I have noticed the trend where people believe that having faith means that one is unreasonable. I strongly object to this kind of accusation. I am both reasonable and a person of faith.
The thing I hear most often is that Christians ignore science and think that the world is only a few thousand years old. I can assure you that most Christians do not think this way. That particular oddity arose from people saying that the Bible is 100% accurate. In actuality, that is one of those "yes" and "no" propositions. Is the Bible the word of God and does it accurately relate the things God has revealed about himself to humans? Yes. Is the Bible historically complete and scientifically accurate? No. There are a lot of events in ancient history which were not included in the Bible. The Bible was never intended to be scientifically accurate.
The best way to look at the Bible (scripture) is to consider some important things about the context in which it is written. The first thing to recognize is that it has numerous human authors spread out over centuries and geographical areas. The author of each book wrote based upon his understanding of the world around him, his cultural conditions, the circumstances in which he lived, and with a particular audience and purpose in mind. Thus, we have to ask some questions; Who wrote this? When did this person write it? Who was he writing to? Why did he write it? Where did he live? What was the historical context of this person's life? What style of literature is this?
When we look at the text critically, we can discover the underlying truths that the author wanted us to get at. For example, Genesis was a written account of stories which had been passed down for many centuries. The book is sometimes allegory and sometimes takes a historical tone. The purpose is to set down a narrative of man's relationship to God in creation and specifically to set down a historical sketch of the Jewish people. The essential truth of the creation story is that God created everything from nothing. That does not go against reason, for science has proven that there was a time when nothing existed. The creation story describes living things of increasing complexity coming into existence. This is not counter to the fossil record. Did these things occur in six days as we currently recon them? I doubt we are meant to view it this way, as the literature takes the form common to allegorical poetry of its time. That which is true remains true.
Another thing to remember is that the genealogies in Genesis commonly skipped generations. A person who is listed as 'begat' by someone could be a grandson or great-grandson. Just as we may have a hard time recalling more than a few generations of our family tree, over centuries the most notable would have been the ones most easily recalled. The writer wasn't trying to be evasive or dishonest, he was just listing everyone he could think of from the stories his family passed down. That doesn't make what he said untrue. It is only as complete as the collective memories of centuries worth of ancestors. Even without the full genealogy, we can sense that there was a progression from common notable ancestors to the people the book was written for (the Jewish people).
These are just two examples of ways in which we can make an honest textual criticism of what we read. Considering the context helps us to glean important ideas from the text. The themes of scripture include the important aspects of our faith. We believe that God is an eternal being who is the cause of all existence. We believe He directed creation and designed people to be in relationship with Him. People broke faith with Him. God promised to send a redeemer who would make the way for man's relationship with Him to be repaired. God came to earth as a man in the person of Jesus. Jesus taught people how to live rightly and made of Himself an eternal sacrifice which would give all people peace with God. Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many people, thus establishing that He was, indeed who He claimed to be. He taught his followers how to be in communion with him and how to bring others into that relationship.
If one studies scripture about these things, one can find the patterns and themes that constantly weave themselves through the Bible. There is a consistent message throughout. Many things that appeared contradictory to me at one time have become easier to understand as I consider the human role in writing scripture.
Yes, I believe scripture is the Word of God. Yes, I believe that truths about God can be gleaned from its pages. No, I do not believe that every word is meant to be taken literally. It seems apparent to me that the writers did not intend this to be so.
With that said, I believe that we have many excellent guides to understanding the scriptures, including the early Church Fathers and historians.
One does not have to ignore his rational side to be a person of faith. Nothing that has been discovered by science reverses the truths I can observe about God by study and by experience. I am certain that faith has made me a better individual. Even if one ignores the spiritual implications, one cannot deny the good that is associated with those who follow their Christian beliefs faithfully. No one can be faulted for being loving, self controlled, charitable, kind and faithful. Individuals who do not display such virtue are not acting the way that Christians should. I hope that we will be judged by those who are striving to live up to the ideals of our faith rather than by those who are Christian only in name.
