Summary of the Blog
The “Worst Bible Story” blog is the writer’s reaction to Peter Enns’ text “The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It.” In a similar manner to the text, the blog critiques the conservative appreciation of scriptures by many evangelical Christians. According to Enns, most Christians approve of everything in the Bible as 100% clear, straightforward, and in all ways applicable to our lives (2014). Through a critical reading of the Bible, the writer points out various instances in the Bible that contradict the core teachings of the Christian faith. The dilemma that these contradictions cause among Christians is the subject of the “Worst Bible Story” blog post. The Bible stories that the blogger highlights depict God as able to cause suffering to innocent people and perpetuate unthinkable human rights abuses. The blogger relates these stories to the happenings in her life and makes an assessment of their applicability in the lives of modern Christians. As she puts it, these stories fail to answer the “WTF” question in modern society as they contradict what Christian values stand for.
Assessment
The first story that the writer explores is found in 2 Samuel 21:1-14. It is quite unthinkable that God is purported to have permitted the murder of seven innocent members of Saul’s family to end the famine and affliction that had befallen the land of Israel. In analyzing the lesson drawn from this Scripture, the writer contemplates how God is capable of afflicting innocent people due to the sins of others. She relates the event to her personal life where she at a time considered her illness as a result of her having acquired a boyfriend. While it is common knowledge among Christians that God will judge people according to their deeds, this Bible story is in total contradiction of this fact, and yet Christians are expected to read and approve everything written in the Bible.
The blogger challenges the kind of reasoning that evangelical Christians have even when some scriptures raise questions in their minds. While Saul sinned as an individual by murdering the Gibeonites, it is quite unfortunate that God was appeased by the death of seven innocent people from Saul’s family and ended the famine that was in Israel. The only reason these innocent people had to suffer the brutality is that they were Saul’s blood relatives.
The story also suggests that God is capable of tormenting people with adverse afflictions until they get to realize the exact reason it is happening to them and they repent. This kind of communication that God is seen as capable of having with humans contradicts the notion that He is all-loving and all kind as taught in the Christian faith. Inflicting suffering to people to the point they realize their sins are depicted in numerous other Bible stories. As such, the blogger wants to challenge this image that God is accorded without necessarily appearing to be against Christianity. Since for a Christian, it is inappropriate to challenge the authority of God or to fault Him, the only alternative that the writer finds to challenge these stories is to suggest that the authors of the scriptures might have altered the stories by adding some creativity to emphasize on some lessons. To this end, the author gives an interpretation of the scripture in a manner that open-minded Christians, who may have had these concerns, might be able to relate with.
In the other worst Bible story found in Numbers 25, the blogger describes the suffering of the Israelites while in the desert under Moses’ leadership as a result of their sins. They had forsaken God by sleeping with Moabite women and by worshipping their gods. As a result, God punished them by unleashing a plague that indiscriminately claimed numerous lives. Phineas moved to action to restore the glory of God by throwing a spear into a tent killing a man and a woman who were making love. Through his action, God lifted their affliction and restored sanity among them. Again, this story raises a lot of concerns about the way God has been portrayed.
In many other Bible scriptures, killing is strongly condemned as ungodly and as a serious atrocity. Yet, judging other people and taking it upon oneself to be the advocate of goodness even to the point of using violence is considered acceptable in the scripture. God saved the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and even before they could reach their destination, He was already punishing them heavily. God’s use of plagues to punish people in the Old Testament was also exhibited in Egypt. While these stories suggest that God can afflict innocent people, some Christians tend to embrace the message.
Phineas appeases God by killing the man and woman even before they get a chance to argue their case. The concept of an all-merciful and all-loving God is, therefore, contradicted by the scripture. Phineas is acclaimed as a heroic figure for his actions that cannot be accepted in modern society. To put this scripture into context, the writer of the blog relates the action of Phineas to that of her friend Hector, who voiced his concerns about Carl being unworthy to receive the Holy Communion. As per the scripture, Hector was acting to restore the honor of God and possibly to save humanity from the wrath that may come as a result of Carl’s mistake. Despite their heroic deeds, Phineas, as well as Hector, contradict the scripture whereby Christians are advised to desist from judging others lest they are judged. The only logical explanation of this Bible story is that the writer might have distorted the real events to achieve some end and thereby contradicted the nature of God.
The “Worst Bible Story” blog post provides a critical Bible reading platform on which the contradicting Bible scriptures are faulted by open-minded Christians. The correlations that the writer creates between the Biblical scriptures and real-life experiences draw valuable criticism of the applicability of the lessons in modern Christian life. For instance, while in modern society murderers are rebuked and punished severely, certain Bible verses applaud the vice citing that it was pleasing to the eyes of God. As such, the only way that Christians can discern the messages contained in the Bible is to read them critically. In this light, the numerous contradictions in the Bible that create confusion in the subject of the nature of God can be highlighted.
References
Enns, P. (2014). The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read it. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Perfectnumber628. (2015). The Worst Bible Story. (Web Blog Post). Web.