{"id":6764,"date":"2011-11-09T05:17:10","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T10:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/?p=6764"},"modified":"2011-11-09T16:40:40","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T21:40:40","slug":"god-behaving-badly-exclusive-interview-with-author-dr-david-lamb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/god-behaving-badly-exclusive-interview-with-author-dr-david-lamb\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;God Behaving Badly&#8221; (exclusive interview with author Dr. David Lamb)"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_6803\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6803\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/dave_lamb_220px.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6803\" title=\"dave_lamb_220px\" src=\"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/dave_lamb_220px.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"209\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6803\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr David Lamb ...&quot;the Bible guy&quot;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>God Behaving Badly: Is God Angry, Sexist and Racist?<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nThe cheeky title sucked me right in, so I contacted <a href=\"http:\/\/davidtlamb.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Dr. Lamb<\/a> to learn more about his new book. I read a (free) PDF copy, and shot him some questions. His answers are below. Since he took the time to write about the tough stuff, I figured he&#8217;d be okay if I pitched with a hardball. I hope you enjoy it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">PLUS. C<em>heck out<\/em>\u00a0what I wrote up as a review for the book at Amazon, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/God-Behaving-Badly-Testament-Sexist\/product-reviews\/0830838260\/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_4?ie=UTF8&amp;showViewpoints=0&amp;filterBy=addFourStar\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>. I don&#8217;t pull punches, with my pros and cons. It&#8217;s a blogger integrity thing.<\/p>\n<p>Also&#8211;See how you can<strong> get your very own free, signed copy<\/strong> at the end of the post.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"http:\/\/rcm.amazon.com\/e\/cm?lt1=_blank&amp;bc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;fc1=000000&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;t=thbloflicode-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as4&amp;m=amazon&amp;f=ifr&amp;ref=ss_til&amp;asins=0830838260\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>INTERVIEW:<br \/>\nDave, thanks for giving me a PDF copy of your book to read. Here are a few burning questions:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Your sense of humor comes out a lot in GBB,<\/strong> which makes it enjoyable to read. (Old Testament and theology stuff is often a dry topic, have you noticed?)\u00a0So, am I right to assume that you and <a href=\"http:\/\/wvvw.tiu.edu\/divinity\/academics\/faculty\/carson\" target=\"_blank\">D.A. Carson<\/a> are not involved in a comedy improv group together?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Carson keeps asking me to come on tour with his troupe, but previous engagements prohibit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Yes, I\u2019ve noticed that books on the OT or theology aren\u2019t generally enjoyable to read. The most critical initial reader of the book didn\u2019t like my tone and humor. He wanted me to use words like \u201contological\u201d, but I\u2019ve told close friends if I ever use that word they have permission to dope-slap me instantly. I wanted to write a book that not only discussed some of the most troubling passages in Scripture, but also made people laugh. George Bernard Shaw said, <strong>\u201cIf you are going to tell people the truth, make them laugh, or they will kill you.\u201d That\u2019s my personal motto.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. What prompted you to write the book? (An experience? \u00a0A conversation? A &#8220;journey&#8221;? A course you were teaching? etc.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I love teaching on difficult texts and ignored texts. This book brought those two interests together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> It\u2019s hard to say something fresh about John 3:16 (\u201cbeen there, done that\u201d). It\u2019s not hard to say something fresh about Uzzah (2 Sam. 6 The guy God smote after he touched the ark to steady it for falling.) because preachers and teachers are afraid to talk about texts like that. No one\u2019s heard a sermon on Uzzah before, so the one I give might be the best one they\u2019ve ever heard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> It also comes out of either insecurity or defensiveness. When you teach OT in the world where the NT reigns supreme you feel like you want to address that situation, to defend the OT and YHWH. <strong>Ultimately, it breaks my heart that people don\u2019t love and appreciate the OT and the God it describes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>3. So, do you consider GBB a theological book? &#8230;.Or, what category do you think it fits into?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">My favorite question to ask students while discussing a biblical text is, \u201cWhat do we learn about God here?\u201d I guess that makes me theologian, although, <strong>I\u2019d rather be called a student of the Bible (or better yet, \u201ca Bible guy\u201d).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">GBB is mainly a book about the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. I don\u2019t quote many scholars, theologians or apologists, but at the back GBB has a 5-page Scripture index filled with literally hundreds of Bible references.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. \u00a0I think the ones most likely to best appreciate your book are<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Seekers, Doubters, and untrained or new Christians.<\/strong> Though well-researched, it does not \u00a0read like an academic-styled book. Who do you think it\u2019s best for?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The primary audience includes people who are troubled by what they read in the Old Testament. I think that means everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Your book covers a really tough and confusing issue with regards to Old Testament Law. Rape.<\/strong> On page 179 you say, &#8220;Even though God hates rape, he commands a woman to marry her rapist.&#8221; Ugh. I don\u2019t think this argument really works to help your point, Dave. Can you explain this topic a bit more?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The dynamics of courtship and marriage in the OT context are indeed much different than they are today. Many of us realize that most rapes are committed not by strangers, but by acquaintances, and I\u2019m pretty sure this was true in OT times, so some of these dynamics may come into play into contexts like Deut. 22, which may have been comparable to a \u201cdate rape\u201d. <strong>The distinction between rape, and seduction between people who know each other sometimes blurs<\/strong>, but the fact that various OT laws are engaging this topic, and are generally mandating severe penalties for the perpetrator in order to protect the victim was progressive in the ancient Near East.