Junk DNA

In Brian McLaren's latest book "Everything Must Change," he has a chapter called No Junk DNA.  He begins with a story of meeting a DNA expert on a plane and striking up a conversation.  The man was passionate about studying human DNA and explained that a common misconception is that much of the material contained in a gene is junk DNA.  His belief is that what many scientists call junk is just stuff we don't understand.  Their assumption is that the part which we don't understand must not have a use and is junk, but he believes there is no junk DNA.  After the conversation, Brian reflected how the scientist's comments were relevant to how we read the Bible.

The Bible's purpose, we assume, is to explain how to go to heaven, to legitimize certain religious institutions, to define in detail universal timeless truths, to provide a detailed timeline for the end of the world, and so on. But based on that assumption, there appears to be a lot of junk revelation in there, a lot of extraneous material about history, agriculture, economics, art, ethics, and other "earthly" things, extra stuff that doesn't really matter in relation to getting souls to heaven. So what might we discover if we become willing to question that assumption? Then we could test an alternative hypothesis: that the Bible instead is the story of the partnership between God and humanity to save and transform all of human society and avert global self destruction. Perhaps if we read the Bible afresh from this perspective, a lot of the supposed filler will suddenly come alive with new importance and meaning.

It is easy for me to agree with Brian because I connect with his theology and I agree with his hypothesis, but I also found his statement challenging.  Because of my theological bent, I find areas of scripture to be junk DNA.  It is not that I ignore them, but I cannot understand how they connect with my understanding of God.  Scriptures that describe a God who calls for genocide, that support slavery, that place women in secondary roles or describe a God who ends the world in a bloody battle don't make sense.  I just drop them into my junk drawer and focus on the scriptures I like.  Maybe I need to re-examine the sections of the Bible that give me the most trouble, not because I believe God supports genocide or injustice, but because their is a benefit from wrestling with that which is difficult. These scriptures were saved because they said something important to the people trying to understand the same God I worship.  They are part of the church's DNA that has shaped my life. If I choose to ignore them and label them junk than I my understanding of God is incomplete.

Comments

[Andrew Conard]

Barry - Great post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about scripture and junk. I think that you are right, most of us have a particular section or books of the scripture that are appealing for one reason or another. We are called to struggle with all of it.

[Sherry Peyton]

I agree. I have for a long time argued that the Bible is really a peoples walk with God, how they defined Him, and how they related to Him. Viewed in this larger context, we are immeasureably enriched. Literalist approaches always necessarily fail to mine these riches by focusing on the leaf before them instead of the forest.

[William E. Salmon]

Someimes what we consider junk is our misconception what is actually going on. One of my axioms is, "The reward for the deed is found in the deed itself." This means that when I break the civil law by speeding the reward for the deed is likely a ticket. On the other hand, if I do not speed the reward for this deed is that I don't get a ticket and even the policeman likes me.
Combine this with the notion of foretelling vs. forthtelling. Foretelling is having my palm read and the reader forcasting (guessing?)my future. On the other hand forth-telling is examining the present details and forcasting what may be the local outcome.
Isaiah and Jeremiah were forth-tellers. They looked at what was happening and said, if you guys don't shape up, your neighbors are not going to put up with you much longer. The result was the Great Exile.
The interestng thing is that God is the Guarantor. But God never has to punish us because our punishment is built into the system. We behave badly and earn the anger of others. We act humane and gracious and earn the respect of our neighbors and ourselves.
Unfortunately, the pain that is inflicted gets blamed on God because of God's guarantee that,"The reward for the deed is found in the deed itself."
The lesson is, don't be too quick to dump God, or dump on God. Usually, this is only our near-sightedness and miopia at work.
Inner Peace

[Aimes]

Hey Preacher,
If I were going to toss most of what I do not understand from the bible into a "junk" drawer...it would be one short book. As I struggle to find my own voice as a writer, I think that what I find most interesting is the intagibles, rich description of experience rather than a logical (whatever that is) explication of another man's worldview and cognitive understanding. Tell me more about why slavery was the norm within the culture and how those enslaved knew a personal God - far beyond our American understanding of what that means...then we will be talking about something real and relevant...You made many fine points. Can't wait to read the book. Missing you!