Bias Of Biblical Literalism

Biblical literalism assumes purity of process but in so doing greatly misses the mark (sin?) and leads people to untenable places of emotional and intellectual distress. One doesn’t need a frontal lobotomy to be a Christian or Buddhist. One must know and embrace the many literary forms in which the Bible was written of there will be no practical doctrine, let alone experiental living out of one’s belief structures.

As one read between the lines in conversations, so too must one in reading bteween the lines of the Bible.

Richard Rohr wrote in his latest book, Things Hidden, “It is not what is said, nearly as much as how, when were, by whom, and with what inflection and emphasis. Fundamentalism is so dedictaed to text that it almost always ignores context. So little depth or breadth is usually communictaed.” Bingo!

1-When someone says that an act was “bad to the bone”, does that mean it was bad?
2-When it’s said that someone came out playing “stiff and cold”, how hard was stiff?
3-If the weather was described as “hot as hell”, was that centigrade or fahrenheit?

Psychologists tell us that nearly 70% of what we communicate is not verbal, but non-verbal. Do we not think that this applies to the written as well? It’s especially so for things written thousands of years ago, in many different genres, and in a different language nonetheless. The over use of anthropomorphic language keeps us in a small box without knowing it.

Religion has built so many boxes that are empty!

One of the craziest examples is the doctrine that says church must meet on Sunday! Show me that in the Bible. In fact 50% of the Bible (Old Testament) had church starting at 6pm on Friday night. Seventh Day Adventists who meet on Saturday of all things are called a cult. And, Ellen G. White, one of its founders whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church today, is thought to be a cult leader.

Why? Because they met on Saturday.

The Bible is written in such genres as metaphor, allegory, similie, parable, poetry, and prose. And it is the context and the spirit of the text that is more important than the text. Besides, when we get down to it, WHICH TEXT is the right one: which translation of which ancient manuscript. Tell me that the bias of biblical literalism isn’t a fact.