100 Prison Meditations: Cries of Truth from Behind the Iron Curtain (5 page)

Euphemisms in the Bible

Some tortures are obscene. If ever freed, should one tell what happened?

The Bible consistently avoids mention of an essential part of life, an aspect overworked to the point of offense in current language. The word “sex” never occurs in the Bible, nor do words for the sexual organs or sexual intercourse. The latter is replaced with “to know”: “Adam
knew
Eve his wife” (Genesis 4:1). For the female sex organ, the word commonly used is “the shame”—
boshet
. The general tendency of biblical style is toward euphemisms.

This applies not only to sexual matters. In Acts, we repeatedly find the expression that Jesus was killed by “hanging on a tree” (Acts 5:30). The crucifixion evoked too gruesome a picture.

Scripture also avoids telling the complete story of certain wrong actions. In Genesis 35:22, the word “it” is written in italics, a style used whenever the translators have added something to the original text. In Hebrew this sentence remains incomplete: “Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard.” We would expect to be told the details of the incest and of the terrible clash between father and son which must have followed. However, the Masoretes (Jewish teachers who established rules for writing the Old Testament) left a blank space in the Hebrew text after the words “Israel heard,” to teach us that the worst in bad things is better left unsaid.

In Genesis 4:8, after the words
Vaiomer Cain
, “And Cain talked,” the Masoretes left another blank space with a circular mark indicating an intentional omission of something important.

Both the Samaritan text of Genesis and the Septuagint add at this point that Cain said to his brother, “Let us walk out into the fields.” The Syriac version is, “Let us go to the desert.” But a more far-reaching discussion between the brothers seems to have been kept orally. The Targum, an Aramaic paraphrase of the text, adds that Cain said, “I thought that the world has been created in mercy, but it is not governed according to merits of good works, nor is there any judgment or a judge, nor shall there be any future state with rewards and punishments. Why is my sacrifice refused?”

The Bible as given by God prefers to pass over Cain’s words with silence. By such omissions we are taught not to reproduce or quote the words of wrongdoers. Such words are too often contagious.

The Bible also avoids the use of epithets. The Jewish historian Josephus Flavius of the first century wrote that Pilate was a corrupt and cruel mass-murderer. We know from the Talmud that the high priests of Jesus’ time were merchants more than servants of God, stooges of the Roman empire, who obtained their high positions through bribes. But the Bible gives no reproach against the personal lives of Caiaphas and Pilate. It tells only what they did to Jesus. The Gospel writers did not consider it their calling to publicly denounce their sins.

We know from historical sources that the lives of the whole Herodian dynasty were debauchery. The Gospels report only the minimum about their dealings with the children in Bethlehem and with the apostles. One private sin is mentioned only because it led to the death of John the Baptist.

We, who delight in every defect we discover in an adversary, benefit by emulating the Bible’s use of euphemisms and silence.

A Language Without the Word “Word”

The Word of God was given through the Hebrew people. This can be asserted clearly in any language except Hebrew itself. The chosen people, the depository of the Word of God, have no specific word for “word.” They use
davar
, which also means “thing.”

The evangelist John wrote in Greek, but thought in Hebrew. In his native tongue, the prologue to his Gospel would read, “In the beginning was the
davar
, the thing, and the thing was with God, and the
davar
, the real thing, was God.”

To speak in words that have no substance in reality is to chat, not to speak.

You cannot comprehend the Bible if you look at it as a mere collection of words. Words can adequately express only words, not feelings, experiences, or objects. The latter express themselves without words.

As Einstein has connected space with time and created the concept of the four-dimensional space-time continuum, the Hebrews conceived the unique notion of
davar
, the word-thing with two aspects: one verbal and the other in the physical or spiritual reality.

In Hebrew Jesus could not have said simply, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). He must have used here
davar
, which is more than “word.” Words alone, even divine words, are not the truth: they can be cloaks for cruelty, strife, and greed as well as inspirations for holiness. “Your
davar
, Your word-thing, in its dual aspect, is the truth,” just as, after Einstein, events are no longer placed only in space or only in time. Instead we have the notion “interval” in physics, which comprehends them both.

The Italian sculptor Tommassi ornamented the cemetery of Buenos Aires with statues, each representing one of Beethoven’s symphonies. When a friend asked me to describe them, I found myself at a loss for words.

Beethoven expressed what he felt in notes which, when played, give sounds. The sculptor carved in marble what he felt when he heard the music. I looked upon the figures of stone. If I put my own feelings into words, what relation would they bear to Beethoven’s symphonies?

