Extremes

Recently, I was listening to a podcast and heard someone say that there’s nothing in the Bible worth basing morals on. I was really disappointed to hear that, but it’s something I’ve run across before. I read a book a while back where the author criticized the Golden Rule by saying some people might not want to be treated they way you want to be treated. A more moral statement would be “don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.” But this is nitpicking. There is very little difference between the two statements.

There are plenty of problems in the Bible without us creating more. And when we do, I think it only hurts our position. It makes us look unreasonable and dishonest. In fact, there are some good moral teachings in the Bible. That doesn’t make it divine, but let’s at least give credit where it’s due.

Of course, there are Christians that whitewash the facts too. They can be presented with contradictory passages, failed prophecies, or illogical doctrines and still claim that those things don’t bother them. They’ll still claim the Bible is inerrant when they have no answers for the contradictions. That kind of attitude only hurts their cause as well. I have much more respect for the Christian who acknowledges the difficulties, or has adjusted some of his beliefs in response to them.

The end goal for all of us should be truth. Let’s be honest and brave enough to look at the evidence on every side of the issue and try to come to a more accurate and reasonable position. Making outrageous claims only clouds the issue and causes confusion. And when people do try to twist the facts, we should challenge them on it. Even if it never makes a difference to that person, you never know who might overhear a conversation or read an exchange on a blog or message board. It’s not always easy to put yourself out there that way, but I’m convinced it’s the right thing to do.