Adaptation and the Old Testament

John Gladden

I’ve mentioned before the large cemetery next to my house. In the days of COVID-19, when there aren’t just too many places to go walking, I’ve spent a decent amount of time strolling there. Occasionally I stop and read the tombstones. A few days ago, I came across the tombstone of a Mr. John Gladden. The dates gave me pause: November 7, 1882 – July 30, 1982. John barely missed his hundredth birthday. But that isn’t what made me stop and think.

When John was born, Civil War reconstruction was still in full swing. The Ottoman Empire still existed; Russia was still ruled by a tzar. He knew people born when Texas was still part of Spain, the Louisiana purchase hadn’t been made, and slavery was still legal.  All this, and he died only a little more than a decade before I was born. In fact, I’m only three steps removed from being able to talk to people who were alive during the American Revolution. That’s insane!

Ancient is relative

My sophomore year of college, I spent a semester studying abroad in Jerusalem. That summer I spent studying in Britain. When I came back to Boston, I took a friend on a tour of the city. The tour guides kept saying things like, “This church is 300 years old!” I thought to myself, “so what?” In Europe, I’d seen churches over twice as ancient. In Israel, I’d walked through the ruins of the synagogue Jesus attended growing up!

I think we forget sometimes how young the US is – how young the whole modern world is. It’s always been there for us, so as humans, we subconsciously come to believe it’s always been there. It’s normal; it’s stable. It’s always been this way, and it always will.* Our political and economic position is assured. Our culture and morality are unchanging and inviolate. No significant changes (besides the ones we make) will ever rock our lives.

The Modern Standard

I’m always a little amused when I read scholarly essays on the development of modern science or the modern nation-state or the modern sense of justice. You would think that all of human history was just one long attempt to be more like us. As the current generation, we are the pinnacle, the end state, the standard by which all else is measured. Everyone who has ever lived is surpassed by us, and we will be surpassed only by our descendants, who we assume will turn out exactly as we intend.

The funny thing is, we know things change quickly. There is evidence all around us, but we adapt so quickly, we forget it was ever any other way. I watch TV shows made when I was little and suddenly rediscover just how new the idea of a personal computer is. Our thoughts as a country on everything from immigration to terrorism to gay marriage to global warming have dramatically altered in my lifetime, and yet we have already begun to see these attitudes as inevitable. Our collective consciousness is like memory foam painted to look like cement.

Adaptation and Accuracy

This tendency of ours isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For our own mental health and well-being, we have to be able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. At the current moment, my work schedule involves rotating shifts, with the result that it is currently 9 pm and I’ve just woken up and had breakfast. Last week, I started my day at noon and finished at midnight. To do this, I rely on my ability to trick my body into a completely new schedule every week-and-a-half.

Rapid adaptation can be good, even necessary. But it’s necessary precisely because the world is an unstable, rapidly-changing place. We are creatures of habit stuck in its ever-shifting kaleidoscope, trying to keep up some semblance of normalcy in all this chaos. We’re pretty good at it.

Is it, though?

What does all this have to do with the Old Testament? I’ll get into the meat and potatoes of the topic next week, but for now, consider: why wouldn’t the Old Testament be historically accurate? Do you really have specific reasons to doubt it? Or do you just have this voice in your head saying Don’t be silly. That hectic, faraway world can’t be real. I mean, miracles? Worldwide floods? Give me a break! It’s too different from the here and now, and everyone knows that the way it is here and now is how it’s always been. Nothing ever changes that much. The real world isn’t like those crazy stories; it’s a sensible, moderate, boring place.

Is it, though?

*I heard a radio commentator call COVID-19 an “unprecedented disaster.” Really? Unprecedented? After the Bubonic Plague, the Black Plague, Smallpox, Scarlet Fever, and even Swine Flu? The Black Death killed 30-60% of Europe’s population. COVID is projected to kill maybe – maybe­­ – .0001%. Some perspective would be appreciated.