Doing What You Want with Scripture

Occasionally, and more frequently than I would prefer, I come across arguments about the Bible that leave me frustrated and dumbfounded.

For example, I recently read an article that claimed that Elisha assaulted the boy in 2 Kings 4 in the process of raising the child from the dead.

To be fair, Elisha’s actions are strange indeed, but to describe them as an assault completely misreads the text. It assigns malice to Elisha that is completely unwarranted.

To make matters worse, the logic of these authors’ paper was flawed in too many ways to count.

Reading the article frustrated me because it modeled a completely wrong way to approach the Bible. Rather than trying to determine what is happening in the text, the authors simply adopted a particular agenda and ran roughshod over the passage.

Why do I tell you this story?

Most people don’t read academic articles on the Bible like I do. And papers like the one I read seldom see the light of day outside of the academy.

I tell you this story because you likely encounter similar approaches to Scripture in your daily life.

Most of them will not be as provocative as the work I read, but they can be just as misguided.

A social media post in opposition or defense of particular political agendas can easily slip into the same territory.

Rather than wrestling with the meaning of the text before carefully identifying a principle that might shed light on how we should live in our present reality, many people treat Scripture as a series of proof-texts designed to fortify their visions of politics.

To be clear, however, the issue is not relegated to the realm of politics only.

We see similar mistakes on issues of theology and church practice. People have a certain experience or sincerely held conviction. From that starting point, they proceed to interpret Scripture.

This approach can lead to problematic interpretations and cause divisions within the Body of Christ.

What is the corrective?

First, we should all recognize our tendency to approach Scripture from a position of bias.

In some sense, this is inescapable. We are not a blank canvas. We have all sorts of influences.

Second, we must take steps to recognize our biases.

If we inevitably interpret Scripture from some angle or perspective, we should try to figure out what that is and determine how it influences our understanding of God’s word.

Third, we should study the Bible in community.

We are not meant to figure the Bible out by ourselves. We can and should study it for ourselves, but we must find ways to engage the community of faith.

Engaging with others in Bible study can and should occur in physical proximity to others (e.g., small groups, Sunday school, etc.). It can also include using helpful resources like commentaries and books.

One of the reasons I write these blog posts is to help people study the Bible better.

I see how easily we all can fall prey to the kinds of mistakes I’ve described in this post.

With that in mind, I started monthly Bible Study Challenges.

If you're interested in learning more, you can check it out here.