God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It.

God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It.

March 11, 2020

Part of the Medina Ministerial Association Lenten Series: Half/Truth: Things the Bible doesn’t say.

The Medina Ministerial Association Lenten Series at local churches: Dinner at 6, worship at 7

I used to spend a lot of time arguing theology online. I’ve given that up for Lent, because I don’t think it really works. For those of you who don’t argue theology online or have never heard the phrase, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it,” let me explain. It’s a conversation stopper. It’s used to shut down a theological debate.

For example. Moabites are bad. It says so in Deuteronomy 23. Sorry for any Moabites in the room, but God hates you. Same with people from Uz. It says so in Jeremiah 25. And the bible is clear that there are no foreigners or eunuchs allowed in church. It says so in Deuteronomy 23. If you are either one of those, I’ll have to ask you to leave. If you have ever worked after church. Answered emails. If you took your kids to a soccer game, you have to die. For God said, “The seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, Holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.” That’s bad news for pastors who work, lead worship, preach… and organists… Those families who have sports on Sundays. Look… I don’t make the rules. God said it. I believe it. That settles it.

I was in this mindset for most of my life. It’s how we Christians tend to operate. We Protestants believe in Sola Scriptura, which means Only Scripture. Not tradition. Not the pope. Only what we find in the Scripture. However, Luther and the Reformers still assumed that the critical methods of interpretation would be used. They were trained scholars, schooled in the humanistic methods. Yet we have folks who say that God wrote the bible. That everything in there is inerrant, infallible… not considering that we are errant fallible people. We have denominations out there cherry-picking verses and harming people. And when good folks point out the harm done, the response is exactly what I have heard so often: “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Conversation done. Over. Thank you for playing. You’re wrong. Your only option is to  turn or burn.

I took a class in seminary on the Jewish interpretation of the Torah. I got a B. I went to the rabbi teacher and said, “Hey! What’s with this B?! I don’t get B’s! I get A’s! I did the work and I should’ve gotten an A.”

The Rabbi smiled and said, “Yup, I’ll change it to an A. Everyone was graded a half grade down. Those who came to talk about it get their actual grade. That’s part of the class. It’s the discussion. This is the real final exam.”

I was stunned. Who else did this? Just you, the rabbi said.

Then he said, “I think you’d get a lot out of this.” He handed me a card with a date, time and location on it. And he left.

I showed up at location, feeling very cloak and dagger and mysterious. Turns out, it was the rabbi’s house. There was amazing food! About 20 people were there, and we introduced and stuffed ourselves. Then we sat around in a circle, and the rabbi read his direct translation of the Hebrew, explaining a part here or there or a turn of phrase, sometimes even down to the importance of a single letter being in a spot… After he was done, he leaned back and then said, “Okay. What did you hear?” And then people exploded.

They started talking all at once. These two guys started accusing each other of mishandling scripture in his interpretation last week. Others were grabbing commentary off the shelves and saying what this rabbi or this scholar or this theologian says this about the passage. It was incredible. It was overwhelming. The rabbi would chime in here or there, but mostly he would encourage. Sometimes he’d explain one side of an argument and then take the other side as well. After about an hour of this, everyone prayed, shook hands, and left as friends. It was just the rabbi and me.

“What. Was. That?!” I asked, stunned.

“That…. Was Jewish bible study,” The rabbi said. “You Christians are all polite and nice in bible study but mean in the parking lot. We Jews do it backward. We get it all out in bible study, then we’re in community the rest of the time. Scripture for us is the beginning of the conversation. For you, it’s the end of one.” That seems to be true.

That’s why “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” is a half-truth. There’s no further conversation to be had. It’s “agree or be dismissed or condemned.” Or worse. It’s community by threat. It’s a bubble-building exercise in theological conformity. One which the rabbi had no interest in building. It’s not about theological conformity. It’s about the meaning we find as we discuss our sacred stories together. The sacred stories in scriptures, and the sacred stories we are writing with our very lives.

There’s this great post from the Bixby Knolls Christian Church that’s made its way around the internet and now in our bulletin. The bible is clear the Moabites are bad… But then there’s Ruth. The bible is clear people from Uz are evil… then there’s Job, a man from Uz who is the most blameless man on earth. The bible is clear about no foreigners or eunuchs allowed until Philip baptizes a eunuch in a mud puddle in Acts 8.

The story may begin with prejudice, discrimination, and animosity, but the Spirit moves God’s people toward openness, welcome, inclusion, acceptance, and affirmation.

When we approach scripture, we come to it with our own lens. When we pick up the bible, all of our own stuff is there with us. Yet if we’re in relationship with our sacred stories, if we allow them to speak to us, if we speak to others, if we allow God in our midst, then a beautiful conversation happens. One that will change your heart. One that till break your heart until it stays open for your neighbor. One where you can no longer hide behind verses to hurt others and end conversations.

One man was trying to justify himself to me in his wanting to use violence. He said, “Jesus commanded his disciples to go buy a sword! It’s in Luke 22:36! God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”

Wait one second! Keep reading! 15 verses later, Jesus says, “No more of this!” And he picked up the right ear of the slave and heals him. The Matthew account adds Jesus saying, “Whoever lives by the sword dies by the sword.”

We want to bring violence and judgment and harm. We’ll use scripture to justify it. But that’s not what God wants. God wants to bring healing, wholeness, and community. Jesus came to bring life, and life abundantly!

How about this… When we study scripture to determine what it says for us today, how it should guide us and correct us, let’s interpret everything through the lens of Jesus and the rule of love. For God just doesn’t say… we also have to interpret. It’s hard to interpret and find meaning if you only have half the story, or just a verse or two. We have to add our meaning. How it affects us and our relationship with God and with our neighbor. For I have felt more the nudging of the Spirit and rarely God talking directly to me in English.

God speaks in many ways. We settle on our best understanding of God through study, prayer, and community, but we must remain open to God expanding or correcting our understanding. The Bible shouldn’t be used to end conversations, but to begin them. Our sacred stories are not an end to an argument, but an invitation to deeper understanding and knowledge of God and of one another.

The Bible definitely didn’t come to add more harm. But that’s what we’ve done. We’ve used it to separate, discriminate, and outright wound others. But it was not made for this. Nor was the Sabbath made to wound but to heal. It was made to restore.

Let us enter into conversation together. To learn. To see the wider scope of God’s love and creation. Let us interpret our scripture through the lens of love. For that is what Christ did. And he is Lord of the Sabbath. And our Lord reminds us that all of Scripture, all of our doctrines and denominations are about one thing… We were made for love. We are made for one another. Amen.

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