Q

uestion

97

How can we begin to take the Bible literally

when it seems to contradict itself so often?

Rebecca Bowman Woods

Who is...

?

Rebecca Bowman Woods

If I could live anywhere, I’d choose the Florida Keys.

A.

During my ordination interviews, I was asked my views on the

Bible’s authorship. My response: While the Bible is sacred scrip-

ture, humanity’s grubby fi ngerprints are all over it. Fortunately, the

committee liked my answer.

This may seem like a paradox, but for me it’s easier to take the Bible

seriously by viewing it as a joint venture between God and people rather than

picturing God dictating every word and expecting us to read it literally.

Contradictions arise because people wrote it with different theological

perspectives across a period of hundreds of years. Some authors tell the same

stories again, in different ways. For example, the history of Israel in 1 and

2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings is retold in 1 and 2 Chronicles by an author who

changed some of the specifi cs to convey his own views and to answer ques-

tions of his own era.

The four gospels tell of Jesus’ earthly ministry but the events aren’t in

the same sequence, and when the gospel writers include the same story, the

details are off. And the apostle Paul of the book of Acts is not the same Paul

who emerges from reading his letters.

People try to harmonize or overlook these differences, but to the inquisi-

tive reader, they are valuable clues about the authors and their situations. Yes,

the biblical authors (and some of the copyists who added to and subtracted

from the manuscripts) had agendas, biases, and perspectives, just as all of

us do.

Even though biblical stories differ, what the tellers and authors had in

common was the experience of God—through personal encounters and the

sacred teachings, writings, and traditions of faith communities.