I hate movies that seem to intentionally end ambiguously. Love it or hate it, I want closure. I don’t feel empowered by a director who lets me decide what their film meant. That just leaves me wondering why his or her mind was so clouded. Note to the director: the way to convince me you’re brilliant isn’t to show me you that you’re incapable of precise thinking when it matters the most.
I’ve had some students that approach Bible study the same way. They simply can’t tolerate the idea that there might truly be more than one interpretive option for a passage. The notion that alternatives exist disturbs them. The fact that those alternatives might be equally viable makes them break out in a cold sweat (or a rage, in my experience). I’ve never said it out loud, but I’ve thought it: “Please put your Strong’s Concordance down and calmly walk away from that verse.”
This sort of over-reaction telegraphs an emotional need for certainty. The thought that one’s tradition, pastor, or parents might have been incorrect about something in the Bible produces a sense of vulnerability. That’s unnecessary and, frankly, well beyond how God looks at the goals of Bible study.
Bible study shouldn’t be fear-based. God does not expect omniscience on the part of Bible students. He expects effort, humility, and a spirit of obedience to his will. Even if we don’t (and we cannot) know with certainty what the Bible teaches in every passage, we can still apply what we’re able to grasp (or think we’ve grasped) to our lives. Scripture is quite clear on fundamental virtues and vices, what pleases God and what offends him.
Another way to look at this has to do with the nature of Scripture. Resistance to uncertainty, however small, implies that there’s nothing in Scripture that could realistically transcend our intellectual ability to comprehend with certainty. It’s hard to consider that as anything but arrogance. As a scholar, I can tell you that the more I see in Scripture the more I realize I don’t see. A Bible that’s been all figured out would lose its intrigue—and importance. Thankfully, that isn’t something we need to worry about.