Scripture and Truth

Angela asks:
Question, you state "Just because it's in scripture doesn't mean it's true," can you elaborate on this a bit more?

Angela, thanks for the chance to explain this more in depth. It has a lot to do with how I view Scripture, its interpretation, and the kind of truths that it has to offer.

First, let me talk about truth a little bit. There are facts, and there are deeper truths about how the world works and what people are really like. And while the Bible gives us a lot of information about the history of our faith, it is not, and is not intended to be, factually correct in the modern sense. This is where we run into conflicts between the modern interest in facts, and attempts to squeeze the Bible into a genre it was never intended for--as science and history textbook.

So, for example, the story of Jesus' birth in Matthew and Luke:

Both writers have a problem to solve, which is that Jesus was from Nazareth, but according to prophecy the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Matthew solves this problem by having Mary and Joseph start out in Bethlehem, but then having them flee to Egypt for a couple of years, after which they returned to Israel but settled in Nazareth. Luke, on the other hand, creates a census that would force Joseph to bring his pregnant wife to Bethlehem. They return to Nazareth after the birth.

Luke's version
Matthew's version

Which version is factually true? Probably neither one--Jesus was from Nazareth, and travel in those times was extremely hazardous and expensive, so it's not very likely that a pregnant woman (Luke's version) would travel miles over desert land for a census, or that a family of little means (Matthew's version) would be able to afford a trip to Egypt.

But both of these stories have a different kind of truth to them--Jesus brought hope and a new kind of kingdom to the people of Israel, symbolized by his birth in Bethlehem. Jesus was persecuted for this, and had the stature and authority of Moses, as Matthew's story suggests. And Jesus was born under humble circumstances, as in Luke's story. These stories are not strictly factual, but they give us insight into the meaning of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection.