Following the Bible

Being a Biblic Jew requires taking the Bible seriously.  I visited a Reform and a Conservative synagogue where I live, and I do not feel that they take the Bible seriously.  Instead, they seem to view the Bible as an outdated relic to be studied mainly for historical interest.  They view Judaism as something that should change with the times.  My view is quite different.  Since human nature has not changed significantly since the Bible was written, there is no reason to consider the Bible outdated.  Yes conditions have changed which means that details of biblical commandments may need to be tuned to our times, but the fundamental principles behind the biblical commandments are eternal.

If you take the Bible seriously, then you should make a serious effort to follow the Bible as you understand it.  This does not mean that you have to become a Bible scholar.  It is perfectly reasonable to rely on experts to provide you with guidance on how to interpret the Bible.  We do this in many other areas.  We have lawyers to provide us with guidance on law, accountants for guidance on accounting, etc.  So it makes sense to have a profession whose job it is to provide guidance on the Bible, whether called rabbi or priest or whatever.  But if your lawyer tells you to do something that you know is illegal, or if your accountant gives you financial advice that you know is wrong, then you should not do what they tell you.  It is no different with a Bible expert.  You should never knowingly violate your understanding of the Bible or do anything that you believe to be immoral regardless of what anyone else tells you.  And this where Rabbinic Judaism fails to qualify as Biblic Judaism, because Rabbinic Judaism insists that you obey the rabbis even when you know that they are wrong.  The rabbis justify this by putting themselves above God.  This may seem hard to believe, so please read this story.  At the end of the story, when the rabbis reject God, they say to God:

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We take no notice of heavenly voices, since You, G-d, have already, at Sinai, written in the Torah to "follow the majority."
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Note that there is a footnote there (2) which says that "follow the majority" comes from Exodus 23:2.  Well here it is:

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You shall not follow the majority for evil, and you shall not respond concerning a lawsuit to follow many to pervert [justice].
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Exodus 23:2

It says to "not follow the majority".  The rabbis got "follow the majority" by removing "not".  I don't think this is valid interpretation of the Torah.

At the other extreme is the Protestant concept of a priesthood of all believers.  This originated with Martin Luther who said "we are all consecrated priests through Baptism".  But this view is extremely arrogant because it implies that one can have the authority of a priest without study.  I believe that it is this arrogance that led to eventual downfall of Protestant culture.  We cannot all be experts at everything, so we must recognize the expertise of others who have spent time studying their field.

You can follow the interpretation of the Bible of an expert, or you can study the Bible yourself and reach your own conclusions.  But from whatever source you get your interpretation of the Bible, you should follow the Bible based on this interpretation.  And following the Bible means acting according to the commandments and principles of the Bible.