Plotz is the editor of Slate, an award-winning Web magazine that started in 1996. About three years ago he initiated a project called Blogging the Bible, in which he took a fresh—and in most cases, brand new—look at the Hebrew Bible. From Genesis through the prophets he chronicles (pun intended) his reactions to stories he thought he learned in Hebrew school. He also shows his dismay over tales he never considered would be part of a book studied by people who support “family values.” His blog is now in book form.
I think its best use for evangelical Christians, and especially church leaders, is as a fresh take on Scripture passages and Bible stories that may have become too familiar. Reading Plotz’s view on the stories and verses he is seriously encountering for the first time is as refreshing as seeing a child open presents at Christmas.
An intriguing voice
Plotz’s voice is intriguing as well. He lends a personable, witty, hyper-hip panache to his insights, which serves to endear him even to a Christian reader. This, despite the fact that he wholeheartedly dismisses most of the facts and faith upon which the Bible is based.
In chapter 12, Plotz relates his trip to Israel to see some of the places he has read about in the Bible and says this about the historicity of the book: “Archaeologists have discovered no significant evidence for Noah’s flood, for Sodom and Gomorrah, or for Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. They don’t believe that Jews were enslaved in Egypt, wandered in the desert, or even conquered the promised land. … the most celebrated biblical heroes remain stuck in the world of myth.”
But before you can get your hackles up too much, he calls Ezekiel God’s Whole-Grain Hippie Prophet “who has clearly been sprinkling something special on his matzo and brisket.” And he describes the wheel in a wheel vision as “a milestone in automobile and hip-hop history: They are the world’s first spinners.”
You see what I mean about a fresh take—especially on Bible passages I don’t think most preachers have ever ventured to use.
The book isn’t really the best read straight through. It functions better as a sort of outsider’s commentary to read along with the Bible. It is a sharp and penetrating view into a de-churched society that views religion in general as a lifestyle choice, and Christianity in particular as a personal option. That’s probably a good view to grasp if these are the people you intend to welcome into your church.
Here is what Plotz writes about Psalm 111:
“’The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ That wouldn’t be a popular sentiment today. We’d replace ‘fear’ with ‘love.’ Still, it’s very true to the Bible. So far, God has been much keener on scaring us than hugging us.”
And this fear is nowhere near Plotz. He unabashedly criticizes the Bible, its characters (admittedly most are quite deserving of this criticism) and God constantly. After reading the biblical account of The Flood, Plotz writes of God, “Until now, God has been odd, a little scatterbrained, and inconsistent. But now I’m wondering if He’s just cruel.”
Faith eludes author
Though in the end he becomes a Bible evangelist, telling everyone to pick up the book that has shaped so much of the world, the faith of the Bible continues to elude Plotz.
“I began the Bible as a hopeful, but indifferent, agnostic. I wished for God, but I didn’t really care. I leave the Bible as a hopeless and angry agnostic. I’m brokenhearted about God,” he writes in the final chapter. However, he confesses that he is also more engaged with the issue of faith than ever before, and still interested in thinking through the big questions.
He writes that he is glad to have learned the real version of the Bible and not just the flannel-graph stories. But he dismisses both the Christian response—that redemption comes in the New Testament—and the Jewish response—that God cannot be understood.
He writes that he was hoping to be awed and inspired by reading the Bible. Spirituality as entertainment will always disappoint, I think.
What may help is a better approach—not just for Plotz, but all of us—for Christians, agnostic Bible readers, and Jews. Why should disbelief oblige God to prove his omnipotence? How absurdly myopic.
On the other hand, this same smiting creator of the universe condescends to reveal himself to us. Not if we stand hand on hip scoffing, but if we can offer up the smallest speck of faith. That’s a lot more difficult than mocking skepticism. But “… without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).
Ultimately, no matter which version of the Good Book you adhere to, belief is a matter of faith.
by: Joe Kemper 6/3/09