The Bible

D. Dulin

One of the most important principles that modern Unitarianism holds is that God is known in a myriad of ways: for some it is revelation through scripture; for others it is the revelation of the universe itself. This is why we do not claim the Bible, or any scripture for that matter, as the ultimate authority of religion. We've always understood that the ultimate authority is one's conscience. Why? Because God is within our conscience. "We see God around us because He dwells within us" -- another quote from Channing. It is this unique perspective that always drew me to the classical Unitarian faith, a faith that stresses love of God and love of neighbor, doing what is good for the sake of humanity, and "salvation by character", rather than rigid dogma and damnation.

The Biblical miracles are a mystery. I do not know if they are true or are simply the mythological additives of a superstitious people (more likely this is so). Most Unitarians don't take the supernatural parts of the Bible literally because they conflict with our modern understanding of the natural world, as revealed through science. I, for one, take the Biblical miracles figuratively, not literally. Did Jesus' body physically resurrect? I doubt it. But I believe his soul did. For a lot of Unitarians, the Resurrection of Jesus is a symbol for the power and universal truth of his teachings, that they will live on in our hearts forever. Was Jesus God? No, because he never claimed to be. I do believe Jesus was one of God's instruments of Love, and in that sense, the "Word" of God. In the person of Jesus mankind saw a manifestation of God they'd never been serious enough to find, a God of love who dwells within them and among them. It is these differing opinions that makes me disassociate with traditional Christian religion, as a matter of principle. I think Christianity has been on a wrong road for a very long time, but I believe in the freedom to believe what you deem right.

Some of you may think that Unitarians do nothing but "believe what they want to believe in." It may seem like this, but it's slightly incorrect. It's not that we believe what we WANT to believe in, rather, we believe what we NEED to believe in. I honestly have no need to believe that Jesus physically rose from the dead, or that he was God in the flesh. Those beliefs don't get me any closer to God, so I discard them. What gets me closer to God is living the Christian Spirit - the moral and prayerful examples of Jesus. I need to believe in loving God and loving neighbor, because out of that love springs all love. Why love God? Because he is the giver of life.

You may want to ask me: "Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?" My answer would be: "No, I don't believe in mediators. But I do accept him as my Teacher." I do believe Jesus died for us, for our sins, as an example. I'm not sure if his death was the means to make some kind of supernatural band-aid between God and man; I don't think it's necessary to believe that, since I don't believe God is ever or ever was separated from us. His death wasn't to bring God back to us, but to bring us back to God. This has always been the Unitarian position towards Jesus, and I think it is a beautiful and pure position.

The Bible, we all know, is a mass conglomeration of cultural history, religious ordinances, fables, myth, poetry, biography, and spiritual insights. Some of the most beautiful parts of the Bible are the books of Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and, of course, the Gospels. Is the Bible a revelation from God? I don't know, there's no way to answer that objectively. But we can say the Bible is founded on some kind of inspiration. Something inspired mankind, at least the Hebrews, to formulate their religious culture into oral traditions, and then later in written form, hence the Bible. I think all inspiration is divine in the sense that it isn't created within us, but is placed within us, much like a light-bulb flipping on over your head. Inspiration is the hallmark of religion and religious texts.

I'm no Biblical scholar or exegete, but I know a thing or two about reading the Bible for yourself. The Bible is addressed to us as thinking creatures, as creatures who rely on reason and trust (faith), as creatures who naturally must lean towards progress and evolution both in our thinking and in our acting. I strongly urge you, if you don't already, to rely on your own reasoning and faith to understand scripture. If you rely on another's viewpoint, you lose a part of yourself to conformity. A preacher is no holier than you. A theologian can only speak so much gibberish. It is up to you to find what is the good and what is the bad in the Bible, relying on history, culture, and experience to guide you in your inquiries. Do not accept what others say the Bible is supposed to be, just take the Bible for what it is, a library of imperfect spiritual books open to reading, digesting, questioning, and re-evaluating.

Some may be tentative about treating the Bible as a mere book, like Moby Dick or Huck Finn. I treat the Bible in this way, but it doesn't degrade the idea that the Bible is sacred because of what it says. I don't fear rejecting the Bible as the ULTIMATE authority in the Judeo-Christian tradition, because I simply do not think that God is stupid enough to limit us to a book, written in human language, prone to mistranslation, corruption, and cultural and mythological plagiarism. Books are good things, but they burn over the flames.

But isn't the Bible the Word of God? That's up to you to decide. I believe the Bible is the inspiration of God, but certainly not His literal message, for "if God has spoken, why is the world not convinced?" (Shelly)