{"id":4159,"date":"2009-07-21T12:06:31","date_gmt":"2009-07-21T16:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christandpopculture.com\/?p=4159"},"modified":"2009-07-21T12:06:31","modified_gmt":"2009-07-21T16:06:31","slug":"the-year-of-living-biblically-what-does-true-biblical-literalism-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2009\/07\/the-year-of-living-biblically-what-does-true-biblical-literalism-look-like\/","title":{"rendered":"'The Year of Living Biblically': What Does True Biblical Literalism Look Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A friend recently loaned me A. J. Jacobs\u2019s 2007 book The Year of Living Biblically<\/em>, a humorous memoir about the author\u2019s year of trying to follow biblical mandates literally. In tone and subject matter, the book bears a lot of similarity to Daniel Radosh\u2019s Rapture Ready!<\/em><\/a>, which I read last summer: each is authored by a secular Jew fascinated by, though also skeptical about, religious culture in America, and each author ends up finding much to admire, as well as mock. The key difference is that, while Radosh merely deals with pop-culture expressions of Christian faith, Jacobs takes on Judeo-Christian scripture itself\u2014God\u2019s self-revelation, in the eyes of the faithful. It\u2019s a riskier endeavor, not simply because Jacobs is treading on holier ground, but also because, frankly, biblical interpretation is hard, even for those steeped in religious tradition, well-read in commentaries, and guided by the Holy Spirit. While I may not agree with Jacobs\u2019s hermeneutic\u2014he ultimately opts for what he calls a \u201ccafeteria-style\u201d approach to religion\u2014I can\u2019t deny his chutzpah. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Jacobs admits to three motivations behind his project: (1) to get a book out of it (he\u2019s honest\u2014one of the Big Ten does say \u201cThou shalt not lie,\u201d after all!); (2) for his own spiritual quest, motivated in part by wanting his young son to grow up with some sort of tradition; (3) to explore various manifestations of biblical literalism. In some ways, (2) balances out (3): while Jacobs wants to prove that even those who claim to take the Bible literally in fact do some picking and choosing, he also seems genuinely concerned to find the true reason behind biblical laws. He makes a show of literal obedience to some of the laws not even observed by contemporary Orthodox Judaism, such as the stoning of adulterers (he flicks a pebble at a dirty old man), a task which seems designed to highlight the irrationality and the impossibility of interpreting the Bible literally. However, there are also moments when Jacobs finds genuine appreciation for God\u2019s mercy and compassion as expressed through a scriptural injunction.<\/p>\n

Jacobs\u2019s claim that he will attempt to obey the Bible literally is a little misleading, since he admits that interpreting every single passage literally would \u201cresult in missing body parts.\u201d He clarifies his approach thus: \u201cI will try to find the original intent of the biblical rule or teaching and follow that to the letter. If the passage is unquestionably figurative\u2014and I\u2019m going to say the eunuch one is\u2014then I won\u2019t obey it literally. But if there\u2019s any doubt whatsoever\u2014and most often there is\u2014I will err on the side of being literal.\u201d Or, as he says elsewhere, he will apply Scalia\u2019s Constitutional methodology to the Bible.<\/p>\n

The thing is, if two millennia of Christians (and even more millennia of Jews) haven\u2019t been able to agree which passages are literal and which are figurative, it seems like a fairly futile\u2014not to mention hubristic\u2014quest to think that one individual can, unaided, decipher the original intent of a particularly tricky scripture. It\u2019s as if Jacobs is trying to out-Sola-Scriptura Luther himself. Jacobs does ask the advice of a wide array of Jewish and Christian clergy and academics, but he largely portrays himself as going it alone. He seems to ignore large chunks of scripture about the vital importance of corporate worship\u2014especially in the New Testament, where the Church is the Body of Christ<\/strong>. (And I\u2019m not trying to argue that church tradition is equally authoritative with scripture\u2014I\u2019m just pointing out that scripture itself has a lot to say about the Church, and if you\u2019re claiming to be following the Bible literally, you can\u2019t ignore the communal aspect of obedience. Jacobs barely even mentions the Epistles, however.)<\/p>\n

To be fair, Jacobs does admit that he\u2019s taking a different approach with regard to the New Testament, as opposed to the Old, because by the time he reaches the New Testament portion of his biblical year (he takes a roughly chronological approach), he\u2019s already learned to value his Jewish heritage more seriously. He recognizes the dilemma before him: is it even possible to obey the New Testament without having faith in Jesus as Lord? I respect Jacobs\u2019s honesty in raising this question, and his decision that he can\u2019t, without becoming a Christian, truly honor the original intent of the New Testament. And so he revises his plan: for the New Testament portion of his year, he will attempt personal practice less and group observation more. He will at least try to understand how various groups of Christians live out their obedience to the gospel.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this decision does result in perpetuating the Old Testament vs. New Testament divide that even many Christians have a hard time reconciling. Of course, since Jacobs is coming from a Jewish cultural background, if not actual Jewish belief, it\u2019s understandable why he would want to differentiate between the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. I just wish, selfishly, that his approach didn\u2019t lend fodder to the Christians who talk of an \u201cOld Testament God\u201d and a \u201cNew Testament God,\u201d as if they\u2019re not the same. I\u2019d like to see more exploration of the Jesus who came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it. In the Old Testament section, Jacobs does at least provide examples of Christian interpretations of Old Testament laws, and he explains the common Christian distinction between \u201cmoral laws\u201d and \u201critual laws.\u201d But his decision to treat the Testaments differently does prevent him from using one of the most helpful interpretive questions at a Christian\u2019s disposal: how does this passage reflect the heart of God, as revealed throughout the entirety of scripture?<\/p>\n

So, is <\/strong>The Year of Living Biblically<\/strong><\/em> a book that will help or harm the cause of Christians, particularly evangelicals?<\/strong> I hope that secular readers will follow something of the transformation that Jacobs describes in his reactions to a popular email forward<\/a>\u2014the one written to either Dr. Laura or a conservative evangelical minister (depending on your source) that basically tells the audience that, if they\u2019re going to interpret the condemnation of homosexual acts literally, they also ought to stone people, sell them into slavery, practice animal sacrifice, and never touch a football because it\u2019s made of pigskin. Jacobs writes, \u201cThe first time I read this email, I thought: Excellent. What a great critique of those who follow the Bible literally, but haphazardly.\u201d The third time he encounters the forward, however, six months into his biblical year, he is less enthusiastic, even a little defensive: \u201cI wanted to send the author a note. Yes, the mixing fibers sounds berserk, but maybe the emailer should talk to Mr. Berkowitz [an Orthodox Jewish fiber-inspector who will come to your home and make sure you haven\u2019t mixed any linen and wool] about the glory of following things we can\u2019t explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the best things about Jacobs\u2019s book, even in its irreverence, is its celebration of the mystery of obedience. Even though, as Christians, our obedience may look different from Jacobs\u2019s brand of biblical literalism, we can still learn much from his developing trust in God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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