The Role of Scripture

**Note: In the following, when I refer to "Scripture," I am referring primarily to the New Testament since these are the "set of rules" that apply to Christians.

I took a lot of Bible classes in college. There are some that are required for graduation from Taylor, but I also took enough electives to earn a minor in "Biblical Literature" (that sounds so fancy). In all of these classes, Scripture was obviously discussed. But it seemed that the actual role of Scripture was taken for granted. It was assumed that everyone taking the classes must believe that all Scripture is to be taken literally and prescriptively. At the time of taking these classes, I would have said that I also believed this. A lot of things have changed since then.

The church I attended while at Taylor, The Mercy House, was a wonderful group of people committed to dialogue and community. It was the first church I ever attended that encouraged congregational discussion after the pastor (or whomever the speaker was) finished their message. We were going through the books of the Bible one by one and we came to those infamous passages in 1 Timothy 2 about women being silent and being saved through childbearing and all of that. I mean, come on, those passages are awkward. It brings up a lot of questions about women who can't/don't want to have children, women involved in ministry, female pastors, etc.

In a church like The Mercy House, who has a "liberal" view on these things, it started a lively discussion during and after the message was delivered. Obviously, during this discussion, the idea of "taking the passage in context" came up a lot. After awhile, someone stood up and said something to the effect of, "Why do we only talk about taking passages we DON'T like in their original context? It seems that we should either take all passages in their context or take all of it literally. Who decides how we pick and choose what to take literally?"

Excellent point. This one statement has brought about a six-month period of searching for me (I want to go back to Indiana and shake that man's hand). It is doing a disservice to God, the Bible, and myself to only try to "explain away" passages that make me uncomfortable but never look at the contexts of the ones that jive with my existing beliefs. I basically set out to decide if Scripture, ALL of Scripture, is or isn't to be taken in context. I believe that it is, and that has changed a lot of things for me.

The New Testament is a bunch of observer's stories and letters. Aside from the actual words of Jesus, I'm doubtful that the words written in the books of the NT are to be taken as literally as it is assumed we should. It is undeniable that Paul, Peter, John, etc. were wise men who were seeking after God. But that's all they are: men who were seeking after God. Their letters were chosen out of countless more to be considered "Scripture" by a bunch of guys at a conference.

I guess what I'm saying is this: I think the books of the NT are wise words written by wise men. But I don't know that I want to take everything they say so literally. When you look at the historical context of the letters, it's quite clear that most of the things that were being addressed were not only for specific situations, but also for specific people. I doubt that the writers of the NT letters would have written the same things if they had known that their letters would be seen and taken literally by the majority of the world. 

I haven't worked out exactly what this means for me. I do believe that there are overarching themes that build off the teachings of Jesus, like loving others, caring for the oppressed, and being a community of integrity. But things that are mentioned solely by these writers, specifically things that are wrong or sinful...I just don't know if I can commit to saying that these are things that apply to all Christians. The words of Jesus are an exception for obvious reasons. But what separates men like Paul and Peter from writers of our current generation who write books expounding on the teachings of Jesus? Is the only difference that the former had actually known Jesus while he was on earth?

I guess I want to open this up to all of you (all, like, three of you) that read this. I'm still figuring all this out. But at this point, in a nutshell, this is what I'm thinking: the epistles of the NT are a valuable resource to understanding the early church. I don't believe, however, that its specifics are prescriptive.

What do you think?

May as well start of with a bang, eh?

Homosexuality is not a new topic for me to be writing/speaking out about. I wrote an article about it for the school newspaper, have done numerous studies and reports on it for classes, and pretty much don't miss any opportunity to share my views on it. (What can I say? I like stirring up controversy.)

This isn't going to be about the "Christian" view of homosexuality. But it IS about gay rights, and it IS about the dignity and equality of all people, no matter their sexual orientation.

I recently read in a facebook message written by a Christian friend of mine that there is "nothing more traitorous" than Christians embracing the "unorthodox lifestyle of homosexuality." Though I know this friend's heart is in the right place, this deeply troubles me. Nothing more traitorous to God than being gay? Not only is that not biblical, it's just downright insulting.

