By Donna Buckbee
Rushford, MN
Here is some common ground: Everyone who has ever read the Bible — Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, atheists, everyone — agrees that there is much in the Bible to revere. Of course, each person engages in a process of selectivity to determine which passages they find worthy of reverence.
Personally I find repugnant those passages that command slaves to be in submission to those in authority over them, even if those enslavers are cruel and harsh. I find repugnant any call to violence against homosexuals. I find repugnant the treatment of women. Passages defending such cruelties “anchor religion to the Iron Age.”
There are omissions too and some of these Biblical omissions are repugnant to any thinking person. The Bible never condemned slavery. Slave owners of 150 years ago and Neo-confederates of today justify all the cruelty inherent in slavery by pointing to that omission. Yet slavery was always wrong. It is wrong today. It was wrong in the Civil War Era and it was wrong 2000 years ago.
“Thou shalt not beat your wife” never made it to the Big Ten. In fact you won’t find that anywhere in the Bible. There are a few verses about loving your wives but these are obviously too nuanced for the wife-beaters who today and throughout history believe the Lord of the universe placed them above women.
Bible literalism is the belief that every single word in the Bible is the absolute, unquestionable word of God. Literalists oppose the selectivity process of others but, if you think about it, they themselves practice selectivity.
Few things raise the dander of a literalist more than the thought of gay rights. Many gay and lesbian children of Bible literalists have been kicked out of the house and disowned. But never, and I do mean never, has any Bible literalist ever disowned a son or daughter because that child cared nothing about the suffering of the poor.
That is selectivity.
Worse, the literalists themselves often lead the charge — whether from the pulpit or the voting booth or the halls of Congress — to codify into law an utter disregard for the poor. The rich, after all, must have their tax cuts!
There are Biblical passages that call on us to be stewards of the Earth. And there’s that passage in the Book of Revelation where God says, “I will destroy those who destroy the Earth.” Apparently, literalists find those passages too nuanced as it is often the literalists leading the charge to poison and plunder the planet. “Don’t worry about poisoned air and water,” they say. “Climate change? That’s a liberal hoax.”
That is selectivity.
Literalism isn’t just about what’s found in the Bible but sometimes it’s about what is not there: Slavery never condemned? Must be OK. Yet when it comes to transgendered people — also not condemned in the Bible — well, few things make a literalist angrier than the idea of a transgendered person unless it’s which restroom that transgendered person uses.
That is selectivity.
Herb Panko says
Ms Buckbee: I assume you have read Mr. Weist’s retort to your article. I commented as you may have noticed. But it’s hard to cover all his erroneous points in a short comment section. Perhaps a longer counter article is needed.
Herb Panko says
Bravo, Donna!! Great commentary. You are right on point. Some of the most dangerous and hateful people are Biblical literalists. The FCJ needs more intelligent commentary like yours.