« Catholic Charities Defies Vatican | Main | Carla steeps herself in liberal Hollywood excess and gets all pruney »

August 28, 2006

Literally Over The Edge

Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald writes a wonderful piece today about the dangers of taking the bible literally.

First Baptist Church of Watertown, N.Y., fired Mary Lambert for being a woman. They say the Bible told them to do it.

Nothing against women, says the Rev. Timothy LaBouf. The church is just trying to obey 1 Timothy 2:11-14, which says, in part, ``A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.''

It's not my business as to whom the First Baptist Church has teaching its Sunday School classes. I just find it interesting that, after 54 years of this woman teaching this class, they finally discover this passage. Is it new? Didn't they know about it before? Or is it just that they wanted to get rid of her, and searched their Bible for a "Godly" reason?

But wait, there's more

Allow me to share by way of example an e-mail I received last week from a gentleman named Al who took exception to a column I wrote condemning capital punishment. Said Al, ``When one criticizes the death penalty one criticizes God's judgment in the matter, as scripture ordains death for numerous crimes. It is not wise to criticize God.''

I shot back a note pointing out that among the crimes for which scripture ordains death are cursing your parents (Lev. 20:9) or committing adultery (Lev. 20:10). Did Al really believe those misdeeds should be treated as capital offenses?

''Only if one wishes to accomplish God's will in the matter,'' said Al.

So this is the type of thinking if we continue to go down the path of "bringing God into our government" - or schools - or wherever else the fundamentalists want to push their power.

Mr. Pitts sums it up well.

Or has no one else noticed how literally some Christians interpret those Scriptures that give them license to condemn, yet how elastic and liberal their readings are when dealing with Scriptures that convict their personal behaviors? Meaning that it's always a little more difficult to catch people being literal about turn the other cheek, do not store up treasures on earth, do not turn away the borrower, love your enemy.

I'd be interested to find a fundamentalist Church that takes the whole Bible to heart, and how they explain away the contradictions. But I'm not counting on it. The reality is that they just want to control their parishoners. It's not about God at all.

Posted by Alan at August 28, 2006 05:01 AM