A blind man once asked a friend to describe milk to him. His friend began, “Milk is white.” The blind man stopped him with a second question, “What does white mean?” “White is the color of a swan,” was the reply. The blind man then asked, “What is a swan?” The explanation was, “It is a bird with a bent neck.” He persisted in questioning. “What does ‘bent’ mean?” The friend bent his elbow and said, “Touch my arm now and you will understand what I mean by the word ‘bent.’” The blind man touched his friend’s elbow and exclaimed, “Now I know what milk is like!”

If the Bible is only an accumulation of words, we will know about God only as much as the blind man knew about milk.

We have to arrive through the words to the real thing, to God Himself. Only then will we be illuminated.

A man asked a saint, “Who is God?” The saint replied, “Who are you?” The man said, “I am so-and-so.” The saint asked, “Do you know so-and-so?” He said, “Of course.” The saint held up a duster and asked, “Do you see the duster?” The man replied, “I see it.” The saint stopped the dialogue as useless.

“God” is a sound produced by English-speaking people to communicate about a mysterious Being. Another small mysterious being, myself, about whom I also know almost nothing, is called “Richard” in English. French people pronounce the name “Rishaar,” and Germans in a manner that cannot even be approximated in English spelling. I see an object that the English call a “duster.” It is used by adults for wiping dust away. Children would regard it as a toy. It can also be useful for spanking.

With men who remain in the sphere of words, discussions lead nowhere. Words are useful only if they lead out of the realm of mere chatting to the
davar
—to the reality-word.

With what words could I explain God? Should I say He is a King? This is a title that many good men bore, but also Herod, Nero, and Henry VIII. I might confuse minds by calling Him “King.”

Should I call Him “Father”? Luther had a very harsh father and was reluctant to address God with the words of the Lord’s Prayer.

Even “God” is a word used not only for the Creator, but also for cruel beings like Moloch and Quetzlcoatl who demanded thousands of human sacrifices.

We have to pass from simple words to the
davar
, the real thing, in order to apprehend God—not only as Creator, but also Keeper and Destroyer.

Don’t Trouble Him

Just as death was an unspeakable pain for Jesus, His birth must also have caused Him great anguish. It is written in Acts 10:44, “The Holy Spirit fell.” The advent of the Spirit, which for us is uplifting, is for Him a fall. “Some seed fell,” says Jesus in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:4). Before bearing its intended fruit, the seed, which is the Word of God, must first fall from the hand of the Master. Jesus explains that the ground stands for different types and qualities of men (Luke 8:12–15). For each one, the coming of the Word of God to earth is a falling. This is the meaning of spiritual birth for every man. How much more must the birth of the Son of God have been a descent, the pain of which He preferred not to mention. The depth of His fall is shown in the fact that He is put in the most humble place, a manger.

We Christians are so bold as to sing, “Come into my heart.” But what sorrows await Him there! Many faithful souls, foreseeing how their faults will grieve the Master, repeat Peter’s words as he fell down at Jesus’ knees, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8).

The Roman centurion, instead of inviting Jesus as we do, told Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof” (Luke 7:6). This officer was praised for his faith above all others in Israel. What a contrast to our habit of troubling Him about all manner of trifles. We insist on summoning the Master for our every desire and ask whenever possible for visible signs.

A really loving soul is careful not to disturb the Beloved. I know about a girl who was in love with a young man whom she knew to have a great career ahead of him. She felt that, being uncultured herself, she would be a burden for him in society. He loved her heartily, but she refused his advances and caused him to marry another girl, more suitable for his social status. Sometimes the greatest love is shown in renouncing the beloved.

Jesus’ coming to earth was a great agony for Him. His coming to fulfill your prayer troubles Him. So many were healed of blindness simply by asking, and then, with eyes wide open for the world’s temptations, they ran after their lusts, forgetting to whom they owed their sight. Christians renounce many things. Renounce also your many requests.

Should you not trouble Him even when you are terribly hurt? Perhaps not, for what will you do should Christ accept your prayer and alleviate your suffering? Might this not mean a terrible loss for you?

Once, in his sleep, a man swallowed a venomous snake which stuck in his throat. He awoke in terrible pain, but not knowing its cause. A woodsman, a man of experience, passing by, fiercely beat the man until he was black and blue. At last the snake was vomited out and slithered away. Had the man begged the woodsman to give him peace, and had his request been granted, he would have died.

None of us receives more blows than absolutely needed: “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). Our lives are foreordained. Does our heavenly Friend not also know how many sufferings we must endure?

Do not trouble the Master. He knows.

Exaggerations in the Bible

Much has been written by believers about the Bible’s accuracy, but its obvious exaggerations are seldom mentioned.

