Stories encapsulate the meaning of the world. While the world is comprised of tangible elements, stories unveil the significance of these elements, their interconnections, and their purposes. Our lives gain meaning to the extent that the narratives we inhabit hold and convey value.

Certain stories, particularly those that endure, embody universal patterns. These tales persist, embedding themselves in our consciousness, shaping our culture, reinforcing our identities, and forming the foundational web of references that structures our interactions and existence.

The Bible exemplifies this—a tapestry of interconnected narratives, from creation and the Garden of Eden, through Abraham’s call and the Exodus, to the prophets, and extending into the Gospels and other Christian writings. This series weaves a cosmic web of logos—a framework of meaning.

To identify as Christian is to embrace these stories as one’s own, situating one’s life within their ongoing narrative. Likewise, being Western entails some connection to this narrative tradition, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning that fosters a sense of purpose and communal identity.

The worldview of the authors and communities behind the Bible diverged significantly from our contemporary perspective. I emphasize: the scriptures were penned by individuals with a different worldview than our own.

The authors of the scriptures didn’t have science, psychology, social science, or any form of post-Enlightenment learning.

The ancients thought mythopoetically, symbolically, and metaphorically in ways we do not today. They did not tell history like we do. They used literary devices we don’t, such as midrash.

Thus, we must approach these texts with awareness of these differences, filtering our interpretations accordingly. Many meanings and insights from the scriptures remain relevant today. Some do not. 

We share values like kindness, freedom, integrity, and compassion, resonating with their vision of a better world where the lowly are uplifted, justice flows abundantly, and peace, healing, and love prevail.

We can identify with subplots—admiring David’s youthful courage yet recognizing his lust, empathizing with Moses’ leadership trials, lamenting with Rachel, and grasping Peter, John, and Paul’s efforts to comprehend their encounters with Jesus.

We can embrace the truths these ancients conveyed without adopting their worldview or its explanatory methods.

A theology of meaning approaches the Bible as lacking inerrancy or infallibility, viewing it as a collection of stories that blend fact, fiction, poetry, prose, metaphor, and symbols.

These writings preserve our spiritual ancestors’ insights into the divine, notions of goodness, human nature, and the meaning and purpose of life. However, to affirm their cultural and existential significance, we must eschew magical interpretations of these symbols.

The texts were not crafted as historical, scientific, or moral documents in the modern sense of those terms. Instead, Scripture merges remembered history with metaphorized narratives, expressing sacred myths as profound spiritual statements.

These myths frame the contexts for addressing life’s fundamental questions, although they do not provide definitive answers. Literal readings distort their meaning, rendering core narratives irrelevant, contrary to a theology of participation and meaning that seeks wisdom through interpretive engagement.

“Suppose you find yourself standing in front of a statue of Lincoln swinging an ax to break the chains attached to a slave girl’s foot. Is the message of this statue true or false? Hopefully, you’d realize that the truth is layered and ask, true in what sense? Historically, we have no record of Lincoln swinging an ax to free a slave child. But the statue still speaks a meaningful truth.”

  – John Dominic Crossan

Biblical writings encompass diverse and sometimes contradictory viewpoints, necessitating a selective approach to reading. These texts demand contextual interpretation, viewed through the historical periods and cultures of their origin; context is paramount.

Much of the Bible, including Christian writings, originated from and was shaped by Jewish culture, with narratives and wisdom forming the foundation of Jewish identity.

The early Christian community later employed midrashic techniques, interpreting these texts to articulate the meaning of their movement within a Jewish framework.

No text, including the Bible, interprets itself. Engagement with it is inherently hermeneutical, requiring critical yet not inherently suspicious analysis.

Claiming the Bible as a mythopoetic source of religious meaning involves ongoing interpretation and application—a dialogue bridging past and present, text and lived experience.

Every reader contributes a voice to this conversation, participating in its continuous reinterpretation.

Each generation must apply these texts to current realities, fostering a dialogue between the text and contemporary understanding, with neither asserting ultimate dominance over the other.

