Or “To Bible or Not to Bible”
So there is a principle that says “You
can prove anything from the Bible.” That
is not a theological principle, that is a worldly cultural principle. Because the Bible has been used to justify
some extraordinarily cruel and vicious things.
Like Slavery. Like Fascism. Like Extremist Terror. Like highly sexist, genderist, and misogynist
principles of behavior ‘in the imitation of Christ’.
So what do we
do about that? On the one hand, the
Bible is ‘the Word as inspired by God’.
Even that will cause a ruckus about how best to state what ‘inspiration’
is, what ‘literal meaning’ is, what kind of absolutism can be adopted in how we
interpret the Scriptures.
The push of
this post is a conversation with a lovely couple who have run into issues of
their public participation in the commercial and personal life of their community
because they are both female. The
reaction to their purchasing a business was that it was being taken over by a ‘gang
of lesbians’ that would tarnish the reputation and memory of the previous
owner, all from a Christian and Christian guided means of thinking.
So what do we
do? Because there are verses in the
Bible that condemn homosexual behavior on first sight. This is not a place where I am going to go
verse by verse. “The Children are Free”
by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley is a resource to look at six key Scriptures
used in condemnation of homosexuality and verses that bring consolation to
those so injured by misinterpretation of the Bible’s message.
My place of
focus is not the Torah, but the Sermon on the Mount. It is not the Beatitudes, probably the most
iconic sermon opening in the history of sermon openings. Rather, I want to go to Matthew 5:18, where
Jesus doubles down on the law. “For
truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one
stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” The earlier translation goes ‘not a jot or
tittle shall pass away…”
But the
thesis statement of this section of the sermon, this portion that tightens up laws
concerning murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, and retaliation to insurmountable sins
of people’s thoughts and desires-not their actions, it begins with “Do not
think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to
abolish but to fulfill.”
For me, it
all turns on the phrase of ‘fulfill’ the law.
Jesus takes us from the actions to the personal motivations for the
actions, what sparks the actions, what in the heart and mind presses sinful
thoughts that lead to sinful actions. What
was Jesus’ fulfillment of the law? Punishment. Taken upon himself. For every punishment of the law-for sin-back
to its original motivation. This is to give
every sinner (all of us) several things:
1.
A fresh start.
2.
Assurance of pardon (the promise of Jesus’
forgiveness)
3.
The primacy of faith unto salvation (we are not
working our way into heaven)
This fulfillment of the law in
Christ realigns our perspective to understand Jesus’ summary of that law, “Love
God with all, love neighbor as ourselves.”
This is so important because love
does not change, but the law does. Oops,
there is the other key piece. The law changes. How many death penalty offences are to be
found in the Law of Moses? According to Google,
citing a BBC source, there are 36 capital offences. A piece I had not drawn together, from a
Google lead citing Wikipedia, is that there are four means of execution,
stoning, burning, strangulation, and beheading.
36. For the morbidly minded, the Bible is there
for you to read about them, the law of Moses being the first five books, Genesis
to Deuteronomy.
But what is legal and what is
illegal, broadly, and what is a capital offence and what is not, has shifted in
time and place. The civil authorities,
whom we are called upon to obey, represent different sets of legal systems and
codes over time. What does not change is
love.
Now, there is a lot more detail
that could be argued over. But, for me,
the law as understood in the bible, is the means by which we understand what is
NOT loving behavior. And our knowledge
of the power of love has only been enhanced over time.
So, Rule 1 when invoking law and
the bible, where is the love? That becomes
the measure for everything else.
Peter Hofstra
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