Jonah--a Fable?

courtesy David Choate, Flicker

Before I was a Christian, the book of Jonah struck me as a fable, along with the parting of the Red Sea and the worldwide flood of Noah's ark.  I've since become more open-minded, more comfortable with the grey spaces of this present world.  Yes, people do have a tendency to make things up and embellish history over time, but I've also come to allow that strange things DO happen in this world: "truth is stranger than fiction."  

I've also come to accept that God, if He is really God, is quite capable of suspending or superseding the laws of His creation for His purposes and pleasure.  He does not need to be consistent in this regard. Yes, a man in the belly of a fish for three days is bizarre, but if such a God can instantaneously create a universe by speaking, is He not equally capable of sustaining the life of an individual supernaturally if He so desires?  We need to leave room in our hearts for His mystery.  We also need to acknowledge the limits of our own minds.

Constable points out that Jesus referenced Jonah as a man, not a myth, which to me, is a compelling point. If Jesus is God, then he knows these things. If Jesus is not God, we are all wasting our time.

The issue of literal vs. figurative does not go away as easily as I once thought.  While I am a conservative in the sense of believing that Revelation records events that will actually happen, not figures of speech, I also have to allow for the different characteristics of various genres within the Bible.  Clearly, the figurative language used in the Psalms is not intended literally.  The book, The Art of Biblical Narrative, has helped me develop a more comprehensive understanding of the genres of the Bible and some of the characteristics of those genres.

You can believe the Bible is inerrant yet still allow for different interpretations toward figurative language and characteristics within genres.  I think we have to be careful not to allow the sanitary presumptions of our scientific age not to impose rigid sanctions for truth upon an ancient text and ancient world that saw the recording of history and narrative as less a science and more of an art.  Their lens can be true yet different than our own.  

Yet there is a piece of me that longs to see things absolutely as they were--to understand and verify them in a very modern, scientific way.  This same piece of me bucks at Biblical art that depicts characters as European instead Middle Eastern.  I dislike art that cleans them all up, dresses them in Classical or European clothing and sets them among the columns and backdrops of Rome and Greece instead of the natural and possible settings and architecture of Ancient Israel.

Pieter Lastman's "Jonah and the Whale" 1621

We are adept at remaking history to suit our preferences, and this arriving at a true reconstruction is a moving target.  The Christian and non-Christian caricatures are easy to draw---

On one side, we have the traditional southern country Christian, the "Bible thumper" who would say "I believe it's all the word of God because He says it is" case closed.  This same caricature is typically not a heavy Bible reader and has a low level of overall literacy.

On the other side, we have the traditionally educated skeptic who generally has a medium to very high level of literacy a very closed mind toward anything supernatural but Christian in nature.  The irony is that many of these same skeptics are incredibly open-minded toward supernatural happenings in Eastern or pagan religions.     

In the final hour, there are few of us who do not allow for the supernatural in any form.  I think the difference may be in allowing it when it suits us and allowing it when it's less convenient. We are biased---on our deathbeds, we long for the presence of a God that will deliver us from death.  But on the average sunny day, we are less inclined to allow for this God.  He may make demands upon us.  

As much as we can, I think we need to be honest with ourselves about our motives.  None of us can approach God with completely pure intent.  But it doesn't necessarily follow that our faith is false because it is selfish and self-motivated.  God is no dummy---He put us together and clearly understands our foolish and weak proclivities. 

No, the issue of His existence and the truth of the text of Jonah must go beyond all this.  The truth is deeper than a quick, presumptuous conclusion that a man could not live in the belly of a fish for three days.   However, the truth is also deeper than a simplistic "God can do whatever He wants" assessment, which although theologically true, is rather flippant and defensive.

I long for a space, a like-minded Christian community, where I can ponder such mysteries and not feel pushed to either side.