Bible Stuff

Several months ago, my wife and I decided to finally do the read-the-whole-Bible thing. So, we followed an outline and after dinner, a few chapters at a time, read the whole thing. What we found wasn't surprising, inasmuch as there has always been a conflict about what the Bible "says" about any number of topics.

It seems to me that--having read the entire thing--one is left with the impression that scripture values things like mercy, caring for "widows and orphans",  justice, and respect for the marginalized. Then, one can "interpret" the particulars of the Bible with those principles as a backdrop. Using this approach, I think, helps to keep the forest and the trees in perspective.

Conservatives have kind of flipped this over. The church from which we recently severed our relationship (Wisconsin Synod, aka WELS), seems to work in the opposite direction. They pick out a few particulars--in the recent past, most notably abortion and homosexuality--and then interpret the Bible in the direction from the trees to the forest. There is almost no mention in the Bible of either of these sins, at least not in the context of how they are used by WELS. For example, the verses about "knowing me in the womb" are presented as proof that life begins at conception, but those verses are an expression of the omnipotence and omniscience of God, not a biological definition of personhood. To use the passages in that way is injecting human beliefs that aren't there.

Today's conservative churches like the WELS have become two-sin churches, and all else revolves around that. This is why the church has become a big player in the culture wars--and therefore the political Right. Once you've declared your allegiance to that camp, you can work backwards and justify any human (or political) opinion as Biblical truth. To read the Bible in its entirety and conclude that God is "for" small government, low taxes, and lots of military spending, and is "against" immigration and Obamacare, is to mix up the forest and the trees. And it also explains why the most hateful things I have seen on social media have come from WELS people I know (as well as some Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod relatives). 

But this is where we are today. Scripture is used to justify all sorts of hate, injustice, and intolerance. If you cherry pick the right "trees" out of scripture, you can make the Biblical "forest" be anything you want.