The Caravan is Marching

The most common piece of criticism I receive in regards to my faith in God and how I study the Scriptures is this:

“You just pick and choose what you want to believe.”

If you hear this said to you, I’m here for you. If you say this to others, please remember that this is hurtful and isolating to those you say this to. Those who say this usually claim to take the Bible at face value and not “pick and choose”.... but they don’t take the whole Bible at face value, and they do pick and choose what not to take at face value and what to take at face value. If you have tattoos or are against slavery or believe women can teach, etc... then you actively choose to read more deeply into those pieces of Scripture that at surface level seemingly contradict your deep, inner convictions. You find nuanced meaning and richer application for your life. Acting like you are more “right” because you read certain passages at face value, or in higher authority over other passages, or project traditional views onto nuanced passages, it can be extremely dangerous. This kind of thinking leads to hypocrisy, judgement, and pride. Even the term “face-value” insinuates that you are only judging something by its surface level appearance, which we all know can be unreliable and unethical.

I don’t pick and choose what I want to believe the Bible says. I follow the ancient rabbinic tradition of reading the entire Bible through as many eyes as possible, following every question in every direction with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and others whom I trust to be humble and wise in their reading. If you are not self aware of your own biases and selectiveness when interpreting the Bible, this immediately disqualifies your interpretation as reliable. So my advice is to first acknowledge that we all have the power to read anything into anything— a lesson taught by Martin Luther, CS Lewis, Augustine, Plato, St John, and more. Secondly, accept that we all have the potential to be mistaken, something Apostle Paul readily teaches in reference to himself. When you read every passage in the Bible that talks about how one should read the Bible and follow God, you will find it repeated most frequently the all-encompassing importance of humility. 

Christ came to show how problematic and harmful it can be to only rely on the written word of God. Jesus came and said HE is the word of God, subverting the idolization of Scripture. He not only enlightened traditional views of Scripture, but challenged them. His followers didn’t know what to do once Jesus left them because they knew how hard it is to navigate nuanced, moral issues. How were they to continue his complex work of starting a new worldview? It’s easy to say love God and love your neighbour, but what if your neighbour wants to eat a burger in front of you when that is considered unclean by God? Or what if they ask to be euthanized? They begged Jesus to stay for they knew they only had a taste of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and he was the tree. So he sent his Spirit to stay with them and continue the work he started. The thing with the Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Spirit are all equal, and what the Spirit speaks is just as authoritative as what Christ spoke. Albeit, the means through which the Spirit speaks—through our conscience, thoughts, heart, etc— can cause obvious issues when it comes to our own biased thinking. However the means through which we have the words which Christ spoke can also be problematic when it comes to translation, second and third hand accounts, limited memory, etc. It’s called faith for a reason.

I trust God. If the Bible (or what I was taught about the Bible) doesn’t line up with my deep convictions, I look deeper into both my convictions and what the Bible actually says... just as many have done before me in regards to slavery and women’s rights among many other things. 

The reason I feel hurt and isolated when people accuse me of twisting the Bible to fit my beliefs is because it pushes me farther away from the church, the church I deeply want to be a part of. It reminds me that pride, hypocrisy, fear, and judgement still have their hands on the wheel and these things are hijacking the gospel to run people over with. Maybe it’s the injured's fault for being on the road, or maybe it was an accident, either way I decided to get out of the car a few years ago.

Boy, is it beautiful out here. People are tending to each other’s wounds and offering each other shelter and food. We are forming a caravan and we are marching onward. 

Note: If you resonate with this and feel alone, there are amazing communities of people who feel just like you. Research the “emerging church”. You can follow writers such as Richard Rohr who has a free daily email devotional. Phil Drysdale has a book list on his website and a global Deconstructionist Network where you can connect with others near you. You can listen to podcasts such as the Deconstructionists, The Liturgists, the Robcast, and more. You are definitely not alone.