How Do You Read the Bible?

W. A. Criswell

W. A. Criswell, long-time pastor of the First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, was known for his conservative theology, especially his belief that the Bible was to be literally interpreted. Pastor Criswell’s book on why he believed the Bible was literally true topped the best-selling list among conservative Christians for a number of years. His understanding of Scripture could be summed up in the phrase, “If the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

In light of his strict adherence to a literal reading of the Bible, I was shocked to learn in the 1970s that he had changed his views on divorce. Throughout much of his career he had vehemently opposed divorce on the grounds that a literal reading of Scripture condemned the act. As a pastor, he even refused to marry people who had been divorced. In his view, a literal reading of the Bible clearly states that a person who divorces and marries another commits adultery (Matt. 5:31-32; *Note—the so-called exception clause found in these verses, “except for marital unfaithfulness,” is not in the best and earliest manuscripts).

When Criswell’s daughter went through a divorce and chose to remarry, however, he began to reconsider Jesus’ teaching on divorce. As he studied the biblical texts on divorce, he slowly realized that Jesus was upholding God’s ideal for marriage. The joining of two lives is a serious commitment and should not be entered into lightly. But Criswell began to see that the overarching theme of all Scripture is that God makes allowances for human weakness. Divorce is no greater failure to live up to God’s ideal than countless other missteps that humans commit every day. In God’s mercy he forgives, completely erasing the stain of past mistakes, providing people a fresh start and a clean slate. God’s forgiveness means that divorce is not an unpardonable sin but an opportunity for a new beginning.

Had Criswell been fixated on a literal reading of the passages dealing with divorce, he would have missed a wider picture of God’s grace. What had once been a dogma of Scripture to Criswell, now was seen in the broader context of God’s extended hand of grace to those who have fallen.  

The Bible, as Criswell discovered through personal experience, cannot always be taken literally.  Scripture was never meant to serve as a rulebook that unequivocally punishes those who have failed to live up to God’s ideal. Rather, the Bible has an inherent, almost mysterious, quality that can enlarge our understanding of God’s grace and compassion by opening our eyes to see the world much like God sees the world. The Bible, in other words, serves more like a compass that gives direction to our lives rather than a detailed rulebook.

Throughout the centuries, people of faith have continuously discovered fresh meanings that have altered their understandings on what once had been settled dogma. For instance, in Israel’s early faith history the belief that there were many gods was a given. This understanding can be clearly seen in Exodus 20 when Israel was commanded to worship no other god except the Lord God. Why would there be the need for this command unless Israel believed in the existence of other gods? As Israel grew in her faith, however, she recognized that there was only one God over all the universe. It required centuries for Israel to replace a literal reading of its sacred text with a new reverence for the uniqueness of God!

Slavery is another example. Much of the Bible supports the evil institution of slavery. In fact, during the 19th century, Scripture was used to support slavery by Southerners in defense of owning human property. But as thoughtful people of faith continued to study the Bible and reflected on the nature of God, the more they realized that all people are created in the image of God. No one has the right to treat other human beings as property. Indeed, reading Scripture closely may transform what was once considered dogma into a new understanding of the vastness of God’s incomprehensible love for all creation. 

Then, too, the subjugation of women also finds support in a literal reading of Scripture. There are hints throughout Scripture of the equality of men and women, but there are also passages that treat women as subservient to men.  Over time people of faith realized that God’s image was reflected in both male and female (see Gen. 1:27), and gradually women are assuming their rightful place as co-partners with men, although the struggle for female equality is far from over.

As we mature in our relationship with God, we discover that we cannot always read the Bible literally. It is as if God trusts people of faith to grow beyond a literal reading of the biblical text, something that most of us find extremely difficult. Either we err on the side of rigid literalism, and make Scripture an inflexible moral code of right and wrong, or we err on the side of gratuitous love, where everything becomes permissible.

If the Bible is the most read book among people in the West, it is also the most abused book. The Word of God can be used to harm human beings by choking people with all kinds of legalisms or Scripture can help to heal the wounds that life inflicts upon us through compassion and understanding.

Recently, Pope Francis has been criticized by many American Catholics for his compassionate concern for the poor and the environment. Many American Catholics have demanded that the pope take a stronger position on issues like the LGBTQ community and abortion. In response Pope Francis wants Catholic clergy to be open to a larger world view, to care for both the “unborn and the already born.” The pope is concerned that many priests and bishops in America have become “cultural warriors,” instead of shepherds who care for all the sheep.

Some priests have refused communion to people who disagree with their views on these controversial social issues. The pope has reminded them that communion is “not the reward of the saints, but the bread of sinners.” No one comes to the communion table free of sin, no one.

Pope Francis

I admire Pope Francis. His spiritual and intellectual insights on many delicate issues reflect a man who has spent countless hours in prayer and the study of Scripture. He has experienced the trauma of people who have been crippled by life—the poor, the hungry, the sick, and people whose human weaknesses have lead them to feel vulnerable and unloved. He views the Church as a triage for the critical needs of fallible and wounded human beings—which, if truth be told, includes us all.

By nature, people of faith are passionate and have strong feelings about what Scripture teaches. Too often, however, we open the biblical text, select a few passages here and there, and conclude that we have heard from God. Sometimes our biblical zeal to promote a literal reading of Scripture has led to the burning of young women as witches, or the enslavement of human beings as property, or initiating religious wars of conquests, or the condemning of religious views that run contrary to ours. Just because we are committed to our faith and read the Bible literally doesn’t mean we are right.

During my ministry I have had parents come to me with their 12-year-old pregnant daughter and plead with me to tell them what to do. I could only pray that God would give them wisdom. I have had a young gay man ask me why God had made him the way he was. He wept as he wondered why God hated him. I gently reminded him that he, too, was a child of God.

Life is complicated. There are no easy answers. What I do know is that all of us must continue to open our minds and hearts to the Word of God and to each other. Today, tomorrow or soon, God may reveal new biblical insights that change what we once believed was so certain.