THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO

September 24, 2023
Rev. Tim Mitchell

A group of boys and girls was asked to summarize what they learned from the New Testament. Here is a summation of what they learned: “Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

“Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius, the Pilot. Pilot didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.” (1) From the Internet. Source unknown.

We laugh at that, but many adults would not fare much better, writes Pastor King Duncan. Nearly 80 percent of Americans say the Bible is the most influential book in human history, and 42 percent say reading the Bible is “very important” to them. Nonetheless, only 17 percent of Americans report reading the Bible daily, and 45 percent say they rarely or never read it. (2) USA Today I found a Medium article, “The Best-Selling book no one is reading…” Nevertheless, the Bible is an essential book for followers of Jesus.

We read from the Bible that St. Paul, in a letter written to his young protégé Timothy, gives him this warning, “¹⁴ But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught  you. ¹⁵ You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” The Bible is an important book to the Christian. We must learn how to read and study the Bible properly.

There are many misunderstandings about the Bible. It’s interesting to note that the Bible holds two distinctions, writes Pastor King Duncan. First, it is one of the best-selling books of all time. Second, it is one of the most shoplifted books of all time. Can you imagine that shoplifting a Bible?

For some people, the Bible itself is an icon. It is the book you put out on the coffee table to show that you are religious. It is the tiny book that the soldier carries in his shirt pocket next to his heart in the hopes that it will stop a bullet.

For some, the Bible is like a Ouija Board. They let it fall open, place their finger on a verse, and do what the verse says. It is like the old joke about the man who did that, and his finger fell on the verse, “Judas went out and hanged himself.” He did it again, and it fell on the verse, “Go, thou, and do likewise.”

For some, the Bible is a source of proof-texting to help them win arguments. Friends, you can make the Bible say about anything if you are determined.

It’s like the man who wrote to a controversial talk show host to prove his point: “I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

“Leviticus 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations around us. Does that apply to Canadians? Can you clarify?

“I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?”

God did not give us the Bible to win arguments with our neighbors. God gave us the Bible to learn how to Love God and Love one another. (3) Sermon entitled “People of the Book” by King Duncan found on Sermons.com

So, I want to talk about our view of this important book and how that view informs our understanding of God. One of the views of scripture is that it is “the literal word of God.” Folks who view the Bible this way practically worship the words themselves. Rachel Held Evans writes in Wholehearted Faith, “Our God is the Word made flesh, not the word printed on the page. And we commit a grievous error when we confuse what we consider to be divinely inspired text with the divine itself. People have been harmed by Christians’ treatment of Scripture as a hermetically sealed box, to be opened only gingerly and carefully by those approved (it’s worth asking by whom) to handle its contents. Lives—spiritual but also physical—have been lost because of mistaken ideas about biblical claims and idolatrous allegiances to “Scripture-based” systems.” (4). Evans, Rachel Held; Chu, Jeff. Wholehearted Faith (p. 119). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

“Our God is the Word of flesh, not the word printed on the page” is an important statement. It helps us to avoid an attitude like, “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” This sentiment or attitude can lead to the Bible being used to prove almost anything, and it often treats the text literally. Someone has said, “We take the Bible too seriously to read it all literally.” Rev. Roger Wolsey states, “Atheists and fundamentalists each tend to read the Bible in the same wooden, overly literalistic manner. The difference is that atheists reject what they read in that manner, while fundamentalists believe it.

There’s a lot of truth to that, he writes – enough that it tends… (upset) members of both of them when they come across what I said. However, he has also said that All Christians pick and choose which portions of the Bible they interpret literally. Progressive Christians admit this and share how we discern. (5) 16 ways progressive Christians interpret the Bible, Rev. Roger Wolsey.

We don’t want to find ourselves worshipping the Bible, but we want to reverence it because it teaches us about God. Rachel said it this way, “Scripture tells us about God and points us toward God and testifies about others’ encounters with God, but it doesn’t contain the entirety of God or even of the story of God.” (6) Evans, Rachel Held; Chu, Jeff. Wholehearted Faith (p. 118). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

So, how do we approach, discern, and interpret the Bible? Rev. Wolsey offers 16 ways progressive Christians approach, discern, and interpret the Bible. I will only address a few of what I consider the most important. We’ve already talked about not taking scripture literally.

