the mysterious lacunae

It's been established that the Bible has a ridiculous amount of lacunae. Unless Abraham had some kind of mental disorder in which he lacked all emotions and silently obeyed everything he was told, there were a lot of things going on in Genesis 22 which are not explained or even addressed by the text. To the casual reader, this may be confusing or frustrating or otherwise unnatural. But think: if the Bible addressed every lingering question, it wouldn't even be a book. It would be about 100 volumes long, and with every volume would come more questions. Let's face it, even the Bible can't be perfect in itself (...we all know).

As Biblical scholars (I'm pretending to be one), we have to look at what we have available. None of it makes sense...why are some stories told twice with different details (why are Genesis 1 and 2 so blatantly contradictory?) whereas some stories aren't told at all when they seem to be extremely important? Again, the great Redactor had something to do with this. I'm fascinated by the Redactor(s). He/she/they had so much power! And his/her/their role(s) are shrouded in mystery, for the most part. Where's the material which was deemed unnecessary? Where did all the stories that made the cut originally come from? And why are certain stories juxtaposed?

I never get answers, only questions.

Having thought about the Bible's legitimacy a bit, I see how easy it is to explain away doubts and questions. Why didn't Abraham argue more with God, or at least show a little more emotion at the prospect of killing his only, painstakingly conceived, son? The easiest explanation is that he did, but if such petty details were included everywhere in the Bible it would never be contained in one book, it would be 100+ volumes. When I first started reading the Bible I came to terms with the fact that it's not perfect and not an account of perfection. Now I'm realizing that it is more of an overview than a fluid story of God's doings. If something isn't in there, that's not the Bible's fault. It can't be taken too seriously, even though I suppose religious people are required to take it seriously. Or maybe it's more of a guideline than a rule.

Lacunae. They're everywhere. They're necessary. They're mysterious. It's okay to use your imagination every once in a while...