Like any text, scripture demands interpretation; its meanings are never fully exhausted. Its narratives brim with metaphors—ideas of humanity, freedom, goodness, and the primacy of love, justice, and kindness—though their historical contexts often remain obscure.

The Bible presents revolutionary concepts for its era, affirming the dignity and equality of all humanity and an early recognition of gender parity. It mandates love for strangers and care for the poor and outcast.

However, strictly speaking, the Bible is not essential for grasping or living a virtuous life, as much moral understanding can be derived from reason and personal reflection.

Yet, many of the texts’ priorities and moral development enlighten, guiding us toward a life-affirming vision that transcends conventional morality.

The text elevates the poor and lowly as its moral focus, favoring the humble and imperfect over the self-righteous and legalistic. Mercy and justice stand as ultimate concerns, rejecting marginalization as contrary to human dignity, supplanting imperial violence with a gentle order of love and self-generosity.

Conversely, it includes ideas we justly reject—genocide, patriarchy, sexism, divinely sanctioned violence, holy war, misogyny, and outdated views on divinity, sexuality, and marriage—reflecting an ancient worldview limited by the absence of modern scientific, psychological, and historical insights.

Many misinterpret the scriptures. The view of these writings as God’s dictated, infallible, or magical texts is a recent phenomenon, primarily influenced by 20th-century American Evangelicalism.

Worse, these texts are often miscategorized by genre. The prophets, for instance, were not fortune-tellers predicting the future; they interpreted the signs of their times, offering a moral vision of their people’s trajectory if unchanged.

Nor do the prophets foretell the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. Christian thinkers later applied midrashic techniques, reading backward to link these texts to Jesus and his movement.

Similarly, Revelation is misread as an end-times prophecy. Its authors used symbolism to address the church’s nature and the Kingdom of God’s role in history, rather than making apocalyptic predictions.

End-times theology is particularly objectionable. It rests on weak theological foundations, portrays a destructive deity, and misuses texts unrelated to such themes.

The Greek term “apocalypse” means uncovering hidden meanings, rather than primarily referring to end-of-world events. It often signifies the end of a cultural, political, or social order, revealing a new era.

Despite misreadings, our exposure to and immersion in the texts fosters a better understanding of their meaning. 

The communal reading of scripture at Mass holds value, as it narrates our spiritual story. This story demands accurate retelling and application. Weekly readings connect us to our ancestors’ insights, enriching our lives with their wisdom.

The scriptures form the Christian myth, requiring each believer to identify with and expand this narrative, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning.

Engagement involves living these narratives, not rote memorization. Intimate familiarity, not verse citation, is key.

The texts form a cohesive whole, their subplots weaving a tapestry of interconnected meaning and wisdom.

Proof-texting—extracting phrases from context—is unwise, unfit for theology, and unsuitable for control or debate, as the Bible is no rigid theological manual.

Central themes—kenotic love, self-generosity, care for the needy, humility, justice, peace, hospitality, and unity—emerge clearly, vitalized through communal reading and lived practice.

Even secular individuals, who do not attend church, may encounter this narrative through Christians’ lives, finding it compelling and worthy of consideration.

The Church Fathers regarded the Bible as a singular narrative, despite its diverse texts and authors. They identified its unifying thread in the Jewish midrash, reinterpreting the narrative’s arc with Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Covenant promises and prophecies, and as the revealer of salvation through the new covenant community, the Church.

This core narrative demanded meditation through three interpretive approaches:

Intensive Reading: Scrutiny of scripture’s words and narrative structure.  

Typological Understanding: Recognition of patterns and resonances across historically distant events.  

Allegorical Understanding: Identification of symbolic and metaphorical links between passages and intellectual, moral, or mystical themes.  

While advocating meticulous textual analysis, the Fathers cautioned against literal readings. I emphasize: they urged against literal interpretations of scripture.

They asserted that allegorization would unveil the deepest layers of meaning and wisdom within the text, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning to enrich existential understanding.

The ancient biblical authors harbored no illusion of crafting scientific or historical accounts of creation or events. Science, as understood today, was absent, and their concept of history differed markedly.

For instance, Genesis’ opening chapters explore the meaning of the world, rather than its physical origins.

