This past week I was interviewed by a woman working on her dissertation in Leadership, and she asked me, “Tell me of a time when your leadership caused controversy.” Um – every time? Not quite, but almost; so, I told her about our congregation’s journey to become the first Open & Affirming UCC congregation in our three-county area in Pennsylvania. At the end of the interview, she – an extremely faithful, kind, and devout Christian – stated that she disagreed with the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church – unless – and this is important – it was to change them into heterosexuals. My response was that I know all the Scripture used to oppose non-heterosexual people, so there’s no need to go into that. Then I asked her this: what does she and her church think about Jesus’ words on divorce? What about the acceptance of slavery in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. Her answer? Those are situational.
I have heard this argument many times, and it is the most illogical response imaginable. I said to her, “If you believe the Bible is inerrant, how can any of it be situational? And who decides what is situational and what isn’t?” She acknowledged my point but said that her religious community believes what it believes. And there we have it – like the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7, it is their opinion, but it does not come from God. Which means (drum roll) – they actually do not believe that all of the Bible is inerrant. (Ta da!). And I am with them – I believe that there are some Scripture passages that are from God; the truth they tell is, for me, unshakeable. There are also passages that are obviously biased in their bigotry, misogyny, and cultural bias. But again – this is my opinion – my interpretation – my personal bias.
I think that all of the Bible is situational, to some degree, and parts of it still speak to us while others do not. Jesus banned divorce, I believe, to save women and children from being thrown away from “hard-hearted men” (His words, not mine). I believed that Jesus spoke of slavery as a cultural reality, not as a God-given status. I believe that the Apostle Paul wanted men to treat women as equals in the church, but also that women needed to follow the cultural norms in public so as to not draw attention to the community. He wanted them to make it alive until the return of Jesus, after all. To you who are not interested in inerrancy – please try to read and understand the Bible and its context. When dealing with Fundamentalists, it makes life so much better. And it shows those who have been rejected that they are, in fact, welcome here. Be like Jesus and admit when the Bible isn’t right.
Prayer – Holy God, Your words in Scripture guide and enrich and teach us – help us to see them as a tool for growth, not for destruction. Amen.
Today’s art is “Peace and Harmony” by Anita Nairne.