Every Reading is Interpretation
Saying "The Bible Says" tends to not respect what the Bible says
I’ve written before about a difference of opinion I had with a fellow leader when I was a senior pastor. The particular disagreement that I have in mind came about as a result of a discussion the leadership group was having about who was qualified to be part of the leadership team, part of the Board.
Various members of the Board had differing opinions, but the one person I am thinking of would often start his contribution to the discussion by saying, “The Bible says …”. I told him that it would be advisable if he stopped such a rhetorical tactic as everyone on the Board cared about what the Bible said. In fact, they all saw the Bible as authoritative. It was just that there was a difference of perspective on how to interpret the Bible and about what particular passages were relevant for the matter at hand. Using the words “the Bible says” only in reference to his particular point of view implied that his interpretation was the only acceptable one and that either the others on the Board did not care about the Bible or that they were misinterpreting it.
This person and myself knew each other well and I think that he did know that I cared about what the Bible said. So, he didn’t directly accuse me of not caring, but he put it out there. I suppose that for him to feel an assurance that I did care would require that I hold the same interpretation and perspective as him.
Recently, a politician in the United States faced some pushback over his publicly stated views on social issues. As part of his public relations response to this, he was interviewed on a friendly news outlet. The interviewer, in a rather softball question kind of way, presented a few of the politician’s previous statements and then asked for an explanation. The politician responded by saying that if anyone wanted to know his worldview all that they had to do was open the Bible. He said that his positions on social issues were simply the position of Christian scripture.
Can you think of a number of reasons why this answer might be problematic? Probably.
You can also likely surmise the kinds of views that the politician is claiming come from the Bible. As any thoughtful religious or biblical scholar will point out, there is no one single Biblical worldview. When anyone says that their views align with the views of the Bible, more questions are raised, not less. The Bible in places seems to support polygamy. The Bible’s view on the cosmos is that the earth is flat. Sure, you could point out that the biblical worldview about humanity is that we should all love each other, but the same Bible also says that it is okay, even virtuous, to kill enemies.
The politician in question happens to hold fairly extreme right wing views. It is curious to note, then, that in the same news cycle as the story about his contention that his view (on everything) is biblical, there was a story about how a union leader in a recent labour action regularly quoted the Bible. The article in which I came across this story was about how the social gospel movement in the United States is currently gaining traction. The union leader, in an echo of Martin Luther King Jr., was inspired by Christian scripture in his stances on worker’s rights. So, which is the biblical worldview, his or the politician’s? There is no doubt that the views are in opposition and yet both are quoting scripture.
My primary problem with the politician’s statement is the suspicion that he might honestly think that all of his views are biblical. This means, with certainty, that he has done something that those of us who claim religious faith are prone to do. He has subjugated true listening to scripture to his particular viewpoint. He has taken one interpretation and deemed it to be what “The Bible says”. He has then cast himself as a champion for God, faithfully defending God’s views in a troubled world.
You can see the dangerous directions in which this kind of thinking can go.
Hopeful Christian theology is guided, in part, by the concept that the Bible, for Christians, is “the word about the Word”. If your interpretation of the Bible is leading to ways of thinking that are less Christ-like, less compassionate, less self-giving, then they should be re-evaluated. I have noticed (not an exhaustive analysis to be sure) that as political extremes become more entrenched and severe, there is more talk of what “the Bible says” and less talk about Jesus. Jesus’ way of self-sacrifice, peacemaking, love for even enemies, his warnings about love of money and self-interest tend not to play as well in a political philosophy that says simply, “I am right and you are wrong.”
Yes. “The Bible says”…
Those who recite this are rarely willing to listen.