Caution: Direct Contact with the Bible...

Perhaps unbeknownst to most, the FDA, Federal Drug Administration, issues on certain pharmaceuticals, something called a “black box warning”! It’s language that the end consumer rarely sees or even knows about – but pharmacists and doctors not only know about it, but even pay attention. A drug warrants a “black box warning,” so named because of the heavy black border that surrounds the text, in the case of extreme adverse effects—stuff that’ll kill you or come frightfully close—and that happens to you even when you use it per the manufacturer’s instructions! All kinds of nasty things happen if you go “off-label” but there’s no requirement to disclose those.

People in this country have been used to warning labels for generations now. Ever since the “hazardous to your health” caution appeared on cigarette packs in 1966, there has been an exponential increase in warning labels and now, nearly every product sold, carries some level of caution.

Of course, we know they’ve gone to the extreme and one can easily find websites that collect funny and ridiculous warnings. For instance… the warning on the inside of car windshield sun shade warns, “Do not use while driving!”

The truly disturbing part is that one might assume that these things have been either done or contemplated or there wouldn’t be a need for disclaimers.

Yet, as the FDA’s “black box” demonstrates, some things are dangerous even when used correctly. Apparently the Bible is one of them.

Now – in our day and age, like good, educated Presbyterians, we’re not afraid of knowledge or learning – and in fact, I’d bet that most of us think that society is better served by an educated populous. From our inception, we have been a people who invest in education for ourselves, our children, and indeed, all people. Presbyterian’s commitment to public schools is legendary and our American system owes much to the Calvinist pioneers who championed the innovation.

Education of the general population actually pre-dates the founding of America and was a component of the Reformation of the early 16^th Century. Prior to that time, knowledge of and access to the Bible was marshaled by the church. Relatively few folks could read, ever fewer could muster Latin, hence what was contained in the Holy Writ was mediated by priests. Without rehashing all of the abuses of the Christian Church of that era and before, suffice to say that giving common folk access to the Bible was threatening, to say the least. Folks could discover for themselves what the Bible said – and more damaging to the hierarchy—what it didn’t say.

So, Martin Luther, along with a printer named Gutenberg, put the Bible in the vernacular into the hands of ordinary people. Luther and his Bible reading followers went on to affect the Protestant Reformation and Lutheranism – John Calvin came along a few years later – reformed Lutheranism – and called his church, Presbyterian, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Having Bibles in the pews of a Presbyterian Church is not just decoration—it’s a statement about accessibility to the Word of God. Having lay people read the scripture is not just a fun way to involve folks – it’s keeping clergy from becoming sole arbiters of the text.

Yet, apparently, there’s danger in letting the likes of you paw through the Bible.

The publication, Christianity Today, which has the tagline, “a magazine of evangelical conviction,” recently published an article regarding Christians and the Bible:

A recent poll from LifeWay Research found that 89 percent of American households still own a Bible, with the average home having 4.1 Bibles. But owning a Bible is different from reading it—and pollsters might be surprised by what happens when many Americans do.

One blogger, commenting on the poll, said this:

Quite a lot of people have Bibles, and some of them may actually thump their Bibles — but do they read them?

The American stereotype is that Bible-thumpers are conservative, but it seems that people who actually read their Bibles, rather than just thumping them, tend to be more liberal, and the more they read, the more liberal they become.

“Caution: Direct Contact with the Bible Can Be Dangerous!”

Here’s what the survey actually found.

For years we’ve known that the Bible was the best-selling book of all time, and we also probably fit into the category of owning at least one Bible per household, if not the full 4.1 allotment. Yet, few researchers actually delved into whether or not folks were actually reading the Bible, and if so, what impact it was, or wasn’t, having. This recent survey, by a conservative organization, found that:

Frequent Bible reading has some predictable effects on the reader. It increases opposition to abortion as well as [same-gender] marriage and unions. It boosts a belief that science helps reveal God's glory. It diminishes hopes that science will eventually solve humanity's problems. But unlike some other religious practices, reading the Bible more often has some liberalizing effects—or at least makes the reader more prone to agree with liberals on certain issues. This is true even when accounting for factors such as political beliefs, education level, income level, gender, race, and religious measures (like which religious tradition one affiliates with, and one's views of biblical literalism).

