Can we debate issues without misusing the Bible?

Chances are, you’ve recently had a disagreement with someone over the border/immigration situation. My guess is, both of you were passionate about whichever stance either of you took. It’s good to have firm convictions, but can you share your convictions without condemnation? And more importantly, can we debate issues without misusing the Bible in the process?

You see, I’m not so much interested in your stance or even in sharing my position here regarding the border, as much as I am in a greater principle which is at stake: How most of us attempt to use the Bible to backup our views. Do you find it interesting how nearly everyone who is commenting on both sides of the border crisis, whether is about the families who were separated or how we should treat refugees, they are all referencing the Bible to convince others of their stance?

You might be asking, “But shouldn’t we backup our perspectives with the Bible?” It might sound heretical, but maybe not -- at least not in the way most people mean. For example, the question, “How do we know when the Bible actually supports what we think?” is more than likely the wrong question, and it’s that type of thinking that gets us in trouble. Instead, we need to ask, “Are our thoughts in line with the Scriptures?” not the other way around as in “Does the Bible support my stance...?”

Why is it tricky to “use” the Bible, for example, to backup our position on the border? For starters, as far as governments and nations go, the Bible was written in a different context and cultural situation than ours. Namely, the ancient world of Bible-times was governed by Theocratic governments and dictatorial empires. Those forms of government were very dissimilar to our modern day democracies, and lest we forget, America is a Republic.

So, if you say the Bible instructs us to obey our government, we are all in trouble in America since we rebelled against Great Britain during the Revolutionary War... And if you say, the Bible commands us to treat refugees a certain way since the children of God were wanders, that’s tough to support too since not many of us can trace our lineage to those who wandered through the desert for forty years.

It is extremely difficult to “use” the Bible to defend a political position on most of our current events. It’s nothing new for people to twist the Bible to say whatever they think is the most accurate point of view. The fact is, in America during our Civil War we had preachers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon who were guilty of cherry-picking passages of Scripture to support their views on slavery.

It requires humility to submit to God’s word, not a hostile heart that is aggressively trying the be the champion of truth. Please don’t misunderstand me, I believe in absolute truth, and I think relativism has done more harm than any other ideology, but most of the people who think they have a monopoly on the Truth are usually the most judgmental and mean-spirited people I’ve ever met.

To interpret the Bible and to apply it to our everyday life is a prayerful enterprise. We need to ask questions based on which genre we are reading because the Bible has many styles of literature: Narrative, Law, poetry, wisdom, apocalyptic, Gospels/parables, epistles. We need to also ask questions about the author and the audience, asking what did a passage mean to the original audience comes before asking what does it mean for us.

It’s healthy to acknowledge we could be mistaken about many of our opinions on a host of subjects. It’s healthier still to immerse ourselves in the Scriptures and study the Bible in such a way that it guides our thoughts, not the other way around. If you are opening up the Bible to find a verse that supports what you already believe, close your Bible and open your heart to the Spirit.

Sadly, our nation is presently divided and polarized into extreme ideological camps, both on the “Right” and “Left” over a multitude of issues; the border issue is merely the latest debate du jour. It may be unfortunate that these days we can’t even have a civil dialogue about our views with the “opposing” side, but actually, the real tragedy happens whenever we recklessly wield our Bibles like a hammer.

Why does enforcing/not enforcing the borders anger people?

I don't know anyone who has "all" the answers for how to handle our immigration situation, at least answers that match up with how they function in everyday life.  But if you want to impress me and convince me that you are serious about open boarders, start leaving your front door unlocked at night.  That would get my attention.

Until you teach your kids to leave the keys in the car, and until you give away your pin numbers and passwords, you can't authentically say you believe in open boarders.  That's okay, because most of us are inconsistent.

What you can say is, you believe in some open boarders, just not the ones that personally impact you too much.  The vast majority of the people whining about the boarders, live elsewhere.  This isn't to say immigration remains an issue only at the boarder.  Still, this debate seems like the latest hip bandwagon to jump on.

