What Use is a Biblical Scholar in the Church?
I have a great-nephew, Chase, who at 12 years old knows more about the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel than I would ever hope to know. Why is this? Well, he participates in his Nazarene Church’s annual Bible Quiz. Chase competed at a national level last year and did very well. Truly, he would have been able to answer such questions as this:
What had David just done before returning to Ziklag at the time of the death of Saul (2 Sam 1:1)?
A. Defeated the Edomites
B. Raided the Ziphites
C. Defeated the Amorites
D. Defeated the Amalekites
The answer is “D.” How do I know this? Well, I Googled it. These days, that’s how I know a lot of details about the Bible. I look them up. I am proud of my great-nephew and his family for supporting him in learning the Bible in such detail. There are certainly parts of the Bible I know better than 2 Samuel, but I think overall my great-nephew might win in a thorough-going Bible quiz over me, were we to go one-on-one.
And yet, when I finished my doctoral degree at Princeton Theological Seminary 18 years ago, one of the things that the commencement dignitaries said to us doctoral candidates at graduation was, “Welcome to the company of scholars!” Part of my degree work was based in Homiletics, and the other was New Testament Studies. My thesis was based on retranslating Paul's Letter to the Galatians. I can tell you that I know that book of the Bible really well.
In a recent sermon, I referred to myself as a “scholar of the Bible.” I could have more accurately said, “As a scholar of the Book of Galatians” and gotten away with it. What I believed I was trying to achieve was “comedic effect” by asserting that “bewitched, bothered, and bewildered” was a justifiable and beneficial translation of the Greek word ἐξεπλήσσετο (exeplēsseto) to help us understand the impact of the statement in Mark 11:18 “the whole crowd was spellbound by Jesus’ teaching.” I was using a bit of absurdity to startle us into a new hearing of the passage.
Was it appropriate to refer to myself as a biblical scholar, when a twelve year old could potentially beat me in a biblical knowledge quiz? Was it a fitting bit of comedy in the service of the preaching of Good News? I’ll leave that for others to decide.
One thing I know is that there are few (or no) genuine “biblical scholars” out there who would number me among their company. You see, biblical scholars write articles and books, and they teach at institutions of higher learning. They travel around to yearly conventions and wrangle over latest theories and perspectives on biblical literature. While I once earned a degree that marked my deep learning in a very narrow field of study, to continue to be a scholar, by the world’s measure, would mean my continuing to do publishable research. I have chosen to be a teacher, preacher, and pastor in a local congregation and to exhibit the passion for the learning I love to do. Much of the learning and teaching is focused on the books of the Bible and the meaning we as a community derive from these ancient texts, so that we can together ask, “How do we understand God better through engaging these texts? How do we understand who we are and what we are to do? How do the world of God and the human sphere interact in such a way that we are encountered by hope, faith and love, and most significantly, love of neighbor?”
It is my hope that I have certain capacities to communicate a love for in-depth learning of biblical texts and topics. This last Sunday we began a class called, “How We Got the Bible.” We had 50 people show up for that class. The first question I posed to the group was, “What good is it to study the Bible critically? Once we learn how the sausage is made, do we return to eating the sausage?” I remember just before I went to seminary 30 years ago, I had a church member say to me, “Don’t go off to seminary and do all that Bible learning, and lose your salvation in the process.” What I can say in response now is, “All that learning has given me a deeper appreciation for the world of the Bible, for the complexities of its texts, for the highly nuanced tasks of translation and interpretation, and for the world-making power of its poetry.” I have a deeper love for the Bible today than ever before, and I want others to join me on this journey of discovery.
So, how did the class respond to the question of “Can you learn too much about the Bible?” I believe the consensus was, “As we learn together around the Bible, we learn more about ourselves, our neighbors in Christ, and the God to whom the biblical texts give witness.”
The role of the biblical “scholar” in the church is to facilitate this kind of learning, and I pray that God’s Holy Spirit keep us on the path of faith as we do so.