Croque-monsieur

Why do I get angry when I read or hear a biblicistic interpretation of the Gospel? I get irritated when I hear somebody quoting a paragraph of the Bible and concluding “You see? Don’t do X! Because God himself tells us that he doesn’t want us to do X.” My fundamental difference with them is the role of the Bible in Christianity. I write my fingers to the bone to explain them that this is the wrong way of using the Bible. And then I wonder why they just don’t seem to understand me. Am I too nit-picky?

This Saturday Annely probably opened a door in my heart towards the answer. She was preparing croque monsieurs and said “Isn’t it strange that French people invented a separate name for what is actually just a hot sandwich with ham and cheese?”. I replied “Indeed. But that’s culture. Giving names to things. That’s what God wants us to do.” At this point she exclaimed: “Hey! Did you listen to what you just said?”

Yes, of course! I should stop offending people whose language differs from mine when they talk about God! Some articles on my Human World website sound as if I had moved to Scotland and would ask my new neighbours to please pronounce the words correctly.

Does that mean that I should stop writing and talking about how I understand the Bible? Should I shut down my Human World website? This would be the easiest option. Only two commands to type in a terminal on my web server. This seems a reasonable solution. Realize and accept that one should study at least a few years of theology and psychology before opening their mouth. Because writing about God can hurt others.

Another option is to remove offending language from my articles. That’s much more work. Just have a look at Faith schisms and then ask yourself how to say this without offending the one or the other side. And nobody pays me for doing it. Oh Jesus, have mercy!

Monday, August 10, 2020