a good friend of mine, an intellectual disciple of durkheim and a fellow electrophysiologist, recently posed to me the following question: if the bible really is the word of God, why isn’t it written like wittgenstein? in other words, why isn’t the bible a series of explicit propositions, conditionals, and conclusions?
i think there are lots of decent answers to this question: stylistically, not everybody likes Wittgenstein, and historically, the narrative tradition hadn’t developed the mid-1900s minimalist, strunk&white, expositional style during the eras when the bible was written. but three other reasons are much more important.
1. there is power in the biblical narrative because it communicates truth historically, not propositionally. our problem is not ignorance (if you’ve read any of the bible, you probably know the law); it is hardness of heart. (nod to james lee)
2. christianity is education-independent; so are stories. to appreciate wittgenstein requires some degree of intelligence, or at the very least, rich parents to send you to a decent college. but historical narrative transcends intellectual and educational boundaries. stories are universal.
3. propositional logic, when applied to a moral framework, can still be twisted (nod to darren hsiung). for evidence, though it doesn’t quite fit the bill, consider the american constitution, which despite its original minimalist clarity, is probably among the most argued documents of all time.
October 10th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Consider: When was the last time someone told you a story in terms of propositions and conclusions? Furthermore, if it really is the Word of God (and Dave knows my views on this) then it would make sense to write it in a way that allowed the greatest access while still allowing higher scholars to penetrate further into the meaning of the book. Thus, moral vignettes seem to be an ideal form.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Nice post Dave. Also, didn’t Wittgenstein change his views quite radically?
And heliotrope, what has greater access? a book of stories or a textbook of propositionals, conditions, conclusions? a drama with actors unfolding in history or a collection of static timeless, disembodied facts? Plenty of children enjoy reading and hearing Bible stories. I don’t know of any who love reading Calvin’s Institutes or Berkhof’s systematic theology (although an erudite scholar like you might benefit).
It is also noteworthy that major works of sytematic theology (which is what you’re proposing God’s Word should be) are far thicker than the Bible. Knowing God through his acts, it seems, has spoken more volumes while killing far fewer trees. And how much more scholarship would you need if Berkhof’s work fell out of the sky, spelling out a set number of truths for us?
Plus, you may note that propositions, conditionals and conclusions are hardly absent from Scripture. They’re important but not the dominant form. Consider that maybe the dominant narrative form itself teaches us something. After all, if we got Berkhof dropping out of the sky, then who would even care? Just another set of disembodied ideas to throw in the pile with all the other disembodied ideas that people pull out of their butts.
Maybe God’s word is telling us that the proposition is subject to the event. “Gospel” means good news. The messge doesn’t do us any good without the concrete, objective act in history to back it up. This is what sets Christianity apart from Plato, gnosticism, and much of modern philosophy for that matter. The cross and the resurrection are not timeless, universal ideas designed to give us warm fuzzy feelings. They were particular, timely, fleshly events that shook the cosmos: the climax of the story of God’s mighty acts to bring a people into a kingdom of peace and love and light, a kingdom that will not be shaken.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:38 am
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent”…
the Bible makes sense because it does not make “sense.”
Thanks for this post :)
December 8th, 2007 at 9:47 am
opps, sorry forgot this ^. I’m a friend a Brad Burge’s, found your site through his..glad I did. Best - Tamara :)