By Pastor Stuart Weist
Preston, MN
I have been reading, in ever increasing frequency, articles and commentaries which make outrageous, false, and audacious claims regarding the Bible, faith and Christians. In the December 4 commentary section of the Journal was one such article written by Donna Buckbee. In her comments she attacks various aspects of the Bible, as well as people of various faiths. Enough is enough and it’s time to set the record straight.
In full disclosure, I am the Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Preston, and I am a Fundamental Bible believing Christian. I take what God’s Word says and apply it to my life in the most fundamental and literal way. The Bible is not some secret code and it does not require countless years of schooling to understand. It is the basis for truth and fact upon which Christians build their worldview.
The Bible teaches us about morality, love, compassion, and our Divine Creator, God. Many people who reject the Bible do so because they disagree with what it says. They feel that not everything the Bible labeled as sin is all that bad or that the Bible is cruel in its treatment of people who choose to live outside God’s standard. However, by doing this, the unbeliever makes themselves into their own god all while condemning others for their beliefs.
People publish countless articles which bash the Bible in generalities, all while offering no biblical support or by misquoting the scriptures. Even Ms. Buckbee’s quote of Revelation 11:18 is completely twisted and ripped from its context so that it misleads others. This is wrong and enough is enough, so allow me to offer a Christian apologetic for using the Bible as our foundation for truth as a Believer.
As a Christian I say that lying, stealing, cheating, and killing are wrong. I say these things are wrong because the Bible says so (Exodus 20:1-17). It is God who is the foundation for truth, and not man. It is His Word which I hold dear and when I find myself in opposition to God’s Word it is I who must change, not God.
The non-believing individual says these things are wrong simply because they say so. They are the ones that make the rules and then impose those rules upon others with no foundation to stand on other than “because I say so.” However, when this is your worldview, then you have no right to call anyone else wrong for anything.
Let’s use Ms. Buckbee’s example where a husband and wife get into a physical altercation with the man striking his wife. Is this wrong? Well according to the Bible, yes. The Bible calls husbands and wives to work together as one unified flesh (Genesis 2:24) and that a husband is to love his wife not only as he would love himself, but with the same love that Christ had for the church; willing to sacrifice all for her (Ephesians 5:25-33).
However if you ignore the Bible and simply reject God, is a man striking his wife wrong? Well, the answer is “not necessarily.” You might say its wrong, but on who’s authority do you claim that? If it’s your authority then what makes your authority any more important than someone else’s? If you say it’s wrong because it’s illegal, that may be true, but who made the law? Civil laws are simply the result of a majority opinion and not necessarily based on what is right or wrong; so while it is illegal you still have no right to call it wrong.
Without Scripture as your foundation you have no authority other than your own, right or wrong become simply your opinion. With this worldview, all the atrocities and selectivity of history are not wrong, it’s only your opinion. I am not saying that “Christianity” is a flawless religion, however without the Bible you truly have nothing to stand upon to make your claims of morality, justice, or righteousness. It’s time to stop calling out God and bashing the Bible and reflect on whose authority we stand upon in making moral decisions of right and wrong.
George says
Trumptards only read the incest parts in the bible.
Andy O'Connor says
For as long as I can remember, the bible has been open to personal interpretation, and that is a result of an individual’s background, upbringing, personal experiences and even that individual’s current state of affairs/environment. That is not bible bashing. As a Christian, isn’t it more important to live a good life and love one another, to the best of our ability, fully aware of our improprieties and accepting the fact that as imperfect beings we will fail along the way? I’ve failed and I’ll fail again, and that’s not an excuse, as failure for each of us will undoubtedly happen. However, we can atone for that.
Pastor Weist…I’m not qualified to argue anything theological with you, and I also recognize and respect your perspective and the application of the written word to your own life. But, I do believe that we’re making religion much harder and more mysterious than it has to be. What we do, how we live and how we treat others when we slide out of that pew on Sunday mornings is much more significant than any sermon we’ll ever hear.
The Atheist in a Foxhole says
You’re wrong.
Brian Westley says
I can only conclude that Pastor Weist thinks slavery is OK, as the bible outlines who can be bought as slaves and how long they can be kept, and when their children can be sold as livelong slaves.
Herb Panko says
Mr. Weist: It’s sad that someone in your position has such an elementary misconcepton of the Bible. First of all, the Bible is not God’s word. It is a book written by humans putting into words their own beliefs and prejudices and assigning them to a god who thinks like them. That’s how all religions work. I refer you to the Biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman’s book, “Misquoting Jesus”
Irv Balto says
Will the Baptist Church condemn Roy Moore for pedophilia as Baptists are a significant support of his campaign in Alabama? If the Bible is a source of morality and the Baptist Church desires to create a moral society, the Baptist Church is required to take a stand against the election of Roy Moore on this issue.or loose all credibility in its defense of the Bible and morality.
George says
Roy Moore is a pervert in a cowboy costume.
John says
Roy Moore is a stinking &hit and is finished.