Subversive Bible Study: A Review of Reuven Kimelman’s Audio Coursebook
by David Elcott
Bible study is an old sport. In fact, the Bible itself often reflects on earlier passages or ideas, playing off prior voices and events. It often feels that there is no "Ur" text, no one source from which everything biblical derives. And we can imagine thousands of years ago, people sitting around their table or bathhouse or courtyard, telling the stories and offering pious moral aphorisms. That learning process continues in the Jewish and Christian religious communities with rabbis and priests, pastors and yeshiva masters arguing about the meaning of the Bible, while Bible study groups and synagogue attendees hear the Bible read and try to fathom its meanings. Turn on the television or browse the Web and you will find no shortage of eloquent writers and passionate speakers holding the Bible high as they provide moral clarity. So the first question we should ask when introduced to yet another Bible study program is why and, if we are provided a good answer, then we follow with what and how.
Let me amplify the first question. The Bible, along with the sacred texts of other religious communities, has proven to be troublesome. One would have to be quite dogmatic to avoid questioning the role the Bible has played and, at this very moment, plays in sectarian violence and tragic conflicts. I imagine waves of pious religious followers waving the Bible high like Constantinian soldiers as they charge in some cosmic battle in the name of God. The Bible and biblical teachings seem all about answers -- who is right and who is wrong, who is saved and who is damned, who owns the truth and who is a teacher or follower of hypocrisy and lies. While Norman Rockwell's portrait of good people gently praying makes a fine painting, the cultural wars that are tearing at the fabric of our society and around the world give pause. Do we need another Bible course?
Yes, I can claim, if the course comes to challenge our complacent sureties and pious convictions that we know what God wants. The Moral Meaning of the Bible, an audio coursebook published by Our Learning Company and developed by Reuven Kimelman, is a remarkably robust effort to undermine biblical faith. I apologize if that sounds damning, but I think it is an accurate description of Kimelman's thinking and his work. To explain. We have been convinced that the Bible is the answer, that it is the word of God -- in whatever fashion we believe that -- and that it clarifies all of the moral ambiguities we must face. Is the world a just place? Check chapter X. Are human beings fundamentally sinful? Check chapter Y. How should we treat homosexuals or people who reject our faith or women or children or anyone different? Check chapter Z. For traditional Jews and some Catholic traditions, the answers come as laws, canonical decisions. In other Christian traditions, what is right and wrong is extracted from the traditions we have inherited and presented as fundamental and singular reads. Such Bible teaching is not taking us to good places these days.
Dr. Kimelman teaches from a very different tradition, which recognizes moral ambiguity and the Bible as a deep struggle to wrestle not only with confused human beings but also with confusing and conflicting voices of God. The Moral Meaning of the Bible undermines complacency, allows for moral complexity, and demands high standards of personal struggle. That is why it is so needed. The world cannot continue on its course of vying communities and leaders who proclaim absolute truths and thereby deny any veracity in other religious traditions. That, it seems to me, is the dangerous idolatry of the moment, to believe that you have a stranglehold on what God is and what is divine truth. A responsible pluralism is not a luxury of those who say "I'm OK, you're OK." It is the crucial foundation of human beings working together to heal a damaged world.
In one very rich and textured study on leadership, Kimelman places Abraham, Moses, and Elijah on the stand, challenging the character of their leadership. Immediately, we are confronted with a dilemma -- these three men are biblical heroes who stand up against the complacencies of their times, who disagree with God when their own sense of justice is compromised, and who are very different from each other. There is no attempt in this analysis of leadership to claim a singular model of leadership, and certainly obedience to God and full faith are not the highlighted virtues of these characters. In fact, they are complicated folk who are often disappointed in God and show deep frailties and confusion. The Moral Meaning of the Bible allows us to move beyond the heroic models that are still a core standard of leadership and search for other qualities by which we can judge. Kimelman shows Elijah's weakness in that he does it all alone, unable to work in partnership with others. Moses, in contrast, displays the qualities of a servant leader, one who can delegate and create teams, a man who remains modest in understanding that he is part of the play, not the whole thing. This has a very contemporary ring that would make Jim Collins, Robert Greenleaf, and Stephen Covey -- gurus of business leadership -- very happy.
There is a quaintness sometimes in Kimelman's presentation. God is "He," and women have not been given full voice. The Bible is taught within a religious tradition that will become, I am sure, more expansive as the series grows. Yet his larger success is clear, as Kimelman is able to transcend the divide between religion and science. The potent and commanding voice of faith is able to offer a moral grounding in the world without compromising contemporary critical modes of analysis. Other than the gender issues, my quibble with Kimelman is never substantive -- the psyches of his Eve and his Adam are on the couch; the psychosocial rivalries of brothers and spouses, parents and children, are confronted head-on; moral battles over ends and means erupt. All this happens within a framework of faith -- or rather, faith expands to take in the dark sides of saints and the holiness of sinners. As I said, this is not the Sunday school Bible that has been the limit of most Americans' encounters with Scripture.
That answers the why for me -- we need Bible teaching that is erudite, competing with the most illustrious scholars of Jewish and Christian traditions. We need Bible teaching that is pluralist at its core and that transcends the common, challenging us to find a deeper sacredness in our lives. The Moral Meaning of the Bible gives us that in rich surplus.
The what and how are dessert. This is a luxurious presentation and a wonderfully satisfying process. It is sensual -- it engages my eyes, my ears, my lips. It prompts my fingers to play with the mindmaps and detailed study texts. This is no small task. Today we are besieged with multimedia events: television commercials are more sophisticated than the movies of ten years ago, while computer games place me in virtual worlds in distant dimensions. So a Bible course that does not entail my sitting in person with a charismatic teacher, one on one, needs to think through the various modes of learning that best engage today's learners. And this is especially hard if the goal is not to pontificate and provide those one-line answers, but to actually force me to rethink the texts and issues that are brought up. So Our Learning Company invests a great deal in providing us with high-quality materials to back up high-quality presentation. This is sophisticated learning that honors traditional learning from the past even as it successfully transcends denominational and sectarian boundaries.
The challenge here is, will people buy it? Will those who seek religious meaning be willing to be rattled? And will those who have walked away from trivial or hardened religion be enticed to try again? In this, I am not sure, but hopeful. Not meaning to give this a political bent -- and not speaking of specific policies or platforms -- I would like to note that America voted for a president who refused to offer the pat, simple responses while challenging us to think differently. We rejected those who tried to force us into the black or white mindset of the past. And the world seemed to applaud and engage with America in a different way. So perhaps imperialist religion will be challenged as well, and The Moral Meaning of the Bible will flourish in this new environment. I would be happier, by the way, if Kimelman's course would pluralize "meaning" to "meanings." "The Moral Meanings of the Bible" would better reflect what this master teacher and honored scholar has spent his life doing -- not giving singular answers to the complexities of human beings and of God, but offering us a sophisticated and hopeful pathway to understand what God wants us to do as partners in healing the suffering and mending the brokenness of the world.
More information about The Moral Meaning of the Bible, including samples and additional materials, is available at www.MoralBible.com.
David Elcott is the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service.