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Suppose someone argues that you are just making a bunch of excuses for God to make him a &#8220;better sale&#8221;. How would you respond to that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Yep. That\u2019s true. Although, it\u2019s hard to sell something if you believe your product is crap. Gifted salespeople could do that. I couldn\u2019t. It helps to have a product that you believe in. <strong>The God that I encounter in the pages of the Old Testament is highly compelling, so it makes for an easy sale, even with all the smiting.<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> I don\u2019t deny that I have a bias (I\u2019m post-modern). I try to state my biases up front. I would want to hear what the bias is of people who think I\u2019m making excuses for God. Once we get our biases out in the open, then I would want to look at the text together and discuss it. Hopefully, we could then learn from each other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>7. I appreciate that you don&#8217;t claim to know everything about the meanings of the laws, recorded acts, and motivations of God in the Testaments.<\/strong> In general, would you like to encourage readers to be okay (flexible) with not knowing all the whys and particulars in the troubling passages of the Bible? Do you see a practical application for doing this?<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">We\u2019re going to need to be OK without knowing all the whys because these texts will never fully make sense to anyone. We need to work to gain understanding, but we won\u2019t arrive at that point ever. <strong>If someone thinks they understand all the troubling Bible texts, they are either na\u00efve, deceived or arrogant.<\/strong> In GBB, I\u2019m trying to give people helpful tools for understanding tough texts (I hope to do more of that in a future book). If we\u2019re OK with not fully solving these problematic passages, then we can be free to look at them and begin to make more sense of them.<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong> The practical application is that students and teachers of the Bible would not avoid, but they would seek out troubling texts and be eager to teach on them.<\/strong> These texts have profound lessons to teach us about God and God\u2019s character. I personally believe Paul wasn\u2019t high when he said \u201call Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching, for reproof\u2026\u201d (2 Tim 3:16), so maybe we should teach \u201call Scripture\u201d.<strong> And Paul was talking about the Old Testament primarily<\/strong>. Most pastors and Bible teachers might say they agree with Paul, but when you look at what they teach and preach on, they don\u2019t agree with Paul.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>8. What one thing (or you can pick a few) do you think people get <em>wrong<\/em> when they try to understand the God recorded in Scriptures?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I could pick a lot of things, but if I had to focus on one thing people get wrong I\u2019d say <strong>people want a God they can completely understand and predict<\/strong>. Our tiny brains can\u2019t fully comprehend God and his behavior. That doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t try, but he\u2019s not going to fit neatly into our systematic theology framework. This shouldn\u2019t surprise us because we can\u2019t fully understand people and people are made in God\u2019s image. Both God and humans are complex, mysterious.<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong> God also wants to have a real relationship with us not to fit into our conceptual framework of the divine.<\/strong> At risk of being trite, C.S. Lewis said in the Chronicles of Narnia that \u201cAslan is not a tame lion\u201d. The first time I read that it didn\u2019t make sense to me. Later, it just made me mad. Now, I think it\u2019s brilliant. We want to tame God by putting him into our conceptual frameworks so we can understand him. That\u2019s just not going to happen. If I were God (a big \u201cif\u201d), <strong>that would piss me off.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Anything else you\u2019d like to add?<br \/>\n<\/strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0This book is meant to encourage people to not be afraid of the Old Testament and the God it describes.\u00a0 It addresses 7 problems, each in only 1 chapter.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s not meant to give a final exhaustive answer to these questions, but hopefully it can be a starting point.\u00a0 I could recommend other books that go into more detail, but the best way to keep working on these issues is to <strong>study and discuss problematic passages in the context of community<\/strong>, with family and friends, in small groups and Sunday school classes.\u00a0 As people do this, they will deepen their relationships with each other, as well as their relationship with God.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>I agree! Thanks, Dave, and thanks to all of you for reading. To read more from Dave find his blog,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/davidtlamb.com\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>WANT YOUR <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">VERY OWN<\/span>\u00a0<em>SIGNED<\/em> COPY&#8212;<span style=\"color: #008000;\">FREE<\/span>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For a chance to win a signed copy\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080;\">(and a box of chocolates from me)<\/span>, click the <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Tweet This<\/span> button below. Not on Twitter? For shame! <\/strong>Making a twitter account takes 90 seconds. Go for it <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>:<strong>\u00a0Otherwise&#8211;Link to this page from your Facebook page, an email, your blog (or other social media). Someone will be chosen November 20th. The more times you tweet, or link here, the better your chances. Whoot- Whoot!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is God angry, sexist, and racist? David Lamb sheds light on the Bible&#8217;s most troubling Old Testament passages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[220,290,6,5274,5281,5278,2399,5280,5277,2765,5279,5276,85,5275],"class_list":["post-6764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors","category-books","tag-angry","tag-author","tag-bible","tag-david-lamb","tag-god-behaving-badly","tag-mean-god","tag-old-testament","tag-ot-law","tag-racist","tag-rape","tag-rape-law","tag-sexist","tag-theology","tag-tough-bible-passage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6764"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6783,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6764\/revisions\/6783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}