 

The survey went on to conclude that frequent Bible-readers were less apt to support the government’s expansion of the Patriot Act, or capital punishment, or harsher criminal penalties. As engagement with the Bible increased, readers proportionately ramped up their support of economic and social justice issues along with concern about consumption and the environment.

 

Across the board, those surveyed also claimed that as reading frequency increased, their understanding of the Bible as the literal Word of God changed and they were more likely to agree that science and religion have things to offer one another.

Now, remember, the folks in the survey were not a bunch of do-gooder liberals like me – they were fairly conservative folks who self-identified as evangelical Christians.

So…why does this happen? Here’s one possible explanation:

Frequent Bible readers may have different views of biblical authority, but they tend to read it devotionally, looking for ways in which Scripture is speaking directly to them. They will read until struck by something that sticks out in the text. Even if the reader thinks the Bible has some error or needs a lot of interpretation, this thunderbolt moment can take on tremendous personal significance.

But frequent Bible readers don't just see the Bible as personal. They also see it as authoritative, written by an author who had a specific context and intent, and they want to conform to its message. After all, why read the Bible with no desire to embrace what it teaches?

It’s a dangerous book and clearly deserves a “black box warning” for anyone – liberal to conservative – who thinks they’re going to remain unchanged, unchallenged, and unmoved by a scriptural encounter.

Now, although my personal bias is fairly obvious, I mean, look whose pulpit I occupy, this survey is humbling.

How many of us, liberal or conservative, evangelical or progressive, gay or straight, young or old, are willing to encounter something that might change the way we think or see things or understand the world?

Isn’t it far more comfortable to stick with our preconceived notions and if anything, have them reinforced?

Having our belief system challenged, even disputed, is painful and has serious side effects…the stuff of “black box warnings!”

Who among us are willing to face that level of risk?

People like me are in the greatest danger – people Bob Bolt likes to call “church bureaucrats” since we’re supposed to show up “ready for prime time” and have it all figured out. You even entrust your children and young people to our teaching and interpretation.

Yet, we’re the ones Jesus warned you about:

Here’s how his words are paraphrased in “The Message”:

Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. "The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God's Law. You won't go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don't live it. They don't take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It's all spit-and-polish veneer.

“Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called 'Doctor' and 'Reverend.'

In short Jesus is concerned that our, all of our, deeds don’t match our words – and leaders are not exempt and in fact, may be a bigger problem.

In a word? Hypocrisy.

It’s a biting accusation and one to which church folk are especially prone regardless of stripe.

Some people say, “I don’t go to church – it’s nothing but a bunch of hypocrites!” And I say, “You’re right! And…there’s always room for one more!”

I think the basic problem that Jesus is railing against, hypocrisy, has its roots in approval. Whose approval are we seeking? For me – yes – I want your approval, I want to be a good pastor and do a good job for you. I want to be part of your lives in a way that has value for you. I want to bring people to a place of spiritual awareness and transformation, to know Christ, to know that God loves them, and compel them to seek to serve. I track attendance numbers and offering amounts and comparisons to budget. I like them to go up and feel responsible when they don’t. So while I preach God’s love and welcome and inclusion and acceptance – I’m still looking for the more obvious praise of people. And I’m supposed to know better.

The antidote? You know this answer. It’s the same thing that actually started the whole Reformation and it was what Luther was seeking all along. When he found it, it was like being blind and then could see. It is that amazing grace of God.

Loved. Accepted. Fully known. Unearned. Gift. Grace.

Can you feel your soul relax?

Read your Bible – pick up any of the 4.1 in your home. Read it until something hits you. Something awakens within you. Something pokes at your brain and rattles your perception. Something that won’t let you go. Don’t let it go. Let it change you. Let it disturb you, even. Let it settle in to your being. Chances are…it’s grace…and it’s a little risky…should come with a warning…cause grace will change you. It’s really the only thing that will.

Can you feel your soul relax?