"Velvet Elvis"-DAY FIVE

Chapter 2 (Movement 2-Yoke)

"Sometimes when I hear people quote the Bible, I just want to throw up."

I'm sure critics of Rob Bell have tried to use that quote against him in the past. However, if you read further into Chapter 2 of "Velvet Elvis", you'll see that Bell is referring to people who misinterpret scriptures to support their own agendas. Think about this...there was a time when people used scriptures in the Bible to defend slavery!!

Here's another example. My parents had friends a long time ago who took the verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers", dropped the phrase "with unbelievers", and used the remaining verse ("be ye not unequally yoked together...") to justify their claim that interracial marriages were a sin!!

I think I'm starting to feel queasy!!!

The fact of the matter is the Bible is an open-ended book and needs to be interpreted. The goal a Christian should have when doing this is to get as close to the intended meaning as possible.

Read what Bell says about the ancient rabbis:

"Now the ancient rabbis understood that the Bible is open-ended and has to be interpreted. And they understood their role in the community was to study and meditate and discuss and pray and then make those decisions. Rabbis are like interpreters, helping people understand what God is saying to them through the text and what it means to live out the text.

Different rabbis had different sets of rules, which were really different lists of what they forbade and what they permitted. A rabbi's set of rules and lists, which was really that rabbi's interpretation of how to live the Torah, was called that rabbi's yoke. When you followed a certain rabbi, you were following him because you believed that rabbi's set of interpretations were the closest to what God intended through the scriptures. And when you followed that rabbi, you were taking up that rabbi's yoke.

One rabbi even said his yoke was easy (Matthew 11:30).

The intent then of a rabbi having a yoke wasn't just to interpret the words correctly; it was to live them out. In the Jewish context, action was always the goal. It still is."

Bell says that a lot of rabbis would teach about the "yoke" of "a well-respected rabbi who had come before them." However, there were those times when a rabbi would come along and say that he had a new interpretation of the Torah. Other people would question the validity of what this rabbi was saying and wonder how anyone could tell that what he said was the truth. Bell describes how a rabbi's teachings were validated:

"One of the protections for the rabbi in this case was that two other rabbis with authority would lay hands on the rabbi and essentially validate him. They would be saying, 'We believe this rabbi has authority to make new interpretations.' That's why Jesus' baptism was so important. John the Baptist was a powerful teacher and prophet who was saying publicly that he wasn't worthy to carry Jesus' sandals.

"And a voice from Heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

A second voice affirmed Jesus' unique calling. The voice of God. Amazing."

I'll continue talking about Chapter 2 at another time, but let me say this...if you plan on reading "Velvet Elvis" for yourself...be prepared to read these chapters more than once...there's a LOT going on!!! *lol*

Thanks for reading.