You can see it proudly displayed on church signs – We Are a Bible Believing Church! If it isn’t in the Bible, they say, it doesn’t matter. Or – The Bible Says it – I believe it – that does is! What is not said is that those who are not in that building with them are NOT Bible Believing Christians. Like the senator 20 years ago who said that Pres. Obama wasn’t a Christian because he was a member of my denomination, the United Church of Christ. A lot of people make judgments about whether or not some are Christian based on how they line up with their definition. I am a Bible Believing Christian too, but like everyone else, I reject some parts of Scripture. The difference is that I admit this, and a lot of folks are shocked by that. Imagine being honest about the Bible! I, like so many others, was raised with the idea that the Bible is the Word of God (capital W); then, we only heard parts of it in church. The rest was a mystery.
When I have conversations with Bible Believing Christians, I ask very pointed questions about what they believe. What is interesting is that, on certain topics, they are all about inerrancy. Homosexuality? Bad! Divorce? Bad! Women being submissive to Men? Good! If, however, you go deeper, they begin to talk about how that rule was about that time in history, or that was up for interpretation. These are, but their very definition, arguments against inerrancy! I ask them about the practice and approval of slavery, and they give an interpretation of the Hebrew word that means “indentured servitude”; which is partly true. When Jesus told stories about slaves, however, He made it clear that these slaves were owned by someone else, and they were under the complete control of their master. Or take something benign, like wearing mixed threads. That is smack dab in the middle of chapter 19 of Leviticus, amongst all the other bloodguilt-inducing laws and abominations that can lead to being killed.
Anyone who follows Jesus has to be, to some extent, a Bible Believing Christian; the question is, to what degree? I would say that I am around 90% – what percentage would you claim? And listen; it’s okay to say that parts of the Bible are wrong! From passages that promote inequality to the aforementioned slavery approval to so many others, the Bible is filled with rules that we no longer follow. The good news is that Jesus gave us permission to do this! When asked what the most important commandment was (inerrancy believes they are all equally important), Jesus said that loving God, neighbor, and self were the most important. He also said that (Matthew 22:40) “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” I think that means that a law or prophecy that does not fit with the greatest commandments is open for interpretation. If you don’t agree, that’s up to you. Because we are given brains to think and interpret and live out our faith. That’s one way of being a Christian.
Prayer – Holy God, may our lives be what You hope them to be – a way to help others by loving You, ourselves, and everyone else. Amen.
Today’s art is “Tsunami” by Jane Mudd.