So, a
year or so ago, I’m querying some youth concerning
the deep questions they are pondering. One of
them asks, “What do you think of the ‘Bible
Code’?”
Surmising this might be a new video game
(and not wishing to expose my vast ignorance on
the topic), I deftly bypassed the question with a
sagacious “I’ll need to look into that.”
(Understand, I was in the process of
reading The
DaVinci Code at the time, and hoped it might
give me some clues.)
I
didn’t give much more thought to the topic (mainly
because, thankfully, the teenager who asked did
not bring it up again, and The DaVinci
Code, though interesting, was of absolutely no
help.)
Then, last week I get an email from a good
friend who says he saw something about “the Bible
Code” on the History Channel. (“Uh-oh,”
I thought, “it’s on TV! That must
mean it is significant!”)
You
likely have already investigated the “Bible code”
and are way ahead of me. In case
you haven’t, however, here is a succinct
overview.
The “code” is essentially a sophisticated
version of the “word-search” game. The text
(typically the Hebrew text of the Torah) is
carefully scrutinized by examining vertical,
horizontal and diagonal arrangements of
letters.
These letters are believed to create words,
phrases, clusters of words, and even pictures
which, some people believe, exist intentionally in
this coded form to predict the future as well as
to reveal other messages from God.
The
existence of such “secret codes” was explored as
far back as the 13th century by Jewish
rabbis, but little development in the field
occurred before the middle of the 20th
century.
Actually, “research” was quite limited
until the early 1980s, when the advent of
the
computer greatly accelerated the ability to
“search” for predictive messages encoded in
ancient Hebrew Scripture. Michael
Drosnin’s The Bible
Code (1997) introduced the idea into popular
conversation.
Not
surprisingly, this hunt for hidden messages,
Jewish in origin, came to be co-opted by certain
groups of Christians. Since
2000, most books and web sites devoted to the
codes have been produced by Christians. (You can
learn more than you ever wanted to know through a
web-search of your own.)
The
idea of a hidden code is intriguing (who doesn’t
like a good mystery, especially if it has a happy
ending?)
The code “researchers” are no doubt
well-intentioned, but I must confess, I have some
doubts about the usefulness of the Bible Code as I
understand it.
For
one thing, the idea of such a code being exclusive
to the Bible arrogates too much to itself. I imagine
one could find such a code in any book. My bet is
that one could select a large volume of text at
random, explore the array of first and last
letters going up and down, across and diagonally,
and sooner or later identify a word here or
there.
(Several mathematicians in Australia and
the USA have indeed found such “hidden codes” in a
variety of texts, including Moby
Dick.)
Second,
the search for “codes” seems to be a highly
subjective exercise. There
exist no obviously agreed-upon rules for text
searches.
Apparently, any point may be the starting
point.
Thus, the ability to wrest from the text
whatever message one desires is
significant.
Third,
there appear to be no objective standards with
which to measure results.
Consequently, one may simply take the words
one”discovers” and make them into a “revealed
prophecy” without any reliable means to determine
the significance of that particular
observation.
A
fourth concern I feel is that preoccupation with
the Bible Code may be a huge time sink. We do have
only so much time, and we (speaking for myself)
typically do not give enough time to reading the
Bible from left to right, in English, in simple
sentences and paragraphs, much
less upside
down
and inside out.
Perhaps
more insidious than these logical difficulties
with the validity of “Bible codes” as encrypted
messages from God, is the fact that the whole
concept runs contrary to our understanding of the
nature of Scripture and the way God has chosen to
reveal Himself to humankind.
We
believe the Bible is to be read “plainly.” Faithful
scholars of the ancient texts and ancient
languages have helped bring to us a reliable text
from which we obtain readable translations in our
own language. We have
both great privilege and responsibility to read it
in a straightforward manner, applying common
sense.
We
believe every individual has direct access to the
truth of God’s revelation of Himself in the
Scripture.
There are no arcane messages one must
ferret out by means of a code available only to a
select few.
The 2nd century Gnostics
believed that only “insiders” had access to the
“mysteries” of deity. We believe
that all are free and welcome to explore the
Scripture and to hear its
message.
We
believe that God is in the mix when we come to the
text.
There is no genuine need for a complicated
system which will show us the “rest” of the
gospel.
We have the gospel in its fullness in Jesus
Christ.
Therefore, we believe the Living Word, who
created us (John 1:1-3), who “prunes” us with His
words (Jn. 15:3), who makes us holy by His word
(Jn. 17:17), who cleanses us (Eph. 5:26) and saves
us (I Peter 1:23, 25), and who is alive and active
in us, piercing and discerning (Heb. 4:12-13), is
the One who reveals truth to us through the
written word. In this
light, we possess a deep trust that the Spirit of
the Living God will illumine our minds, guide us
to truth, and convict, instruct and transform us
as we engage the written
word.
We
believe there is a serious caveat accompanying any
interpretive model which claims to reveal secrets
heretofore unknown. That is,
methods which purport to give us more than what is
obvious in the text run the risk of playing fast
and loose with the inspired text and potentially
jeopardizing the eternal disposition of seekers
who may be distracted from the gospel message by
the tantalizing deceits of obscurantist purveyors
of bad hermeneutics and poor
science.
So, if
you really need a “sign” to prove the validity of
the Scripture or an esoteric conspiracy to confirm
the deity of or the return of Christ, then you
might be a candidate for a serious study of the
Bible Code.
If you are intrigued by Nostradamus, Mary
Magdalene mysteries, and backwards masking, you
perhaps ought to look into the Code. If you get
most of your daily news from The National
Inquirer, then the Bible Code might be for
you.
If, on
the other hand (and I believe this of you, readers
of this column), you have an earnest desire to
know the God of creation who has shown Himself
most fully in the Person of Jesus Christ, and you
wish to follow Him in faithful obedience, looking
to Him as the source of grace for this journey and
hope for the future, then you probably won’t be
spending too much of your valuable time on the
Bible Code.
You will spend that time in the
time-honored Christian disciplines of prayer,
Bible study, and worship.
How I
delight in being on the journey with you, a
journey in which the real mystery is the
one which will be revealed on that last day, when
we will see Him in all His glory. Eagerly
anticipating that with you, I
am
Yours,
Pastor
Chuck
