Fun with the Bible

I’d like to respond to an email forward that has found its way into my inbox (twice) entitled “Should Christians Respect Obama?” The text of the forward can be found at this page.

Now, I’m not usually one to ruffle feathers and I hate to argue with people, but it has come to my attention that those of us “social justice Christians” all too often remain silent and allow too many dangerous statements to go uncontested. So here is my attempted rebuttal to this email forward. Mind you, I love both people who sent it to me and I greatly appreciate the fact that they care enough about me to pass along thoughtful emails like this one. And I certainly enjoy reading them because it is good to remember what folks on the other end of the spectrum are saying/thinking.

I have to lay out a disclaimer before I begin: I have one year of seminary education under my belt (well almost, I still have 1.5 weeks left of Intro to Greek). This is a very dangerous stage to linger in because I’ve been exposed to just enough theology and biblical studies to get me into trouble. There’s a reason the Master of Divinity takes three years to complete, and I’d even argue that my theological education will be ongoing as I embark in ministry. So with that in mind, here are my thoughts about David Barton’s statements (if they are even his, because truthorfiction.com claims that this interview is a fabrication, so take that with a grain of salt).

I’m not very familiar with David Barton, but from what I gather he seems to be a key player in Texas politics. Time magazine even named him as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. The email refers to him as “Dr.” but his wikipedia page only shows him receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, so I wonder what his credentials are to make him a “historian.” I appreciate the fact that the email acknowledges that he is not a Biblical speaker (meaning expert?).

I don’t have the time or the energy to touch on each issue that is mentioned in the email, so instead I’ll play devil’s advocate by highlighting a few challenging words from the Bible (since Barton proclaims the authority of Scripture).


Barton is not “uniting behind Obama.” Okay, I have no problem with this statement because I took the same stance when President Bush was in office. I respect his opinion and anyone else who agrees with him. Just give me some good arguments to support this reasoning...

Obama’s abortion beliefs: he seems to be leaning pro-choice which Barton & Co object to. This one is tough. The Bible doesn’t seem to say anything blatantly regarding abortion, but there is a tricky passage in Psalms 137 that says “Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!” Yikes. What do we make of that? The Bible seems to applaud baby killers. But then Matthew 25 says “whatever we did to one of the least of these...you did it to [Jesus].” Talk about ambiguity.

Or how about Obama’s radical Marxist concept of re-distributing wealth...and raising taxes for those making $150,000+. The Bible is full of all kinds of crazy notions regarding money: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains” (1Tim 6:10). Or how about “you cannot serve God and wealth” (Matt 7:24). What about “...none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:33). I’m not really sure how all of these prosperity gospel folks justify their claims, but it seems to me Jesus was all about humble living. He even led by example as a homeless itinerant preacher who relied on the generosity and hospitality of others for survival.

This next one baffles me: “his view of amnesty and giving more to illegals than our American citizens who need help.” What exactly is an “illegal” anyway? My friend and respected peer, Sudie, is always quick to point out Exodus 22: 21 in response to the immigration debate: “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

“Views on homosexuality and his definition of marriage.” Oh, hello can of worms. Here are a few Biblical men who had multiple wives: Abraham, Gideon (who was a man of God by the way), Elkanah (father of Samuel), David, Solomon (who had 300 wives and 700 concubines making him one busy man). So what is the Bible’s definition of marriage? A man can marry as many women as he wants? We seem to condemn polygamy today and yet it is plain as day in the Bible. Makes me wonder about those passages referring to homosexuality, and whether or not they should be taken literally.

“...views that radical Islam is our friend and Israel is our enemy.” What was all that stuff Jesus said about our enemies? “...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...” (Matt 5:44). “...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...” (Luke 6:27). Oh, right.


I admit that this has all been a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I’m just playing the same game that Evangelical Christians do: taking Scripture out of context to support their claims. Picking and choosing the words that we like to hear and twisting them to make them say what we want. The Bible is a powerful and beautiful book. But is is also a dangerous book that has been used to justify slavery, racism, genocide, crusades, gender oppression and colonialism. That’s why I think every Bible that is published should come with a warning label on the outside, urging readers to employ extreme caution. Should the Bible be taken seriously? Yes. Should it be taken literally? Well...let’s just acknowledge the fact that everyone reads the Bible from a specific social location which heavily influences their interpretation of the words. David Barton comes from the privileged white, male, heterosexual, American, probably wealthy (I don’t know his economic status) which is the same social location that has dominated the field of Biblical interpretation ever since the beginning of biblical interpretation. In these postmodern days, their status has become threatened which is understandably upsetting for them. But for the rest of us on the margins, we are finally given voices and permission to give our input. And that is something to celebrate.