One of the crooked foundations that lies at the base of many misleading and unhelpful “Christian” ideas is a faulty assumption about what the Bible is and what it is for. Some of the more extreme results stemming from such a foundation are illustrated by Christian Smith in his book The Bible Made Impossible, where he lists the titles of a number of modern books produced for the popular evangelical markets (pp. 8-10). His list includes: Cooking with the Bible, The Bible Cure for Cancer, Biblical Economics and Weather and the Bible. The problem is not that there is no interest in recreating meals from bible times (say); the problem is that it is pretty self-evident that the Bible is not a recipe book. The problem is not that there aren’t biblical principles for the use of money; the problem is that the Bible does not contain any economic system.
An uglier manifestation of this problem is the use of the Bible in the hands of anti-theists. For example, Sam Harris has criticised the Bible for saying nothing about electricity or DNA. Yet such criticisms are like castigating a bike for being unable to fly or a phone for being unable to fry an egg. At no point does the Bible purport to contain information about the technological and scientific advances of the modern era. Why would it? Such things have nothing to do with God’s purpose with the Bible.
Christadelphians, like Christians of many stripes, are fond of quoting 2 Tim 3:16 but can sometimes emphasize the first part of the verse so hard (“all scripture is God-breathed”) that the remainder gets lost in the ether (“and is useful for …”). Yet Paul’s words are not primarily detailing a doctrine of scripture (though that’s often how his words have been used). Instead, Paul is exhorting Timothy to continue in what he has learned (v. 14) because it is through its message that he has found salvation through faith in Jesus (v. 15). For Paul, the utility of the Scriptures is to equip God’s servants for every good work (v. 16). Note that. Paul does not say “All scripture is God-breathed and contains detailed scientific and technological information”. Or, “… and provides a detailed economic and social theory”. Or even, “… and provides an exhaustive set of FAQs for any and every situation in life”. No, for Paul, the Scriptures are useful for equipping Christians for good works.
This is not to say that the Bible does not make truth claims that may be open to historical or scientific scrutiny (it does). Yet, if we are looking to the Bible to satisfy our curiosity or to shortcut experimental research, then we are going to be disappointed, because the it claims to do no such thing. And this is not to say that the Bible does not contain principles that inform a Christian worldview, which may have implications for society, for economics and for many other areas of life. But if we treat the Bible as a troubleshooting guide for when our lives get a bit messy, then, again, we are going to be disappointed.
I think one of the reasons behind this faulty assumption about the Bible is the general tendency to think that the Bible must be perfect and that such perfection must mean really-great-at-absolutely-everything. And you can either try to perpetuate that faulty assumption by shoehorning our own answers into the biblical text, or you can acknowledge the Bible to be what it claims to be .
The EJournal exists to provide a forum for academic level exploration of biblical topics. For some, the intertextual approach provides confirmation of the divine origins of scripture. For some, the articles provide background for their own personal bible study, perhaps in preparation for public speaking. Yet in whatever context we approach the Bible, whether for study or devotion, knowing what the Bible is (and what it is not) is fundamental to its utility.
What is a Bible Student?