Like any other ancient text, what the Bible doesn't say is almost more interesting than what it does. Hidden away in there are all kinds of assumptions, the things that were taken as understood without question at the time of writing.
And it seems surprising that God hasn't taken the chance - especially now social media offers such easy access to people - to update, amend, point out mistakes and misunderstanding, and fill in some of the gaps.
Think about it. If you were God, a Twitter account would give such an opportunity to set things straight, maybe give physicists a few extra clues post-Higgs about the general direction of String Theory. A few well chosen tweets could sort out the Palestine/ Israel issue, and we could feel easier about Sunday opening hours. And s/he could leave us in no doubt about which issues were troubling him/ her each week. That could be very effective.
And the gaps.
Wouldn't it be fascinating to know what interview procedures Jesus used when he appointed the apostles, and what went wrong when he gave Judas the job ? Was there a job description ? What was the person spec like ? Where were the interviews held ? (Maybe in the conference rooms of some inn in downtown Jerusalem ?)
It would be good to know why, even then, God chose not to set a better example vis-a-vis gender equality. Twelve male apostles with a sort of female amanuensis who washes their feet does not look good, and was such a missed opportunity. And what a different bunch it might have been with the inclusion of a few women. The whole sad history of Pauline misogyny could have been so different, so positive.
The difficulty is, it seems to me, that God has allowed the literalists, the fundamentalists to run the game. The more you write down, the greater the chance of misunderstandings, and guiding the production of the Bible millennia ago and then leaving us to it was always asking for trouble. And what do we have ? Look around. Trouble.
Living life by principles and practice which were relevant in the desert thousands of years ago feels slightly intellectually queasy. It is as if you are determined to fix your Ford Fiesta using only the best Chariot Repair Manual known to the Hittites together with a sample of tools and hot technology from 837 BCE. This would not be acceptable, even in a non-franchised garage.
If only some angel would do an Edward Snowden we'd be in business. How about it, Gabes ?
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