“To Him [Jesus of Nazareth] all the prophets witness,” says Peter (Acts 10:43). But there were Hebrew prophets like Obadiah or Amos who did not ever mention the Messiah.

A Samaritan woman who met Jesus told people, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did” (John 4:29). This certainly cannot be accurate. It would take years to reveal someone’s every action. Jesus had shown her only that He knew of her many sexual transgressions.

Critics would say that such statements are inaccuracies which entitle one to call the Bible into doubt. But those who know the human heart learn from such statements about the impact Jesus made upon his contemporaries.

During World War II, my wife went to Budapest under dangerous circumstances to bring relief to the suffering Christians there. For a long time we had no news from her. During that time, I was unable to read anything without seeing her picture on the pages of every book or newspaper I opened. I could have said like Peter, contrary to the experience of other men, “All books and magazines contain only Sabina’s image.”

For a time after her interview with Jesus, the Samaritan woman was obsessed with the remembrance of all her mistakes, and in such a state of conscience she could truthfully say, “He told me all things that I ever did.”

For Peter, who had seen the risen Lord and was full of the experience of the Messiah, it must have seemed that all the prophets had spoken only about Christ—if not explicitly, then implicitly by describing His kingdom and character. It was just while Peter was speaking in this way, which normally might be considered exaggeration, that “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.”

Many Christian preachers and writers are too insistent on accuracy. The Holy Spirit does not fall on those who listen to them because Jesus is not their all. They are filled with observations and thoughts about other things besides the Lord.

The apostle Paul also exaggerates when he says, “All who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:10). But Paul never went farther than Asia Minor. Persia, Russian Asia, and China were unknown to him. Paul’s assertion shows with what his mind was consumed—not with wealth, fame, or pleasure, but with a dream so strongly felt that it seemed real: Asia at the feet of Jesus.

Such dreams are truth. A simple description of facts is uninspired boredom. God’s truth has wings; it sees the distant future as being present.

I could well understand Paul’s assertion when, after my liberation, I was preaching in Taiwan. Although I was speaking before only 10,000 persons on a small island of China, this was not how I experienced it. Before my spirit and before my eyes were the 900 million of mainland China who have no way to hear the gospel. It was to them that I spoke.

Every night during my years in solitary confinement, I delivered a sermon to my congregation at home. I was sure that my words reached them. Words are heard not only by those whose physical ears perceive the sound. The Holy Spirit speaks words directly to the heart.

It is an exaggeration to consider something as exaggeration simply because it appears so to us. It is not that the Bible exaggerates; we exaggerate in criticizing it.

Many things that previously were considered biblical exaggerations have later proved true. Moses called Palestine “a land flowing with milk and honey,” an obvious boast (Deuteronomy 26:9). But recently a scientist has shown the earth to be capable of over three times its present food yield, and cited Israel as an example:

• The average cow in Israel produces 50% more milk a year than the U.S. average.
  
• In Israel, an orange grove is yielding 16 tons of fruit a year—a world’s record.
  
• An acre in Israel grows twice as many peanuts as are grown on Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm.
  
• Cabbages and tomatoes grown in Israel are among the finest anywhere.
  

All of this is achieved despite limited rainfall in this little country. So Moses’ boast is not such an exaggeration after all.

Biblical authors often regard numbers as unimportant. On the day of Pentecost, when the Christians of Jerusalem, 120 of them, were gathered together and became filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter explained the occurrence as being the fulfillment of a prophecy of Joel: “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). A hundred persons can hardly be called “all flesh.”

Such statements are normally called exaggerations. But if a man cannot readily find simple words for his feelings, if he clothes them in superlatives, should we call this a lie? Is
Faust
a lie because Goethe, feeling the power and complexity of evil, personified it as Mephistopheles? Peter was so overwhelmed by the fiery divided tongues which had sat upon each of the disciples (Acts 2:3) that he could not speak except in superlatives.

Nehemiah exaggerates too when he says, “You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven” (9:23). There are billions of stars, but not that many Jews.

The Bible is not an Anglo-Saxon book. One cannot appreciate its truth simply by applying Anglo-Saxon standards to it. The rules of truthfulness vary from one culture to another. In the Anglo-Saxon world, a statement is true only when it exactly fits reality. In fact, understatements are often preferred. With the Japanese and other cultures it is otherwise. It is correct to say what is pleasing to your listener, even if this is not the real state of affairs. Hyperbole is the norm for an Oriental. God has made His revelation to us through a “Middle Eastern” book, and the Bible is inerrant according to the mentality that produced it.