Criticizing these authors as naive, primitive, or superstitious misjudges their intent, overlooking the wisdom they sought to convey.

They expressed central narratives mythopoetically, using a language and style often misunderstood by modern readers.

Mythopoesis reflects the human instinct for storytelling and meaning-building, crafting mythic realms with archetypal characters, fantastical creatures, and symbolic landscapes to transmit collective wisdom, values, and beliefs across generations, from ancient cosmogonies to epic poems.

Symbolism dominates mythopoesis, infusing characters, objects, and events with layered meaning. Archetypal motifs—the hero’s journey, the quest for immortality, and the struggle between light and darkness—echo the eternal rhythms of human experience.

Metaphor, a potent tool, renders abstract truths tangible, conveying existential insights through vivid imagery in mythic narratives.

These narratives mirror the human condition, illuminating the complexities of existence, the nature of reality, and the tension between order and chaos, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning.

Religion, as mythopoesis, involves meaning-building to articulate humanity’s relationship with the divine, the cosmos, and one another, sustained through sacred texts, rituals, and traditions.

Religious myths provide foundational narratives that explain the universe’s origins, human nature, and the purpose of life, offering timeless truths and moral guidance.

Jewish and Christian scriptures, rich in mythopoetic language, weave narratives, symbols, and allegories to impart spiritual and moral insights.

Interpreting this language requires attention to context, genre, and conventions, with methods such as historical-critical analysis, literary criticism, and theological reflection uncovering more profound significance.

In a modern era dominated by scientific rationalism, sensitivity to mythopoetic expression—rooted in symbolism and narrative depth—has waned.

The Bible stands as a complex, multifaceted text, and biblical scholarship explores its meaning and origins through diverse interpretive methods.

Historical-critical methods constitute scholarly approaches to studying religious texts, especially the Bible, within their historical, cultural, and literary contexts, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning.

Historical Criticism: This method situates biblical texts within their historical contexts—social, political, and cultural settings—drawing on archaeological evidence, ancient records, and comparative studies of Near Eastern and Greco-Roman texts to illuminate the authors’ worldviews.  

Textual Criticism: A foundational technique, it analyzes and compares ancient manuscripts and variants to reconstruct original wording, identify scribal errors, and trace transmission history.  

Source Criticism: This examines the sources biblical authors used, identifying parallel passages, repetitions, and inconsistencies to uncover underlying traditions in the final texts.  

Form Criticism: It explores the oral and literary genres—myths, legends, parables, proverbs, and legal codes—assessing their origins, functions, and social contexts shaped by ancient Israel and early Christianity.  

Redaction Criticism: This analyzes editorial processes, revealing the theological and literary intentions of editors who adapted earlier sources to address the needs of later communities.  

These methods collectively enrich the Bible’s portrait. Higher criticism traces its historical evolution, form criticism reveals literary forms, cultural criticism provides context, and the historical method evaluates accuracy. Hermeneutics then interprets these insights in a meaningful way for today.

Through these tools, biblical scholarship bridges the ancient world and modern understanding, fostering a nuanced appreciation of the text’s meaning and wisdom.

The Bible, a cornerstone of Western religion and culture, has profoundly shaped societies and inspired countless individuals. Regrettably, it has also been weaponized to oppress, marginalize, and harm others.

Literal readings, uncritical methods, and disregard for context distort its message, fostering misuse and misunderstanding.

Readers frequently select verses that affirm their beliefs, ignoring those that challenge them. This cherry-picking skews the Bible’s core messages, birthing personal theologies that stray from its intent.

Literal interpretations of violent or intolerant passages can justify extremism. Recognizing the overarching themes of peace and love, however, counters these misreadings, aligning with a theology of participation and meaning.

Misinterpretations of gender roles, sexuality, or social structures perpetuate discrimination and injustice. Exploring historical context and evolving interpretations fosters a more inclusive understanding of the Bible’s message.

Engaging with the Bible through intellectual curiosity, critical thought, and respect for its historical and cultural context reveals its richness, offering a source of profound meaning for contemporary life.