Bible-Reading Atheists and Some Christians Have This in Common
Jim’s a friendly, outgoing self-described atheist I know from the gym. “I don’t believe the Bible. And I don’t believe in unicorns either,” he told me. When he declared that the Bible is full of contradictions, I suggested we get together for breakfast so he could give me some examples.
As we enjoyed our breakfast burritos at a local hangout, he showed me a meme from one of the atheist Face Book groups he follows. “Here,” he said. “Look at this.” In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells his followers to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them, yet in 1 Corinthians 1:17. Paul says, ‘Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.’ That’s a clear contradiction.”
That was such a simplistic example of an alleged problem that I had to hold myself back from chuckling. I gently explained that the context of those two verses couldn’t be more different. The Matthew verse was given to his disciples at the very end of Jesus’ time on earth as he is setting the pattern for his followers through the ages to come. Baptism is to be a hallmark of the church. Does this mean that any Christian who fails to baptize others is violating Jesus’ command? I hope not. I’ve never baptized anyone.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul is helping a particular troubled church at risk of splintering at it struggles with a specific theological controversy. Some of its members are identifying more with particular church leaders than they are with Jesus. Some favor Paul; others prefer Apollos; still others like Cephas the best.
Paul reminds them he wasn’t crucified for them and that they weren’t baptized in Paul’s name. He then states that he is glad he didn’t baptize many of them because his principal calling was preaching the gospel, not baptizing.
Jim’s meme takes the words from Matthew 28:19 and 1 Corinthians 1:17 in a completely wooden way. It erroneously concludes that since Paul was a follower of Jesus, he was personally under Jesus’ mandate to baptize. Since he states that God didn’t call him to baptize, 1 Corinthians 1:17 directly contradicts Matthew 28:19. Voila! Instant inconsistency.
The writer of the meme’s mistake was treating the Bible as a totally “flat text.” All words and all applications should be taken to mean exactly the same way wherever they appear regardless of context. There is no nuance of interpretation. Never mind that the audiences and the circumstances for these verses were completely different.
You may be surprised that I say that these atheists and some Christians do the same thing. We can treat the Bible as if it were a magic book. If I can find a sentence I like, I can claim it as a promise from God. Never mind that I might be completely misunderstanding or misapplying it.
There are many examples, but probably the most abused verse in this regard is Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you, . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” How many mugs, pens and plaques displaying this verse are sold every May during graduation season?
As theologian Walter Kaiser would say, “Great concept. Wrong verse.” Certainly, God loves us and blesses us in many ways. And if we let him, he will generally bring prosperity into our lives. That prosperity can take many forms: spiritual vitality, life-affirming relationships, and (sometimes) even career or financial success.
The problem is that in its historical context, Jeremiah 29:11 has absolutely nothing to do with any of that. It is God’s message through Jeremiah to the people of Judah who were exiled in Babylon because of their collective sin. After 70 years in captivity, God will restore them and once again prosper them as a nation but (according to verses 12 and 13) only if the people repent of their sin and seek God with their whole hearts.
Consider this. Virtually every one of the people who heard those words from Jeremiah died before they were fulfilled, so there is no way this was a promise any individual today can “claim” about their next endeavor.
So don’t get caught in the same trap that the atheist meme writer fell into. Continue to recognize the Bible as God’s inspired, inerrant, infallible word to us, but make sure you understand what a passage means in its linguistic historical and cultural context before you try to apply it.
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What steps can you take to make sure you don’t make the mistake of ignoring context or the writer’s original intent?
Do you think it in any way undercuts the Bible’s authority to realize that some popular interpretations or applications may be flawed?
Do your best to present yourself to God as one . . . who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timiothy 2:15 (NIV)