Paul urged Timothy to be a worker who "correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Christians often describe a belief or a practice as biblical, but what does that word really mean? It cannot simply mean quoting a verse, or copying the habits of people who lived thousands of years ago.
These three stories about being biblical, retold in our own words, include a simple question about how we read, a famous satirical letter and a snack bar that claimed to follow a recipe from the Bible. Each ends with a takeaway for sermons or reflection.
Stories in this collection:
- A Mirror or a Window? How We Read the Bible
- "Dear Dr Laura": The Danger of Quoting Verses Out of Context
- Anyone for a Bible Bar? Biblical Is More Than Imitation
A Mirror or a Window? How We Read the Bible
When you read the Bible, does it work for you like a mirror, or like a window?
For many people, the Bible functions as a mirror. When they open it, it reflects back to them what they already believe. They find in it support for the opinions they already hold, the values they already live by and the way they already behave. It can be a very powerful mirror, because it seems to give God's own stamp of approval to their views.
But that is all it does. A mirror can only show us ourselves. It never shows us anything new, and it never challenges us to change.
For others, the Bible functions as a window. Through it they look out into another world: the world of people who lived in different times, different cultures and different places. They begin to see life through the eyes of shepherds and slaves, prophets and fishermen, exiles and early Christians in the cities of the Roman Empire. They discover how faith was shaped in circumstances very different from their own.
Looking through that window changes the way they see their own world. They notice things in their own culture that they had always taken for granted. They begin to ask whether some of their assumptions come from Scripture, or simply from the society around them. And slowly, at a deep level, they are transformed.
Reading the Bible as a window takes more effort. It means asking what a passage meant to its first readers before asking what it means for us. It means being willing to be surprised, and even corrected. But it is the only way the Bible can do what it was given to do: not to confirm us as we are, but to make us more like Christ.
Takeaway: James warns against merely looking at ourselves in a mirror and walking away unchanged (James 1:22–25). Let Scripture be a window that shows you God's world, and a word that changes you.
Source: Illustration by Scott Higgins.
"Dear Dr Laura": The Danger of Quoting Verses Out of Context
This satirical letter has circulated widely on the internet since around 2000. Its author is unknown. Christians on all sides of the debate about sexuality have responded to it, and we summarise it here because of the question it raises about reading the Bible well.
Dr Laura Schlessinger is an American radio host known for her blunt moral advice. In the late 1990s she was widely reported to have called homosexuality an abomination, citing Leviticus 18:22, and to have suggested that the verse settled the matter.
In response, an anonymous writer composed a letter that pretended to thank her. The writer said he had learned a great deal about God's law from her, and that whenever anyone defended homosexuality, he simply pointed to Leviticus and the debate was over. But, he said, he needed her advice on how to follow some of the other laws found in the same part of the Bible.
He explained that when he burned a bull on the altar as an offering, which Leviticus describes as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, his neighbours complained about the smell. What should he do? He wanted to know what a fair price would be if he sold his daughter into slavery, as a law in Exodus seems to allow. He asked how he was supposed to tell whether a woman was ritually unclean, since asking seemed to offend people.
He went on. Leviticus allows Israelites to buy slaves from the surrounding nations; a friend claimed this applied to people from some neighbouring countries but not others, and he wanted her to settle it. A neighbour insisted on working on the Sabbath, for which Exodus prescribes death; was he personally obliged to carry out the sentence? Another friend argued that eating shellfish was a lesser abomination than homosexuality; who was right? And since a law in Leviticus barred anyone with a defect in their eyesight from approaching the altar, did his reading glasses disqualify him?
He closed by thanking her once more for reminding everyone that God's word is eternal and unchanging.
The letter is funny, but its point is serious. No Christian today tries to keep every law in the Old Testament. So we cannot quote a single verse to end a discussion without asking how the whole Bible fits together, and how its laws should be read in the light of Christ.
At the same time, many Christians who hold traditional views have pointed out that the church has long distinguished between laws given for ancient Israel's worship and civil life, and moral teaching it believes still applies, including what the New Testament says about sexuality. The letter does not settle that debate. But whatever our view, it reminds us that being biblical means reading Scripture carefully and as a whole, not using isolated verses as weapons.
Takeaway: Jesus himself read the law through its great commandments to love God and neighbour (Matthew 22:37–40). Being biblical means wrestling with the whole story of Scripture, with humility and love.
Source: Anonymous satirical letter, circulated online c. 2000.
Anyone for a Bible Bar? Biblical Is More Than Imitation
Based on a product marketed in the United States in the early 2000s. The company no longer appears to exist, so we describe its claims as they were reported at the time.
Feeling peckish? Some years ago, an American company called Logia, which described itself as selling foods of the Bible, offered a snack called the Bible Bar.
The company was founded on the belief that the Bible sets out God's plan for healthy eating. It pointed out that more than fifty different foods are mentioned in Scripture, nearly all of them in a positive way, especially fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, grains and nuts. If we want to follow the biblical approach to nutrition, it suggested, we should include as many of these Bible foods as possible in our daily diet.
Its flagship product was the Bible Bar, said to be based on a recipe from Deuteronomy 8:8. In that verse, Moses describes the good land God is giving Israel as a land of wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. All seven foods, the company announced proudly, were in the Bible Bar.
There is nothing wrong with healthy food, of course. But the product raises a bigger question. The company seemed to assume that to be biblical is to copy the habits and practices of people who lived in Bible times.
If that were true, where would it end? A biblical footwear company that only makes sandals? A biblical transport company that refuses to use anything but donkeys and camels?
Deuteronomy 8 is not really a recipe. It is a reminder that every good thing comes from God, and a warning not to forget him when life is comfortable. Just a few verses earlier, Moses says that people do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, words Jesus quoted when he was tempted in the wilderness.
So if being biblical does not mean imitating the ancient world, what does it mean? It means letting the message of Scripture shape our hearts, our relationships and our choices today: loving God, loving our neighbour and following Jesus in our own time and place.
Takeaway: "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3). Being biblical is about obedience and love, not copying ancient customs.
Source: Product claims reported in the early 2000s; the company's website is no longer available.
Final thoughts
A mirror, a mischievous letter and a snack bar. Each asks whether we are really letting the Bible speak, or simply using it to say what we already think.
For related stories, see our stories about the Bible, science and faith. For further reading, Sopranu has a guide to the best Christian books of all time.
How could you read the Bible more like a window this week?
More stories you may like:
These stories are retold in our own words for teaching and reflection. Sources are credited under each story.
Comments
Post a Comment