On a recent Sabbath afternoon, I was spending time with some Adventist acquaintances and friends of mine. I was a bit surprised when one fellow who I don't know that well kept raising thorny questions from the Bible. The guy talked incessantly about things like spending an entire day reading Ellen White or how studying the Bible was really what we should all pour our efforts into. He then surprised me by raising what wouldn't be a theological issue for some variants of Christianity, but what certainly is to Adventism:
"Do you think Jesus made actual alcoholic wine at the wedding?"
Another guy with us said "Definitely not. Jesus would not promote drunkenness."
However the questioner pushed the issue a bit further. "The way it is written it tells us that the wedding-goers had already drunk quite a bit and they called the wine Jesus created 'the best.' People who had already been drinking would only consider alcoholic wine 'the best.'"
The second guy said "Well, however it happened, the Bible condemns drunkenness elsewhere and the Jesus we serve wouldn't have made alcohol."
As the words of Mark 8:18 came to my mind, I had a hard time keeping myself from asking "But the real question is, do you serve the Jesus of the Bible, or do you serve the Jesus that has been invented by the culture of the church you've been in your whole life?"
Later on, he asked us, "If God gave us the commandment 'thou shall not kill,' why did he then authorize the destruction of entire clans of people. He didn't just have a few people killed; he ordered the killing of men, women, children and babies." After stating this seemingly obvious Biblical paradox, the guy let us ponder for about five seconds and came up with "Well, He must have known what was best. I guess it isn't for us to be able to figure these things out now..."
If I didn't know how it is so well, I would certainly wonder what keeps people believing.
Mark 8:18(a) New American Standard Bible
HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR?
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4 comments:
The "real Jesus of the Bible" is always culturally conditioned. He is our construction, in our image. The really "real" question is, "How can we make the best Jesus possible?"
You've got to admit, the modern Jesus IS better than the one of yore. The Jesus most people I encounter believe in would support things like the civil rights movement. He also would avoid making an alcoholic beverage as his first miracle.
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