A friend of mine once said to me, "The Bible isn't relevant today. The problems we face today can't be found in there." Upon further discussion, my friend revealed he had never read it. Beyond seeing Hollywood films like The Ten Commandments and others, many folks have never read the book itself. I once thought similarly. I thought the Bible was antiquated and perhaps out of touch with our modern world, but after reading the words of Paul, advice on relationships and interpersonal communications, and the wisdom of Proverbs, timeless advice for children and fathers, my doubts of the Bible’s relevance were dispelled. The wisdom and human insight in the Bible are just as relevant today as they ever were. You will not find any other book more relevant.
Some might say the language of the Bible is out of date or that there are too many references to farming and old world agriculture. Today, efforts to grow natural food, home gardening and other old timey concepts are making a comeback. In today’s hip, modern plastic world, we're finding ourselves focused on old world agriculture once again. These old metaphors are still relevant. The modern, Jetson's style food in a pill Hollywood sold us forty years ago just isn't happening. The text of the Bible, rich with farming, rural, organic metaphor is still relevant today, but farming metaphors are not as exciting when translated to film.
Hollywood likes spectacles, explosions and partings of the Red Sea and maybe that's why the book of Proverbs has never been made into a movie. Imagine the Fast Food toy tie-ins? The "Jonathan Talks Softly To Turn Away Wrath" action figure just won't cut it. Scenes like the famous separating of the river blocking Israel's escape from Egypt make for good film and there are other exciting stories from the Bible that can inspire one's faith and also make for a great movie experience. Stories like Sampson defeating whole armies with only God's power as his weapon and Jonah and the Whale can also give us eye-popping spectacle. Even though they are all true, they could be described as fantastic and some might say, hard to believe.
Sometimes, when someone is arguing against Christianity, they may point to supposed discrepancies (which I haven't found) in some of the miracles and other seemingly "fantastic" stories. These stories may seem too unbelievable to some. The parting of the Red Sea, Jonah's story or Sampson's superhuman strength can seem too fantastic. Some might also compare the Bible to other religious works, fantastic creation stories and ancient myths and fables. But, the Bible is no fable, but what it offers goes beyond fantastic spectacle. For people who haven't read the Bible, these fantastic stories may seem like the only thing the book has to offer, but these fantastic, yet very real stories are only half the reason to trust the Bible. The wisdom and divine truth of what the Bible says beyond the amazing stories are what should convince you. Sampson defeating the Philistines with only a donkey's jawbone make for great movies and a arm-smash jawbone arm would make for a great fast food tie-in, but the lesson of trusting God, being cautious of tempting, deceiving lips is far less spectacular.
The wisdom of Proverbs, the narrative of the Old Testament leading up to a desperately needed savior and other examples are all part of the convincing truth of the Bible. The individual struggles and the truth that God gives us through these stories are what convinces us. Someone might say, "That Jonah story is impossible to believe." Maybe it is a little fantastic, but it's true. What's not hard to believe is the lesson of human selfishness, and the display of mercy for Nineveh that God showed through this story of a prophet being eaten by a big fish. We can still relate to mercy today, right? We can also relate to selfishness.
The Ten Commandments are another good example. These rules for human conduct offer an insight that transcends the fantastic. Any doubts of men living in giant fish stomachs or five thousand hungry people being fed by a small basket of food are quelled by the relevant rules of the Ten Commandments or the timeless wisdom of Proverbs. A soft answer can still turn away wrath. Through its thread of human history, if you read it, you're left with something very believable. The characters are real and the personalities, lessons and insight into what it means to be human offer a verisimilitude beyond much of what Hollywood offers. The issues depicted in the Bible are still with us today. We still struggle with mercy and forgiveness. The family, a focus of much of the Bible, is still at the root of our lives, struggles and political discourse. The people of the Bible: Israel, Babylon and beyond are all very real and still a relevant part of our world.
The Bible can be trusted, not just because there are amazing stories, miracles and other inspiring feats of God's intervention depicted in its pages, but because of the daily guidance and relevant wisdom it imparts to us today. The miracles, wonders and amazing stories of the Bible are great and for some, they may be all that is needed to come to faith in Jesus. But, it is the truth; the wisdom and human insight that the Bible gives that are the glue. Some people think they can shake the foundations of Christianity if they can criticize the miracles, but these are only part of what God gives us in the Bible to bring us to faith. The everyday, common sense, practical wisdom of the Bible is what sticks with us beyond what our eyes can see on a Hollywood screen.
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