Misusing the Bible

Misusing the Bible

2 Timothy 3:14-17

            Paul understood Scripture.  He undoubtedly understood it better than the other early apostles.  They were mainly from the working class and had little formal education.  Yes, they would have known Scripture.  That would have been a significant part of whatever education they received—perhaps the most significant part.  Paul, however, had been trained as a Pharisee and had great credentials as a scholar.  He had studied with Gamaliel, one of the leading experts of his day.    This is part of what enabled him to develop a theology which encompassed both Jews and Greeks.  In today’s parlance, he knew the word!

            Remember, when we speak of Scripture in the first century, we’re speaking of the Hebrew Scriptures—what Christians usually refer to as the Old Testament.  That was the only Bible there was.  It was well into the fourth century C.E. before what we now know as the New Testament became canon.

            Paul’s advice to Timothy is excellent:  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness….”  Whether we believe that God dictated Scripture to the sacred writers, or that they wrote as human beings under divine inspiration, the Bible is our record of God’s relationship with humankind.  Whether we believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, or feel that some of its stories are allegorical and some of its language figurative, the Bible is where we find God’s attempts to redeem humankind and reconcile us with our Creator.

            We must be careful, however, not to misuse the Bible—and it is easy to do that.  Here are some ways people have misused God’s word over the centuries.

            The Bible as Science Text.  The Bible does not claim to be a science textbook, and should not be used as such.  Even those of us whose science education doesn’t extend further than a couple of basic courses in high school know that Scripture’s descriptions of the way the world works are more figurative than accurate.  Galileo proved long ago that the sun does not revolve around the earth.  The Church did itself a disservice by maintaining that the Bible said it was the other way round.  Church leaders compounded the error by waiting until nearly the end of the twentieth century before stating that Galileo was right.

            Let us realize that scientific discoveries are God’s way of revealing to humankind how things work.  Science is not anti-Bible, even if some scientists take that stand.  The more we learn about science, the more we should realize how awesome God  is to have created a universe that works in such a wondrous, marvelous way.

            The Bible as History Text.  The Bible does not claim to be a history textbook either.  Other historical records show that the Bible is not entirely accurate in its description of events.  That was never its purpose.  The Bible was given to humankind to be a record of our relationship with God, not a record of humans’ time on earth.  Because we demand our historical records (such as newspaper stories) be as accurate as possible, let us rely on Scripture to tell us how we should live, and not how our societies developed.

             The Bible as Support of Ungodly Stands.  Krister Stendahl, the eminent Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, said:  “The last racists in this country, should there ever be an end to such, will be those with Bible in hand.  There has never been an evil cause that has not been made more evil when it could use the Bible to support its arguments.” 

            We must be careful not to use Scripture to support positions which in any way denigrate any of God’s children.  Thank heaven we no longer burn heretics at the stake—although some religious extremists still insist on executing those who do not believe as they do.  Over the centuries since Christ walked this earth the Bible has been used to shore up some pretty un-Christlike beliefs.  Not only racism, but slavery, abuse of women, and many other inequalities have been supported by verses taken from Scripture.  Paul knew what he was saying when he insisted that there was no difference between people in God’s sight.  Men and women, Jews and Greeks, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, straights and gays—all are God’s children, and all are to be respected as such.  We have no right to demean those whom God has made.