Edgework

It seems that some contemporary Christians make claims to much greater clarity about biblical truth than the writers of the biblical text do themselves. Take Paul for example. Sometimes he engages in complex and passionate arguments that lead to deep insights and even doxology. Yet at the same time he is quite candid about the fact that he is only “seeing through a glass darkly” (I Corinthians 13:12, KJV). The Moffat translation uses the term, “baffling reflections.” How is it possible, then, that through careful exegesis of his writings, we can imagine seeing things more clearly than Paul did in the first place?

It seems to me that the more profound the topic under discussion, the more biblical writers resort to the use of imagery, metaphors and symbols that give us glimpses of realities that can never be fully captured in precise propositional statements.

In his book, The Centrality of Metaphor to Biblical Thought (1990), Peter Macky compares this alternative way of seeing to viewing a garden from various vantage points. Imagine a misty garden which is surrounded by a high wall with small windows set in it every twenty feet or so. You move around the wall taking mental photographs of the view from each of the windows. By the time you reach your starting point the sun has dispelled some of the fog, so you make another round, gaining some perspectives you missed on the first round. Then you try to tell a friend what the garden is like based on the series of images you have seen through the wall. You realize that the view from each window is unique, contributing some special insight into the nature of the garden.  Taken together, these “snapshots” form a collage of splendour far surpassing the beauty of any individual impression. Together they point to a reality that we might see from a tower in the middle of the garden. But, as Paul would say, access to that tower will only be available down the road (I Corinthians 13:12b).

In his landmark book, Images of the Church in the New Testament (1960), Paul Minear compares this kind of image-oriented study to moving through familiar territory along routes not taken before. To illustrate his point he states that there are two ways to reach the centre of Amsterdam. Most people follow the streets so familiar to them because they have travelled them many times before. But there is another way down town, and that is by way of the ancient canal system. The views from the boat in the canal are strikingly different from those from the walkways or trams, adding new perspectives on the magnificence of the city never appreciated before. Following the canals is not to deny the possibility of other ways of viewing the city, but it does offer an alternative route. Similarly, image oriented research offers a “visual-experiential” alternative to a more “intellectual-cognitive” approach normally used to dialogue about biblical truths.

I like to describe this kind of project as the “diamond” approach. Imagine holding a very expensive diamond in your hand. As you rotate it each face of the precious stone offers its unique beauty and so demonstrating its great worth. But the full value of the gem will never be appreciated until you see the reflections of all its many faces – something impossible to do all at once. So it is with image-oriented Bible study. Each image offers a unique perspective of the topic being studied, but cannot reflect all there is to know about the subject. We can only gain a fuller appreciation of the biblical topic being studied by exploring the many and varied images or word-pictures describing that reality.

Such a round-about way of getting at truth may seem frustrating to the modern mind. But Paul Tillich reminds us that it is, in fact, a better way than concocting a list of propositionally true statements. In an essay he wrote in 1961, “The Religious Symbol,” and quoted in Anthony Thistleton’s book, New Horizons in Hermeneutics (1992), he says, “Religious symbols…are a representation of that which is unconditionally beyond the conceptual sphere…They transcend the realm ‘that is split into subjectivity and objectivity.’ …Symbol ‘grasps our unconscious as well as our conscious being. It grasps the creative ground of our being’” (577).

So Paul Minear identifies 96 images of the church in the New Testament. Each image carries with it some notion of what the church is and how we can be part of it. Four major images are: The People of God, The New Creation, The Fellowship in Faith and The Body of Christ. Minor images include: Salt of the Earth, A Letter from Christ, One Loaf of Bread, An Olive Branch, God’s Building and the Bride of Christ. No image tells the whole truth but each contributes one perspective on what it means to be the church.

When it comes to discussing the nature of the Kingdom of God, Jesus resorts to the use of parables. It is compared to a sower going forth to seed grain, like a mustard seed growing into a large plant, a hidden treasure in a field to be sought after or a net let down into the water to catch fish. Again it is a variegated approach to understanding biblical truth.

I have done considerable work studying the biblical images that speak about salvation. The Bible paints many word-pictures in an attempt to describe what happens to persons who meet Christ. They include: Being Born Again, Entering a Door, Eating Living Bread, Opening Your Eyes, Being Forgiven, Being Re-created, Being Reconciled to God and Being Converted. How foolish to latch on to one image and make that the definitive description of salvation as some interpreters like to do.

Radio and television preachers are especially skilled at defining “precisely” what each verse of the Bible means. Admitting to seeing “baffling reflections” calls for considerably more humility than that.