proof-texting for idiots…
Greenflame puts his finger on one of the problems of "using" bible text to back up your theological argument…
6 Responses to “proof-texting for idiots…”
Comments
Reply
-
author musician theologian
Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
Giving It Up explores the Lenten idea of 'giving up', taking it beyond the traditional idea of simply abstaining from something, and suggesting instead that what we need to give up is our existing ideas about God. With a daily readings for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, it follows the heroes of the Bible who had to give up their own too-small ideas about God.
This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
-
Search
-
-
I once attempted to participate in a “postmodern” discussion group. This was exciting until I learned that they were really fundamentalist Christians who wanted to smoke cigars and have an occasional cocktail. I soon discovered that many members used “proof-texting” to support their conclusions. It was a scary scenario. It was like I was dealing with members of a cult. The scary part was that many of these folks could quote scripture out of no where, and many often did. I learned two things: that those who often can quote scripture actually, in reality, know very little scripture and those who “know” scripture usually have the worst theology.
Great post!
The sad thing about the practice is that it tends to make more liberal, instinctive non proof texter types feel as if we have to apologise if we are ever caught using Scripture at all…or is that just my own personal hang-up?
Don’t worry there Kathryn, your secret’s safe with us!
Or it makes us feel as though we don’t know Scripture if we can’t instantly pick the perfect verse out of the air to justify a point we’re trying to make.
Anna’s experience sounds much closer to mine – an emphasis on rote-learning rather than exploration can be a dangerous thing.
The biblical template for prooftexting is, I would guess, Jesus’ use of scripture in the wilderness when confronted by the Satan. The difficulty with using that template is, of course, that we then cast ourselves in the role of Jesus and our opponents as the Satan… but then why, when we hurl prooftexts at one another, does it so often seem to the ones sheltering from the onslaught that we are playing the latter?