Three Readings

Recently I have been thinking about how we interpret the bible, often unconsciously,  through our culture, traditions,  and belief systems.  Below, I have tried to reveal those interpretations for three, very different people.

Reader #1

For God [big guy on the throne] so loved the world [except for homosexuals, Muslims, liberal Democrats, and the ACLU of course] that He [male, authority figure] gave his only Son, [male, empathy figure] that whoever[yes, anyone] believes [affirms the Apostle’s Creed, accepts Jesus as their personal savior, believed that God raised him from the dead, confesses that they are a sinner and commits to an ongoing reduction of sinning—including not smoking, drinking, fornicating, and going to R rated movies, is pro-life and holds that the Scriptures are the inerrant word of God] in Him [male empathy figure] should not perish [spiritual death, not physical death] but have eternal life [in heaven while all the non-believers are tortured eternally in the fires of hell] 

Reader #2

For God [destructive invention of man] so loved [Ha, some kind of love that torments forever those that don't bow down to you]  the world [full of deluded people that insist there is a God] that He gave [beware, this gift has some serious strings attached!]  his only Son, [Where's Mom? Couldn't the two of you managed more than one kid, with all that omnipotence?] that whoever believes [...and shuts down their frontal lobes] in Him [that raving prophet in the 1st Century with delusions of grandeur and an apparent suicidal streak] should not perish [it seems that lots of believers have perished--jokes on them] but have eternal life. [What a convenient fiction!  Keep the masses quiet with unverifiable promises.  Suck it up now and keep those tithes coming--but heaven will be great, singing songs and all that, plus throw in a few virgins to attract the young men ] 

Reader #3

For God[Consuming fire and love that fills the universe] so loved the world [What manner of love is this?  Apparently not the unconditional acceptance sort of love, or the I Cor 13 "Love does not insist on its own way" sort of love. The love of offering choices.]  that He [Can we get over the He/She thing and recognize that God transcends gender? Two thousand years ago I can see that people weren't ready for this, but now?  Come on! We don't require "The Force" in Star Wars to be a he or a she] gave [Well, more like offers.  The "gift" has strings--just your life is required.  God offers a great gift, but for a gift to be a gift there must be a willing recipient-even something wonderful, if forced upon us it ceases to be a gift.] his only son, [Another tired metaphor?  Christ is a son only in the most abstract sense.  There is no mother, no possibility of other siblings to add significance to his "only-ness"   There is no sequence  to the Father and the Son -- they both precede time] that whoever believes [So the only requirement is belief.  What manner of belief is this?  And how long must it be maintained?  Continuously until we die?  Or is there a five second rule on belief sufficient for collecting the prize? Jesus gives us some clues:  Moses in the desert raises sin (a serpent) on a piece of wood and only asks that the dying look at the serpent, a look was enough] in Him should not perish [ as was his custom, Jesus is muddying the waters with respect to death.  Of course he means spiritual, not physical death.]  but have eternal life.[It seems that the damned have eternal life too--at least in some passages, but we can reasonably assume eternal life is a good thing.  Pretty mysterious place, we will still have bodies, a physical reality, no marriages, but nice places to stay.]