Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Reading the Bible Literally

I want to direct your attention to a recent post put up on James Emery White's website. He interacts and critiques a liberal (or may I suggest, an "unchristian") article written by Miguel De La Tore put up on the Associate Baptist Press' website titled, "A Pop Quiz for Biblical Literalists." White's critique of this article is consice, and yet it gets at the very heart of the issue. Take a look at a paragraph from De La Tore's article;
Only God should be worshiped, not the book that reveals God. In spite of some minor contradictions and several immoral regulations or commands that appear in the Bible (as the pop quiz demonstrated for those who have eyes to see), it still remains the testimony of those who saw God move in their lives and in history. And, like all testimonies, it is subjective. As important as the Bible is in my life, to worship it and give it equal standing with the Creator would be blasphemous on my part.
Without a doubt, Dr. De La Tore raises issues which has confronted Christians since the formation of the canon. However, I do believe that White sufficiently defeats De La Tore's skewed reasoning. Surely, White does not thrash De La Tore's thinking on every front, but his dealing with the article is helpful. To access Dr. White's article click here.
Here is a little smidgeon from White's article:
I do not mind a learned discussion about biblical truth and authority. What I do mind is continually associating a ridiculously wooden interpretation of the Bible that violates the most fundamental rules of textual interpretation with “taking the Bible literally.” This is such a tired caricature. Suffice it to say, such “quizzes” as offered above reveal both a hermeneutical and a theological ignorance.

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