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The Rev. Dennis McCarty Community columist |
But it wasn't written by God. It was written by thoughtful human beings, about God. In times that were very different from ours.
Everyone has a right to their opinion. But at some point, healthy opinion really needs to reflect what's actually in front of us. Some comments on my last column don't do that at all. It would be a public disservice to let them stand unchallenged.
For example, one letter-writer says, "It is theological liberalism that has brought our country into the state of peril which we now find ourselves [sic] today."
Excuse me - Osama Bin Laden, Muqtada al Sadr, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Donald Rumsfeld are hardly "theological liberals." Religious liberals think it over before they bomb or invade someone.
The same person wrote:
"Some may say 'The Bible says we are not supposed to judge.' Untrue. That is a falsehood espoused by theological liberals."
I can't believe someone would write this. Read Paul (Romans 14:13); James (James 2:13); and Jesus (Matthew 7:1 and lots of other places.)
Jesus understood people. He knew that judging others is addictive, like a drug. Judging others makes us feel powerful and helps us hide from our mistakes and weaknesses. Time and again, he explained how we need to get past that, welcome the outcast, and get ourselves straightened out before we talk about others.
Jesus was, indeed, a "theological liberal." To him, faith, compassion and justice were far more important than church rules or scriptural authority. That's what got him crucified.
Authorities of his day saw him as a troublemaker. Luckily for me, crucifixion is frowned upon. So is burning people at the stake - or some folks might turn me into a "crispy critter."
Another writer says, "I have not read one law from God that promotes slavery."
Neither have I. But that's just the point. It's the Bible that accepts slavery, not God.
It does say masters should be kind to their slaves, and the Hebrews were glad they escaped from bondage.
But Paul writes that slaves should serve and honor their masters and not try to change their situation.
Leviticus says, "You may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you ... and they may be your property."
The Bible totally accepts slavery as an institution.
It took a thousand years for all the books of the Bible to be written. Given a thousand years to think about it, do you really think God would accept slavery - or other atrocities the Bible lays at God's door, such as slaughtering prisoners of war? I don't.
The Bible was written in a very different time by people who couldn't imagine a world where slavery and war crimes would be seen as wrong. That's precisely why we need to read it carefully.
"Men still make laws today that go against the will of God, such as Roe v. Wade."
I have strong opinions about abortion, too. But we're talking about what the Bible actually says. You won't find abortion in the Bible, not one word, zip, nada.
Other ancient cultures, such as the Assyrians, did have laws punishing abortion. But they also accepted the killing of unwanted babies once they were born, which Israel didn't.
So we really can't know the Bible's exact intentions on abortion. What we can know is that Exodus and Leviticus tell us a baby was not a person until it was 1 month old.
"If I were like McCarty and said parts of the Bible are untrue, I could just as easily say it is all untrue," this writer says.
This is a perfect example of all-or-nothing thinking.
Life isn't all or nothing. It's shades of gray, somewhere in the middle. Her statement is a good example of setting the Bible up as an idol to be worshipped, rather than a complex, sacred text to be carefully studied.
It's easy to say the Bible's perfect until you read it carefully and honestly. But real faith doesn't need idols. God gave people eyes to read with and brains to think with.
The Bible offers frightful crimes and beautiful wisdom. We need to read it closely enough to tell the difference. The Bible forbids worshipping graven images. We shouldn't turn it into one.
To really study the Bible is to begin to see the flaws right alongside the beauty and truth. Which is a pretty good approach to the rest of our faith journey.