Jeanne Jondreau misunderstands the concept of the Bible being written for the times

In response to a post, that people should let Scripture change them rather than attempt to change Scripture to meet the times, Jeanne Jondreau commented about the Bible being written for the times. Specifically, that it was written for ancient times, for an ancient audience, with the implication that relevant portions of the Bible are not applicable today. Jondreau also argued that the Bible should not be literally interpreted. 

Jeanne Jondreau was right where she did not intend to be, and she was wrong where she thought that she was right. As used in her argument, Jondreau implied that many parts of the Bible were intended for an ancient audience and not necessarily for modern ones. Additionally, by not taking the Bible literally, a pathway is open to liberally interpret what Scripture says. This assumption also opens the way to dismiss certain parts of the Bible. 

However, Jeanne Jondreau gets it wrong given that the Bible is jampacked with metaphors, allegories, symbols, etc. to get a point across. The underlying meanings are still applicable today. 

Many of the metaphors and storylines appealed to the audiences at that time. For example, the use of fire. Many Christians today believe that fire is associated with Satan. However, reading in context of the entire Bible, the fire metaphor leverages the use of fire in industry and everyday living during that time. Fire was a valuable tool. 

Tourists going through the ruins of Pompeii would see evidence of the ancients use of fire. Fire was used for cooking. Work smiths created a final product utilizing furnace fires as a part of the production process to arrive at a finished product. A common theme involving mention of fire in Scripture leverages most commonly understood concepts regarding the utility of fire in ancient times. 

In the Old Testament, people "doing what was right in their own eyes" as opposed to what God defined as right, where metaphorically described as "burning." Their lives were much harder than what they needed to be. To improve their lives, they had to abandon their interpretation of what was right in favor of doing what God defined as right. 

One underlying theme in this description is captured in a common Internet saying, "Life is tough, but it is tougher when you are stupid." This theme utilizes the image of a work smith using a furnace to solidify "perfection." God is described as the work smith, and humanity is described as the product. For example, the exile is described as "a furnace" aimed at purging impurities from the Judeans just as a metalsmith purged impurity from liquefied metal. 

This is just but one example of how the descriptions in the Bible address themes that are relevant today. For example, a person who genuinely cares about others in the workplace, who gives credit where credit is due, who does not steal credit from others, who helps others achieve their goals, is more likely to have a better time at work to include endorsements for promotion, pay raises, and retention. However, a person who takes credit for someone else's work, who blames people for things that they did not do, who throws people under the bus to make himself/herself look better, is a person who contributes to the erosion of worker morale in an organization. People have turnover intention, or fire back with counter incivility, and do things that work against efficient operations and against the organization's ability to meet its objectives. 

Scripture addresses human nature that is still relevant today. Understanding the Bible, from the perspective of someone who lived during that time period, makes this evident.