Why Blood-Stained Storybook?

I'm writing this blog to prove to people, others as well as myself, that the following misconceptions about the Bible are, in fact, misconceptions, and as such are not true:

1. The Bible is Boring

The Bible isn't boring. Sometimes I wish it were so I wouldn't have to feel guilty for neglecting to read it. If a book is boring, my rule is, you shouldn't have to read it, and you definitely shouldn't have to pretend it is interesting just to keep up appearances. A lot of nice Bible-believing people (like me) have had to endure this very feeling, namely that the Bible is boring but shh shh, nobody say anything, ahem the Bible is the Word of God, all people should read it! Cheers and applause from other nice Bible-believing people. Anyway. My point here is that none of this nonsense should even be necessary. We shouln't feel obligated to defend a boring book because the Bible is not a boring book. We also should feel a little silly if our excuse for not reading the Bible is that it is boring. Anyone who despairs of the Bible's boring-ness has clearly not been reading it lately... at least not at great length.

Truth be told, the Bible is interesting, for one reason among many others: the Bible is a storybook. And as humans, we love stories. Even a boring story is generally more interesting to most of us than an interesting instructions manual. Now, the Bible has been called an instructions manual before, too, and I'm not about to deny that there are instructions in the Bible. This may be why it has developed a reputation for being dull reading. However, I'd like to suggest - and the evidence is on my side, I might add - that the Bible is predominantly characterized by its narrative content. Even the more instructional of its sections are set within the context of a greater narrative, be it the story of a particular community or simply the great story of the universe. Whatever: it's a storybook, okay? Storybooks have some appeal. They are usually at least moderately interesting, regardless of their target audience. Even cute little children's storybooks will ocasionally be browsed by adults. Which brings us to another famous misconception about the Bible...!

2. The Bible is a Cute Little Children's Storybook

No. The Bible, meaning the complete Bible in its unabridged form, should be rated R. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the Bible is a pretty PG kind of deal, and none of it is intentionally obscene; but there are clear forays into R-rated themes, such as sex and graphic violence. Technically, this should merit the Bible an R rating, since last thing I knew even a film with the most benign, family-friendly trend throughout would have to contain some kind of warning up front on account of one or two disturbing sequences.

Not only are there more than one or two such disturbing sequences in none other than the B-I-B-L-E, but intense thematic elements pervade its pages and, while they certainly carry enough straightforward simplicity to appeal to the heart of a child, they are actually designed to remain relevant beyond adolescence. Believe it or not.

3. The Bible is to Be Left As Is - No Commentary, No Exploration

This last misconception is fostered mainly by religious people, some of whom feel the need to seal the Word of God in an airtight container and produce models for display only at appropriate moments, painstakingly reproduced from the original. Somehow, treating the word-for-word quotations of the Bible with kid gloves is supposed to ensure its continued purity and holiness. Again, I would object. The Bible was never intended to be a static document. Christians throughout the ages have found great joy in wading in among its stories and messages with the eyes of the heart wide open, ready to take in not just the words on the surface, but the images, the ideas, the meanings beyond. In other words, it's okay to occasionally paraphrase what is being said in Scripture; it's okay to sometimes put Scripture into poetic form, novel form, song form. It's okay to use your imagination, your senses, to explore the story of God. Which is what I'm going to be doing in this blog.

There won't be a lot of verbatim Scripture excerpts in my reflections. Read with a deeper vision, however, and you'll recognize the stories. As I write and rewrite the tales of the Bible in my own quirky, artistic style, I know the process will intensify my spiritual, physical, mental, emotional appreciation for God's Word. And my hope is that, along the way, any readers who happen to stumble between the lines of my endeavors will encounter something of the beauty and fury and love of a glorious God.

Welcome to Blood-Stained Storybook.