[todaysdate]
By Eric Blauer
In October I often go down into the basement of the Bible to shine some light on the stories many people probably didn’t hear about in Sunday school. There are a lot of frightening and gruesome tales in that ancient tomb. It’s a wild ride of biblical spookiness, gore and paranormal oddities just waiting to be read on those rainy and cold autumn nights.
I think there are very important reasons to read and teach what the Bible has to say about death, fear, the supernatural world and the frightening realities of the human experience, but it’s difficult to do in some religious circles. We live in a culture swamped in violence and death but people still seem to be pretending death is something that happens to other people. I think we have a difficult time facing such finalities and are in the dark about honoring its place in the cycle of life. We have idolized it in entertainment but have seemed to rationalized it out of our relational lives. Death is baptized in the church, profited off of in Hollywood but ignored in our ordinary lives. We seem to be confused about how to engage the reality of evil, death and our own mortality.
I recently watched this fascinating, scientific look at why we like to be scared:
If you’ve never taken a midnight stroll through the dark and often bizarre stories tucked away in the Bible, here’s a few to read…if you dare.
- The bloody butcher from the hills : Judges 19:5-29
- The summoning of the witch of Endor: 1 Samuel 28
- The zombie army: Ezekiel 37:1-10
- The birthday beheading: Matthew 14:1-12
- Eaten alive from within: Acts 12:20-24
- Burned alive by God: Leviticus 10:1-3
Here’s some questions:
When did you discover how disturbing the Bible often is and how did you come to terms with that realization?
What do you think we can gain from telling and teaching the scary stories of the Bible or should we skip them?
How can we honor the end of life in the same spirit of sacredness as we do the arrival of life?
Should we throw the Noah story in there too? Very violent, sad story – yet one we tell a lot (though in a fluffy, cute animal kinda’ way)
I think a lot of people that ignore the “weird”, violent or dark parts of the Bible do so out of a misunderstanding that, “because it is recorded in the Bible, God must have approved or ordained all of it.” Yes the whole Bible is Gods “Word” to us but not all of it has the same authority when it comes to teaching and ethics. I think a great message TO US from the Old Testament is that God can still bring good and accomplish His purposes out of the dark weirdness.
I think you make an excellent point, Eric! One of my favorite Bible stories is Judges 4, in which a woman drives a tent peg through a man’s head to win a battle for the Israelites. Not exactly cuddly! It’s been among my favorites for years though, because of the strong female leaders represented in Deborah and Jael.
For me, reading the gruesome stories of the Bible is helpful in learning about decision-making in the “grey areas” of life as well as an affirmation that life isn’t always pretty or easy.