yet and knew that I didn’t do myself any good thinking of people I wished were there. So I pulled out my Bible. It’s not as if I went to some favorite passage or a section that I knew was appropriate, I just picked up where I left off. In that moment I was forced to wonder how many people had found themselves maybe a little cold, a little lonely, a little in need of comfort (if only comfort from boredom as in my case) and the only thing they could think to do was pick up there Bible. Maybe I’m forcing the issue but I felt on some level greater connected to humanity’s past at that moment in a way I haven’t from reading Shakespeare or Chaucer or Homer.

There’s something there.