Scripture was written by fallible human beings and is inspired by the Holy Spirit but not dictated. Therefore, we don’t believe it is inerrant or infallible. We understand there are inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible; some passages seem to be the antithesis of a loving God. Rev Wolsey recognizes this and writes, “The fact that such passages were allowed to be written into our holy scriptures are evidence of a mature people who realize that it’s best not to hide our dirty laundry or to deny our very real human feelings and passions. If the Bible were all about PR propaganda, they would have edited out those passages. We view those passages as exceptions to the over-arching message of the Bible of promoting unconditional love and the full inclusion and acceptance of all of God’s children.” (7) 16 ways progressive Christians interpret the Bible, Rev. Roger Wolsey.

We read the Bible prayerfully, recognizing that the Holy Spirit helps us to interpret what we read. We seek to apply our full attention to Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience. We could use the story about Peter changing his view toward Gentiles. He was taught from Scripture that God accepted only Jews and that he should never enter the house or associate with any non-Jew. And yet he came to believe that God accepted all. He learned this through prayer, a dream, and his experience. Like Peter, God continues to speak to us today through Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.

Rev. Wolsey continues, We realize that there is no “objective, one, right way” to interpret a passage – and we recognize that there is no reading of any text – including the Bible  – that doesn’t involve interpretation. We also realize that each person interprets the text via their own personal experiences, education, upbringing, socio-political context, and more.” (8) 16 ways progressive Christians interpret the Bible, Rev. Roger Wolsey. Speaking of learning from our experiences, sometimes we don’t get it.

Some of our beliefs can be confusing: A Christian woman was caring for a young Hindu girl while the girl’s parents were away on business. The little Hindu girl asked one Sunday if she could attend church with the woman and her husband. When the church service ended, the couple wanted to know how the little girl liked the experience. She said that she liked it, but one thing confused her. She told them she didn’t understand why they did not include the West Coast in their worship. They asked her what she meant. She answered, “You know, ‘in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the whole East Coast.””

Scripture is multifaceted and can have many messages. Rachel puts it this way: The bigger point here is that there are different ways to read a text, different angles from which to perceive it. It’s like a gemstone that captures, catches, and reflects different light. No facet can represent that gemstone in its entirety. It has to be turned and regarded from various directions for us to begin to glimpse the beauty of the whole. Evans, Rachel Held; Chu, Jeff. Wholehearted Faith (pp. 123-124). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

The last three I want to mention are: 1. We seek to read passages in context – within their chapter, within their book, within their genre, and within the over-arching thrust of the Bible. 2. We seek to read the passages with consideration of the historical socio-political contexts, frequently of oppression, in which they were written. 3. We employ a hermeneutic of compassion, love, and justice. (Which Jesus utilized). A hermeneutic is “an interpretive lens” and an intentional filter. The hermeneutic of love seeks to see the forest for the trees, and that allows the spirit of the law to trump the letter of the law (which Jesus modeled).

God has given us the Bible to point us to God. We don’t take it literally; we believe it is inspired but not dictated to fallible human beings—therefore, it is not infallible; we believe it is to be read prayerfully using what it says with reason, tradition, and experience, that there is not one right way to interpret, that context should always be considered, and we view the Bible through the lens of compassion, love, and Justice, and finally that the spirit of the law always trumps the letter of the law! The Bible becomes a light unto our path when we seek to approach, discern, and interpret the Bible using every gift God has given us, imploring the Holy Spirit to show us the right path.

© Rev. Tim Mitchell, 2023, All Rights Reserved
Westminster Presbyterian Church | 1420 W. Moss Ave. | Peoria, Illinois 61606
WestminsterPeoria.org | 309.673.8501

“As a newcomer to Westminster,  I’ve found it to be a most welcoming fellowship.  I look forward to going to services and events and find the warmth of the congregation to be most helpful to a newcomer to the entire area.  I find sermons challenging … music beautiful and well prepared … and a dignity in the worship that is all too lacking in most Protestant congregations.  Mix this with an open atmosphere where it is OK to question and still be seen as a good Christian, and I know I’ve found one important ‘home’ in Central Illinois.”