by Amy Jill-Levine and Douglas Knight
for the Huffington Post<\/p>\n
The culture wars over family values have yet to reach d\u00e9tente and will not until the messiah comes (or returns, depending on the reader\u2019s affiliation). Battles continue over women\u2019s equality vs. a wife\u2019s graceful submission, no-fault divorce vs. attempts to strengthen marital bonds, the ordaining of gays and lesbians and the legalization of \u201cgay marriage\u201d vs. exhortations to \u201clove the sinner but hate the sin,\u201d birth control and abortion, private sexual expression vs. public interest\u2026.<\/p>\n
People who read the Bible often find themselves on the opposite sides of many of these issues. This does not mean that they are necessarily reading their texts incorrectly. Indeed, before we even ask, \u201cWhat does the Bible say?\u201d we need to ask, \u201cWhose Bible?\u201d Canons \u2013 and so, cannons \u2013 differ among various Christian churches as well as between Jews and Christians, as do translations. Moreover, the Bible is open to multiple interpretations: we need to determine what is metaphor and what is to be taken literally, what is case specific and what is timeless, what is a matter of personal choice and what should be legislated.<\/p>\n