I am standing on turtles, I think

Steve started, what he said is to be, a series of sermons on biblical interpretation. Since then, many thoughts have run through my mind. I remember, vividly, taking a class at Harding, Principles of Biblical Interpretation. I remember thinking, "Why are we not discussing these issues openly in every congregation?" All of my life, I had been taught conclusions drawn from the Scriptures-- conclusions about the proper form and structure of a Christian congregation, conclusions about social issues like divorce, premarital sex, and homosexuality, conclusions about what God expects from me regarding church attendance, prayer, and giving, and on and on.

As I sat in that class at Harding, I realized that for the first time, I was being led in a serious analysis of how the Bible student arrives at such conclusions. The class did not begin to answer all the questions I had, but it was refreshing to see the discussion move to a deeper, more promising level. I was enthusiastic, to say the least. Hermeneutics was my new favorite word and I was committed to learning as much as possible.

Quickly, I realized that most folks did not share my interest in the subject. That has always been hard for me to understand. I cannot understand a person who would fight vigoriously for a belief, but have no serious interest in understanding how they came to hold such a belief.

Over the years, I have come to think of this phenomenon, psychologically. Let me explain with a weak reference to Greek mythology:

The Greek man understood that his footing was supported by the earth upon which he was standing. Being the inquisitive type, he wondered what supported the earth. It was eventually common to believe that the earth was upheld by the back of giants called, Titans. The next question is, What supports the Titans? My memory of Greek mythology fails me here, I think it was believed that they stood upon some sort of turtles. I have no idea upon what the turtles were standing. The point is this--Eventually the Greek man who so greatly desires knowledge is forced to admit, "I have no freaking idea what ultimately supports my footing."

So it can go with biblical interpretation. We are conveniently nearsighted when it comes to serious inquiry of our beliefs. This, you see, is a psychological defense mechanism employed by our unconscious mind. Because...intuitively, we sense that my our most cherished beliefs might be deconstructed by the harsh tools and techniques of serious biblical interpretation; therefore, I refuse to even go there!

Now, please understand, I am stating this in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but I believe there is a definite element of truth here, as well. I am firmly convinced that the main motivation of folks to be resistance to serious study of disciplines like biblical interpretation or church history is because, intuitively or sub-consciously, they recognize that such knowledge will undermine some of their cherished convictions.