Start with Love

The Goat Herder’s Guide can be intimidating, bewildering, and frustrating to read. Most Christians avoid reading it, except for a few chosen passages. I was a part of a small group that numbered about 18, give or take. One evening, we discussed who actually read their bible. There were, at most, half a dozen of us. This is understandable, for there can be vast sections that contrast against our lived experience. There are awful things that are done by God and in his name within the Guide’s pages. We are told, at least within common doctrine, that these descriptions are factual and accurate. It is the sanest choice to simply close the cover and await further instruction.

         For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when completeness comes,
what is in part disappears.

 If I may make a suggestion. This is in keeping with the previous postings I have made regarding the Goat Herder’s Guide. When reading scripture, one is best served by having a perspective. As stated in an earlier post the Bible is intended to draw us into contemplation and conversation with God. Thus, when I have the perspective that this is all nonsense, what I read is all nonsense. When, I read desiring to understand what is on the pages, then it becomes less nonsense and more enlightening. My suggestion is that we take one section within its pages to use as means to understanding the rest.

          For myself, there are a few of these passages. The first, is the Sermon on the Mount. For me this encapsulates all of what the Goat Herder’s Guide says. When I read a passage, I reference the Sermon. At times, more often that I like, this requires that I stop reading and contemplate its meaning; what it is saying to me.

          I would suggest that you start with Love. Paul’s discourse on Love in 1^st Corinthians 13, for me, is a definitive perspective in reading scripture. I agree with a friend of mine, if God is Love, then this passage defines God. Using this as means of viewing scripture is brutal not only on the Bible, but on our doctrines we derive from it. 

So faith, hope, love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

           The next suggestion I would offer is do not expect a perspective that makes all of scripture line up into one cohesive concept. Life is messy, life is convoluted, life is never straight forward. While we might look for straight lines, and clarity, neither life, nor the Goat Herder’s Guide provides them. Remember the Goat Herder’s Guide is a narrative of a relationship between God and his creation. As well, it is the history of a small nation that kept getting ransacked by larger countries. It is written by us, and reflects that we are part of the story. That narrative is messy, confusing, and at times distressing, but within it is the story of people working out their faith with God. As such, it carries wisdom.

          The other suggestion is that we keep aware that although it is God inspired, it also written from the perspective of the author. Think of what is written as an invitation to view the world as the author sees it. More than anything else, the Goat Herder’s Guide shows us how those who came before us worked out spiritual principles. In doing this, understand that there is more grey than we are comfortable with, such is life!

 But remember: START WITH LOVE!

 Anyways, that is my opinion.