Contrary to popular belief, you can love Jesus and be gay. Whatever you believe about the "righteousness" of a Christian living a gay lifestyle, you cannot (intelligently) argue the fact that it is not a choice. Sin affects everyone, and Christians are not immune from any particular sin. Just as someone is born a pathological liar, someone is born gay (this is not me likening the sin of lying to homosexuality; I'm just using that "lifestyle sin" as an example).

However, I stray from my point. My point is this: how can anyone argue, by ANY logic, that homosexuality is "the worst sin?" Please give me biblical (or logical) evidence that homosexuality is worse than any other sin issue someone may struggle with. Actually, in Matthew 12, Jesus says that all sin will be forgiven except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So really, if anyone's going to get all up in arms about a particular issue, shouldn't it be that?

Homosexuality is not mentioned in the Bible nearly as much as other sins such as greed, theft, lying, and murder. Why is it that so many conservative Christians seem to cling to this one issue so tightly? Is it because they don't struggle with it, so they don't know the agonizing dilemmas that Jesus-following gay individuals face everyday? Is it because it's starting to become more culturally accepted in America? Is it because the media has created a stereotype of gays that is silly and demeaning?

Like I said, I'm not trying to argue about the "correctness" of homosexuality and whether or not you can be a Christian and live a gay lifestyle and all of that. I'm simply asking, why do we pick on gay people so much? No wonder they hate Christians. We treat them like the modern-day lepers. Which, by the way, is exactly the opposite of what Jesus did.

This brings me to the issue of gay rights. My view on the whole thing is this (and this will come up many more times as an explanation for why I believe what I do): we have to respect the separation of Church and state. What if we had a Muslim president and s/he started making all of these rules based on things s/he believed to be true because of the Qur'an? What if it was illegal not to bow five times a day towards Mecca? What if it was illegal to eat or have sex during the month of Ramadan? We would be pissed, that's what. But that's exactly what we're doing by criminalizing homosexuality. The only basis Christians who are anti-homosexuality have for their beliefs is what they interpret the Bible to be saying. So how, then, is it fair to make laws based on that? (I am, of course, ignoring all of the more ridiculous reasons Christians [and others] give to be anti-gay, including things such as: gay people can't reproduce; "if we let them marry, can people marry animals next?;" "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve;" etc.)

Whatever you believe about homosexuality, I don't think it's okay to treat those who practice it like social outcasts. The Bible says a lot of things are wrong (yes, even in the New Testament) that we don't enforce. Why do we harp on this one thing? Why do we endorse and even celebrate movies that show and glamorize premarital sex? Why don't we go on heated tirades about liars, gluttons, thieves, or the prideful? Why don't we create entire websites, entire friend groups, entire organizations around these issues?

I think the answer lies in the fact that we have all struggled with most, if not each, of those sins in some capacity. Homosexuality, to those of us who have never struggled with it, can seem like a mystery, an anomaly, or even an unnatural perversion. We can not empathize with those who are gay, perhaps, because we have no idea what it's like to be so. But think about this: what if the roles were reversed, and you were told that being straight was a sin? Could you just flip a switch and change?

I believe I have crossed into rambling territory and I am currently distracted by the Yankees game, so I think I'll be wrapping this up now :]

Discuss.

Here I am.

This isn't my first blog, but I hope that it will turn out to be my most insightful and truthful one.

I often find people on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, etc. saying completely ignorant, hateful things and putting them in the mouth of God. As anyone who has ever had a conversation with me can tell you, I am continually frustrated, saddened, and downright cranky about this. I'm going to attempt to use this blog as a place to respond.

I know that one person can't change the perception of many, or even one, and I don't want to discredit any pain that those who claim Christianity have caused you. I simply want to show you that we're not all the same. There are Christians out there who aren't abortion clinic picketers, gay haters, woman oppressors, Republican lovers, alcohol damners, and any other images that may pop into your mind when you hear the name of Jesus.

I don't pretend to know everything about Jesus and I certainly don't claim my words to be the final and authoritative say for all things Christian. Above all, I want to provide a place where people can dialogue. So whatever reactions you have to what I write, please post them. Feel free to argue with me; in fact, I encourage it. If you agree with me, then that would be nice to hear as well :]

I hope to learn from and through you. Thanks for journeying with me.