The Living Word

For the word of God is alive and powerful. HEBREWS 4:12 NLT

I sat midway down the third row in a classroom full of college freshmen rattling papers and chattering nervously as the professor strolled into Religion 101. Dr. Anderson was heralded as one of the very finest, most intellectual professors in the department, and I couldn't wait to hear him teach.

Although I'd grown up in a mainline church and answered an altar call at age twelve, I had wrestled with questions about faith and Christianity for years, and the countless sermons I'd sat through hadn't addressed the many issues I wondered about, like: Are heaven and hell really real? Is God a good God? If He is real and He's good, how can I really know Him? Does He hear our prayers and answer them, or is it just a religious exercise we're supposed to do? Is the Bible true or just a great book of stories? Is Jesus God or just a great man we are to emulate?

So many times with great intentions I'd started the daily Bible readings recommended by our youth pastor, especially after summer mountaintop experiences at youth camp, only to have them become dry and lifeless after a few weeks. The pursuits of high school — drill team, boyfriends, AP courses, and applying to college — reclaimed my focus.

Now I can really get into the Bible. Now I can get answers to my questions, I thought as I leaned forward in my chair. Dr. Anderson greeted us, opened his lecture notes, and outlined the semester. Then, with thrilling description and characterization, he told the stories of Adam and Eve and Noah and the flood from Genesis. We sat in rapt attention at his colorful rendition of the familiar narratives. At the end of the hour-and-a-half class, he closed his lecture notebook and looked out at me and the other impressionable college students with his piercing blue eyes.

"What's most important to remember as you take this course is that these and all the stories in the Bible are merely myths that reveal to us the meaning of our life. Although they represent truth, these symbolic stories existed in ancient religions that predate the religion of the Israelites by thousands of years. Through metaphorical language, these myths make intelligible what is beyond words. They represent spiritual experience but cannot be taken literally. Forget your preconceived ideas of what you've been told about these stories from childish Sunday school applications of the Bible. I want to shake you out of your complacency."

I don't know about the other students, but I was definitely shaken out of my complacency. I had already been