I don't remember any of the people who are presently criticizing how our government is dealing with our boarders, opening their homes to immigrants to live there for free until they can afford reasonable housing, or volunteering to teach an ESL class, or simply cooking a meal for a refugee family in need.  It's easy to gripe and moan about how bad we are in America, how terrible our president is, how we are repeating the Japanese Concentration camps all over again, while offering only one "solution" which is to just open the borders.  Again, please dismantle your locks and open all of your windows too.

I have several friends from south of the boarder, people who I deeply respect.  Some of the hardest working, morally-balanced, family-centered, good people I know speak Spanish as their native tongue.  Many of these folks followed a process that led to citizenship.  You should ask some of them what they think about this situation and how they feel about the folks who don't try to follow the rules.

But what about the families that are being ripped apart?  Many voices are crying out about justice and mercy, and fairness.  I get that, we all want what's fair.  But what's fair about millions of people who disregard the rules that have kept society together and civilization whole for thousands of years, knowingly putting their children in harms way when they chose to break the law?  Borders that aren't enforced, aren't borders.

Please, someone, anyone, please tell me why sanctuary cities lock up City Hall at night?  Why does the Mayor of a sanctuary city lock his office when he's out?  Why do they lock the janitor's closet?

Again, if you say let's jettison our borders, please feel free to take the front door off of your house.  Please don't protect any of your personal property if you think an open boarder or blind-amnesty is the solution to our present crisis.   It's our inconsistencies that have us upset, angry, and mad at each other. There are plenty of hypocrites on both sides of the fence on this issue, don't add to that list. 

What happens when you wait on the past to return

I’m sure you’ve been here too, so try to guess where I am. When I walked in the room I saw a large welcoming fireplace of to my left. On one wall, there’s a set of wooden golf clubs hung next to an old accordion with yellowed keys. The are sepia colored portraits scattered around the room. Most of the memorabilia hanging on these walls are like the metal advertising signs too, they are from a generation or two ago and refer to items which are no longer manufactured or sold. I see an old crosscut saw near an old washboard, all next to old vinyl albums recorded many years ago by artists who are long gone. I really like the tin potato chip container; I can remember those from my childhood. I take all of this in before the waitress even asks for my breakfast order.

We don’t live in Mayberry, Floyd isn’t our barber, and sadly, the world isn’t like Cracker Barrel. There’s nothing wrong with watching Andy Griffith or with sitting down to eat while you’re surrounded by old Seed signs and oil cans. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful emotional experiences known to us, so beware of its appeal.

The dangers of living in the past are legion. The old days we are so fond to remember, well they probably aren’t as well polished as we tend to think. And, even though we know we can’t go back in time, you might not know that walking into some of our sanctuaries. I’m not referring to our architecture as much as our nomenclature and methods.

The Gospel is eternal, but how we deliver it and how we meet each generation isn’t. The crippling shackles of legalism constricts us into a certain form, and soon that form becomes more important than the function. The results? Well, just like in biology, that which never changes dies.

Raising an awareness of the sway the past holds over our churches can be costly. For example, I knew a preacher back in the Midwest who wanted to demonstrate to his congregation they were “stuck in their ways.” One Sunday morning, to make his point, before communion, he switched the purple Welch's grape juice to white grape juice. Before anyone in that congregation ate their fried chicken that day, the Elders let him know it was time for a change in the pulpit and sent him packing.

Part of the “problem” people had with Jesus was His style. His content made people uncomfortable, but His style and His approach raised eyebrows everywhere He went. You can’t change the message of the Cross and save the world, but you have to change your methods and your language to reach different people. Sadly, some of us holding the life-preservers missed the boat on this one.

So to be clear, we need to quit living in the past, like Eccl 7:10 says, “Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Also, introduce a few new songs occasionally -- music is the heart-language for many young people, i.e., the next generation. You do realize even the oldest classics like Amazing Grace were once new songs. It wouldn’t hurt to switch up your Bible translation every once in a while too, there’s a good reason we have newer translations; words change their meaning over time. The Bible is inspired, not your translation. And finally, try seeing “church” from an outsider’s perspective. If we aren’t careful and purposeful, everything we do becomes about us and can seem dated, antiquated, and out of touch -- not because Jesus will ever lose His relevance but because you don’t find good news in a time-capsule.