By The Rev. Eldred Johnston
According to our author, this article was written especially for lay people who have given up their study of the Bible because they are confused by its complexity and by its ambiguities.
An old professor in my seminary had a favorite saying: "The Bible is a violin, and even the devil can play his own tune on it." If you search diligently, you can find verses in the Bible to prove almost anything. So in the wrong hands, the Bible can be a dangerous instrument.
Let us look at some examples of how people can use the Bible to support opposing points of view on such controversial subjects as alcoholic beverages, militarism, and the Gospel for the conversion of the individual versus the social Gospel. Quotations will be from the Revised Standard Version. Obviously some of the quotes will not be direct proof of a certain position, but protagonists may use them loosely to imply support for their views.
It is all right for a Christian to use alcoholic beverages:
“. . .there was a marriage at Cana. . . When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' . . .Jesus said to them,' Fill the jars with water . . . . now draw some out and take
it to the steward . . . .' When the steward of the feast tasted the water, now become wine...” (John 2: 1-11).
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me" (I Corinthians 11:25).
"Use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments" (I Timothy 5-23).
It is wrong to use alcoholic beverages:
"Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler: and whosoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1).
"It is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble" (Romans 14:21).
Military force is justifiable:
"The Lord is a man of war . . . . Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea . . . . thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy" (Exodus 15: 3-6).
"...Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel 500,000 . . . . Thus the men of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord, the God of their fathers" (II Chronicles 13:17-18).
Jesus said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10-34).
"Let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one" (Luke 22:36).
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's..." (Mark 12:17).
The use of military force is wrong:
"Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9).
"If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39) .
“. . .they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
“. . .all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27).
The main concern of Christianity is conversion of the individual:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38).
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:161.
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and... rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations" (Luke 24:46-47).
The main concern of Christianity is helping those in need:
Jesus, referring to the hungry, the stranger, the sick, said, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
"Religion that is pure and undefiled... is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction..." (James 1:271.
"So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17).
"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies .... But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like as ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:21-24).
This proof-text method has been used in countless controversies about evolution, abortion, faith-healing, women's rights, and on and on. Fortifying their positions with Bible texts, people throughout history have practiced slavery, polygamy, book-burning, inquisitions - even agnosticism!
Does this mean, then, that we are left in a hopeless situation about understanding the Bible? Need we throw up our hands, not knowing what to believe? I don't think so.
Certainly the Bible is our most precious possession. For at least 1,500 years, it survived the ravages of barbarians, the ridicule of cynics, the slander of rival religions, the microscope of scientists. From its pages has flowed forth the inspiration for the founding of hospitals, homes for the orphaned and elderly, world councils of peace, schools, colleges, criminal rehabilitation, and conservation. Human beings in the depth of despondency, bereavement, loneliness, and guilt have found this book to be a never-failing friend - wise, powerful, and loving.
Without a doubt, the Bible is an abstruse and complex volume. It is obviously not one book, but a library of over 60 books originally written by persons between 2,000 B.C. and about 100 A.D.
It originated in a part of the world and in an era radically different from ours. Its customs and traditions are more eastern than western, its culture is certainly more rural than industrial; and it is definitely pre-Copernican in its concept of the universe.
The dozens of ancient languages and dialects used by its early authors have been translated and retranslated until finally they were distilled into Hebrew and Greek and, for us, into English and modern American idiom. For in-depth Bible study, our colleges have produced theologians, semanticists, archeologists, anthropologists, historians, and linguists. These scholars have joined forces with devout Christians to provide a rich and profound interpretation of the scriptures.
Some pastors have disdained the wealth of information thus mined and argued that the only prerequisites for preaching are faith in God and the ability to read English. However, most clergymen believe that the search for truth by scholars is also in its way divinely inspired. They train to study the findings of scholars and to popularize them for their congregations.
Now, in closing, let me take my turn at quoting scripture: "The great throng heard him gladly" (Mark 12:37). Perhaps so much has been said about the complexity of the Bible that many may feel that only professional scholars can understand it. However, there is ample evidence that the common people accepting the guidance of pastors and scholars are capable of searching the Bible with devotion and intelligence to discern the voice of God - his voice speaking through the agony and struggles of sinful, yet aspiring, humans.
In this book alone we can find the vital message for every generation: God lives; God loves us; God demands righteousness; God forgives; God saves; and God promises his sure and final victory.