It might help to imagine a fire.
It’s small for the number of people who are sitting on the ground around it. Their bodies seem to hold back the almost perfect darkness of the desert night, but inside the circle the fire’s light dances warmly on each face. They’re eating and talking; they seem happy and relaxed. Above them stars bristle brightly, unchallenged by the manmade light of future centuries.
This is where we will start- with this group of nomads sitting in the sand over 3000 years ago. Not because they’re
the beginning of our story, but because they’re the first to write it down; because they were the ones it was given to. It was their ancient lives that the strange opening of our tale was meant to shape and inform.
“Why don’t we just jump back to the beginning…the real beginning?” you ask.
Well, we will. You’ll see, but to understand the story that God actually gave we need to hear it through the ears of those for whom it was originally given. They lived in a different world from ours. Their lives were concerned with things we have never considered. Ours are filled with concerns that would mean nothing to them.
The question of “what’s with this stuff” is a good example. When we ask it, we’re likely asking about atoms and energy waves, big bangs, evolving monkey-men and the exact age of the whole shebang. None of that would have occurred to our nomads. When they looked upward into the night sky they saw a huge bowl, above which sat the throne of God. When we glance heavenward we’re likely to think about vast cold blackness and gaseous stellar wombs.
Different worlds create different questions.
When God gave these people his story, it was to answer their questions- not ours. Do you see?
So, what kind of questions did their world generate? If we leave them behind and travel westward a few hundred miles we’re sure to come upon another circle of friends. The children in this group are listening intently as an old turbaned man begins a story. The rest remain quiet but seem more interested in silently working on the many repairs a caravan camp like their’s requires. They’ve heard the story many times since they were kids- as their parents had heard it and their parent’s before that.
Let’s move in closer…and listen.
“In the beginning there was only the sea- raging, hateful and uncontrolled.” The old man wiggled his fingers as he swept his arms from side to side. “...a hideous hag whose angry arms whipped and swirled into frenzied storms. From her fertile belly Chaos brought forth her glorious children- the gods and goddesses of our great city”
A child sat up proudly, “Marduk!” he said
“That’s right. Marduk was one of her children, but he’s not part of the story yet” the old man affirmed.
“It wasn’t long before she was at war with her children, seeking to devour them and bring all things back into her gnawing belly. She called to her demonic children to aid 
her in wiping the divine ones from the heavens- their names be praised.”
“Marduk be praised”, the child added, once again sitting upright, gripping his dirty toes in his hands.
“That’s right” the old man nodded “Marduk be praised. For it was difficult to find a champion among the holy ones to stand and fight against the fury of the hag and her lashing waves”
“Marduk did!” the child exclaimed.
“That’s right. Marduk led his brothers and sisters against the ancient one’s fury. He beat her back and slew her demonic champion. He formed the earth, sky, sun and stars from his lifeless body.”
The child grinned. He loved that part.
“In return for his valor, the holy ones made him Lord of their number”
“And of our city” the boy added.
“That’s right, and of Babylon.”
This story and its numerous variations formed the common understanding of those living in the Ancient Near East. Everyone- everyone, that is, but the people to whom our nomads belonged- understood the world around them according to the assumptions of this story:
Reality consisted of two equal powers- good and evil, order and chaos. These two have battled eternally. One would triumph for a time, only to be conquered by the other…only to be overturned by the other….
Order is a result of violence and conflict…
And even the gods are part of this process. There is no ultimate victory or escape from this conflict- even for them.
These were the “rules” that governed the lives of men, women and children of that place and time. No one dreamed of questioning them. No one could imagine why you would want to do so.
This is the story that our nomads are intent on rejecting. They tell of creation’s origin in a radically different way.
But this is the point you need to see- if you want to understand the central truths of our story, you need to note where it collides with the commonly held story being told by everyone else. When you find them disagreeing, you need to pay attention.
“But isn’t it all truth?” I can hear you asking.
Well, yes. Certainly! But only if you understand it properly. If I say I have a frog in my throat, do you believe me? It depends, doesn’t it? If I mean that I have swallowed a warty amphibian, then you probably shouldn’t take me seriously.
Let me try it another way. When Jesus told the famous parable of the Prodigal Son, was it true? It depends on what you are asking. Are you asking about the truthfulness of the image of God that this story presents or are you asking about whether someone could have recorded the whole event on a video camera if they had been present? Are you asking “Is God really like that?” or are you asking “Where did that ungrateful boy live and who was his mother?”
One set of questions understands the point of the story. The other does not.
Many people have understood the opening scenes of our story in just such a “documentary way.” If that is true of you, I don’t want to discourage you from continuing to do so. It may be that a video journalist present at the Beginning would have captured events precisely as they are chronicled by our story teller. Nothing we have discussed would deny that in any way, but…such details are not the point of the story. It was given in order to reveal our God to us. It was not meant to be an insider’s cheat sheet for a game of Cosmic Trivial Pursuit: “How old is the earth?” or “How many seconds did it take to create all things?”
Doesn’t it seem more than a little arrogant to believe that the story could only be truly understood by those who would live 3000 years after it was written - people with the necessary cultural and scientific understanding to ask the appropriate questions that this text was meant to answer… people like, well, you and me.
Our nomads were the intended audience. They understood its message completely. We can be molded by that message, as well; but only if we hear the same message- only if we hear through their ears.
BOOK ONE
Preface / Intro / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5
No comments:
Post a Comment