The Bungee Cord 9-18-25

Hello,

I am writing an unusually timed Bungee Cord for two reasons. First, I have come down with Covid and have a lot of time on my hands, and secondly, in all this extra time, I have been seeing internet comments from some people who see the Christian faith in quite a different way than I do. So, with all my extra time, I thought I would try to use it productively with a Bungee Cord.

I have seen a goodly number of people who either speak of their own Christian faith, or comment on the Christian faith that they see, as holding to Biblical values. In one case, an antagonistic person of the faith, said something to the effect that the Christian god approves of slavery, because the Bible supports the practice of slavery. This is, of course, literally true. Both the New and Old Testaments contain many passages that acknowledge the practice of slavery. Although I am not an expert on American history, I believe that there were those before, and even after, the Civil war that used such Biblical passages to support the practice of slavery.

To such use of Biblical passages, I, and a whole lot of Christians, say that to abide by such passages does not follow Biblical values, but instead values of Biblical times. To me, the Bible is a timeless witness of the Word of God, that was specifically addressing the times in which it was written. To me, the Biblical values are what lies under the specific concerns addressed.

It is these values, when we dig into the Bible, that help us live with Biblical values, and not the values of Biblical times. The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). It has taken humans a long time for this shovel of truth to dig into the world to bring us to see how that love effects long held human practices, like slavery. As we have uncovered this Biblical truth, it is clear to me that the Christian God does not stand behind the practice of slavery.

Clearly, the Bible does not depict the years of Jesus’ life, nor any other times in Scripture as the “Golden Years”, those are yet to come when years are no longer measured. Therefore, the task that a whole bunch of Christian folks try to understand is how to speak God’s Word, full of infinite values, to the finite and time marked world in which we live. I believe it is not an easy or a certain task. For one, I am a human whose being is blurred by sinfulness. Secondly, our world today, is a far different world from Biblical days. Biblical people knew nothing of atoms and sub-atoms. For them, the earth was the center of all things, so convinced were they that when Galileo proposed something different, he was “he was condemned by the Inquisition in 1633, forced to recant his heliocentric views, and placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life”. (google search) And now, as we find ourselves stepping into, or being pushed into, a world that is pulsed by AI, we have an entirely unimagined future in which we, who bear Christ’s name, seek to apply the infinite values of God which have been incarnated in Jesus to our world today.

This may be a more heady Bungee Cord than usual, but as I have spent these days of forced isolation listening to what some say the Christian God asserts, I wanted to tell those of you who seek to live with Biblical values, and not the values of Biblical times, that there is a large place for you amongst those who name themselves Christian. Such places are in the pews and on the Communion rails of many churches. I invite you to sit with me on the lap of God as I seek to hear God’s grace and mercy, divine values, shape and mold my life and yours in this ever changing time.

Have a great half/week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger