{"id":41702,"date":"2013-07-05T00:15:18","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T05:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=41702"},"modified":"2013-07-03T12:42:59","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T17:42:59","slug":"bible-verse-arms-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Verse Arms Race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I read a piece by Steven Harrell<\/strong><\/a> in Relevant Mag about the Bible Verse Arms Race, which could be called being right without being biblical, or being right without being good. Here\u2019s a brief clip:<\/p>\n

I like to call this exercise a \u201cBible Verse Arms Race.\u201d The key to winning is to pile up as many verses on your side of the argument as you can while simultaneously discounting your opponent\u2019s verses because they aren\u2019t reading them in the correct context or they have the original language wrong.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s universally understood that New Testament verses always trump the Old Testament, and Jesus\u2019 Red Letters always trump Paul. The game is most popular among high school students, seminary students and Emergent theology bloggers. (I\u2019ll let you draw your own ironies from there.)<\/p>\n

Predestination vs. free will. Consubstantiation vs. transubstantiation. Faith alone vs. good works. Scriptural authority vs. traditional authority. Mysticism vs. orthodoxy. For 2,000 years, each side has had verses that seem to very much confirm their relevance to the faith, while other verses seem to diminish them altogether\u2026.<\/p>\n

So, what do we do? Is it possible to determine the way we ought to act through Scripture alone? Can we model our actions and beliefs on the whole of the Bible and be certain we\u2019re being faithful to God\u2019s design?<\/p>\n

I think the answer goes back to the 2,000-year-old conflict between faith (good theology) and works (good actions).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s one of his kickers to upload into your thinking and into our conversation today: some turn being right into the opportunity to make everything they believe into what is right.<\/p>\n

In my (biased) view, many folks \u201chave faith\u201d in Christianity because they believe Christianity is \u201cright.\u201d In other words, that it\u2019s historically true, morally sound and spiritually resonant. But once they\u2019ve taken the name \u201cChristian\u201d and now stand on the \u201cright side,\u201d they reverse-engineer their newfound faith to match their long-standing beliefs, biases and preferences.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now his second kicker:<\/p>\n

This is why the Bible Verse Arms Race is not a very good way to discover Biblical truth. When two people, each with a firmly held \u201cfaith,\u201d find as many verses as possible to uphold their belief and dismiss the others, no one leaves convinced of anything except that the other person is stubborn. (Including, I might add, an increasingly post-modern, relativist world that sees these debates as archaic and disingenuous.)<\/p>\n

I think Jesus offers a solution in Matthew 7:15-20, when He warns against false prophets. \u201cA good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit \u2026 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In much of our Christian culture, the evidence of \u201cgood faith\u201d is belief in the \u201cright answers\u201d of Christianity, defended by a large collection of Bible Verses. Jesus\u2019 words in Matthew 7 directly challenge this notion, as He proposes good deeds are the tangible effects of good faith.<\/p>\n

James says it a different way, \u201cDo not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.\u00a0Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror\u00a0and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like\u201d (James 1:22-24).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As someone who has taught and written about James for thirty years, and attempted to live his message out, I\u2019m keen on hearing someone affirm that text from James. It\u2019s one of those \u201cfirst this, and then second that\u201d or \u201cfirst things first, and until you get first things first the whole is distorted\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

Am I saying seeking the solutions to complicated theological problems is useless? No, such work can help perceive the character of God. But unless we strive to live in a way that reflects this discovered character, systematic theology devolves quickly into a clanging cymbal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read a piece by Steven Harrell in Relevant Mag about the Bible Verse Arms Race, which could be called being right without being biblical, or being right without being good. Here\u2019s a brief clip: I like to call this exercise a \u201cBible Verse Arms Race.\u201d The key to winning is to pile up as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBible Verse Arms Race<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I read a piece by Steven Harrell in Relevant Mag about the Bible Verse Arms Race, which could be called being right without being biblical, or being right\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bible Verse Arms Race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I read a piece by Steven Harrell in Relevant Mag about the Bible Verse Arms Race, which could be called being right without being biblical, or being right\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-05T05:15:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-07-03T17:42:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/\",\"name\":\"Bible Verse Arms Race\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-05T05:15:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-03T17:42:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"I read a piece by Steven Harrell in Relevant Mag about the Bible Verse Arms Race, which could be called being right without being biblical, or being right\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2013\/07\/05\/bible-verse-arms-race\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bible Verse Arms Race\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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