The Challenge of Biblical Literacy — Part One
“How Do We Avoid the Literalist Trap?”
by Steve Kindle
It is said that the Bible can be used to prove anything. We’ve got all sorts of millennialists, faith healers, prosperity preachers, last days theorists, and even flat-earthers., just to name a few. They all claim biblical authority and will painstakingly point out why. There are Pentecostals (Jimmy Swaggart), anti-Pentecostals (John MacArthur), Restorationists, Calvinists, and Independents. Just to stay within the largely Protestant world. What’s to account for all this diversity?
Anais Nin put it this way. “We don’t see the world as it is. We see it as we are.” Humanity is one of the
most unhomogenized groups in existence. Like snowflakes, no two are alike. The forces that come together to make a thinking person are so varied that it’s no wonder we can’t see things the way they are. We see them the way we see them, and like no one else. Add to this the psychological impediment called “confirmation bias” (we find what we’re looking for), and, understandably, disagreements will abound.
Given all this, what can be done about it? Jesus’ prayer that “they all may be one,” seems to be an impossibility in our time or any time. Let’s first admit that every one of us is culpable to one degree or another. No one can escape the human predicament of our unique view of the world. The difference, it seems to me, between those who are doggedly determined to forever camp on a position and those who find their position evolving over time, is the presence or lack of critical thinking. The noted journal, the Christian Century, has for decades featured some of the greatest thinkers of their day in a feature called, “How My Mind Has Changed.” Humility, tentativeness, and the ability to reevaluate are characteristics they have in common.
Critical thinking in its basic sense is the ability to evaluate the evidence. Critical thinking doesn’t always get it right, but it can clarify the issues so others may continue the process. The greatest enemy to critical thinking is literalism. Literalism is borne of the mistaken notion that what a word means is limited to what it means to the literalist, and in its most basic sense. It is content to stick with first impressions and live on the surface of the text. There is no need to dig deeper because the meaning is self-evident. Literalism isn’t thinking, it is reacting. If any document demands critical eyes, it’s the Bible. That’s why God gave us brains!
It’s a dangerous thing to hand someone a Bible who has never read much of it before. The tendency is to take the words literally. Pastors who work with new Christians constantly deal with undoing literal first impressions. “The Bible says that the world was created in six days. I guess that proves evolution wrong.” Or, “I’m divorced and adultery wasn’t involved, and I married again. I guess I’m living in sin.” And, “I see that Paul said all homosexuals are going to hell. Why does our church support them?” Critical thinking can shed light on all these first impressions., and we need it to do so.
So, how do we avoid the literalist trap? How can we encourage reading the Bible and not create literalists? I’m glad you asked because this is the mission of Pastor2Pew. We are developing courses to aid congregations and individuals in thinking critically about the Bible. We think the place to begin is to survey its contents. In so doing, the enormous variety of its contents will require different ways of reading the Bible, ways that transcend literal abuses, and entertain larger possibilities of meaning. Enter, “Master the Bible.” You can find out more about it here.
