Can a Christian Disagree with the Bible?

Hi, this is Bernie Dake. Welcome to the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Welcome to Words of Life. I'm Cheryl Gillum.

And I'm Bernie Dake. Cheryl, last week in our series, Skeptics Welcome. My core officer, as we say in the Salvation Army, or my pastor, Ken Argot, addressed the question, why should I trust the Bible? This week, staying with that theme, he'll be responding to another question by a listener, one of you, can I be a Christian and disagree with the Bible? Wow. That's a tough one.

That's a tough one. And I guess the question that comes up is, whose interpretation of the Bible are you listening to, or have you really meditated on God's Word for Him to reveal, the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth that He has in His Word? I often tell a joke where someone will say something about a book that they're reading, and I'll say, oh, it doesn't have a lot of pictures.

I need pictures to understand things. But the truth is, even from a scriptural point of view, I enjoy the translation that Peterson did called The Message. It speaks sort of my language, but I have a friend who just disagrees with that wholeheartedly because he feels that we should be reading the unadulterated word or that that's not a real translation. But in fact, it really is, and to each his own, I say. Some people want King James, New International, New Revised, The Standard.

There's so many different versions. Right. But the point is, is that individually we need to sit with ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth and not just be dependent upon what other people are saying. If I could add, just even two weeks ago, I heard a woman giving her testimony to our Salvation Army leadership here in Atlanta, and she encouraged them to say, so often we're very quick to wake up in the morning and read a short devotional and spend some time with the Lord. But what you're doing is kind of hearing someone else's interpretation of what God revealed to them in their relationship with them. And what she was encouraging the leadership to do is make sure you take time on your own to read God's word by itself so that He can reveal Himself to you through His word.

Just the two of you. Right. That's a beautiful thing. Good reminder. Because if not, that's being spoon fed. Right. And we are adults. We can do it ourselves.

Right. Well, we really hope and pray that this series is speaking to some of you in a way that frees you of maybe even some guilt that you've had because of your doubts. God wants us to question, wrestle with the scripture and bring our doubts to Him. So follow us on social media.

And especially if one of your questions has been discussed by Ken, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Give us a call at 1-800-229-9965 or send us an email radio at uss.salvationarmy.org. Shake off the darkness of the night. Lift up your eyes. Our hope is coming with the light.

The wake arrives. Shake off the darkness of the night. Lift up your eyes. Our hope coming with the light.

Awake, all right. Shake off the darkness of the night. Shake off the darkness of the night. Shall put joy into the Lord. All the earth lift up your voice with the trumpet and the horn. Shall put joy into the Lord.

All the earth lift up your voice with the trumpet and the horn. Shall put joy into the Lord. Shall put joy into the Lord. Shall joyfully be for the Lord.

Shall joyfully be for the Lord. Well, maybe people have been looking forward to this show today, where we're going to discuss the question, can I be a Christian and disagree with the Bible? That seems a little loaded.

Now, on first thought, you'd say, well, no. That's the whole point. You've got to agree with the Bible if you're going to be a Christian. But let me turn that phrase into something else.

And maybe this helps work through the issue. To be a Christian means every day you must wrestle with the Bible. And in fact, sometimes I don't like what I see in the Bible. Sometimes I don't really want to agree with what I see in the Bible.

But I have to let that just sink in for a while. And the Holy Spirit has to do some work in my own heart before I come to a place where, yes, OK, that's what it says. This is what I believe about what it says. Now, we talked before about Wesley's quadrilateral, that there's this scripture that is foundational of all. And if you look at the quadrilateral and not as a square, but as a pyramid, where scripture is the foundation of the entire pyramid, and then upon that you put reason, that is our ability to logically look at what do the words mean and what's the argument that may be being made by the author. And then on top of that, there's something called experience, means that in some way the scripture needs to resonate in your spirit. Sometimes that resonation is a dissonance. And James says when we look in the mirror and we immediately forget what we talked about and walk away, that's what it's like when we have this spiritual dissonance that we read and we don't do anything about it and we just walk away and we walk away into our own dissonance. We need to experience the scriptures, and we need to allow that dissonance to resolve through the work of the Holy Spirit.

And that doesn't happen overnight. And then on top of scripture, reason, experience, at the very top you have this small piece of tradition. And tradition is how the scriptures have been interpreted over the past 4,000 years. I mean, we don't want to throw away 4,000 years of scriptural interpretation just because modern circumstances or experience want the Bible to say something else.

However, there are times we have seen traditional translations challenged. I mean, consider the whole Protestant Reformation. And at one time here in America, we were led to believe in the church that slavery of black men and women was acceptable, even God ordained, because of the interpretation of Genesis 9, where Noah's son Ham does something that causes a curse upon all of his descendants.

These descendants, it was argued, migrated into Africa. And therefore, it stood to reason that this curse continued upon them. These persons of color, even after the cross, God forbid. You see, long-held traditional interpretations are not always correct. But we must wrestle with the scriptures.

Otherwise, we'd never ordain women, or wear polyester and blended wool, or even celebrate Sabbath on Sunday. You see, all of us have blind spots when it comes to the interpretations of the scriptures, which is why it should be studied, not only individually, but corporately. John Wesley called this Christian conferencing, where Christians would meet in small groups called class meetings and ask questions of the scripture and of each other of how they're living their life.

You see, every time I go to the scriptures, I always see something new, even more so when I study the scriptures with someone else or with a body of other believers. But scriptural debate ought to be done not only in our own echo chambers, where we all believe the same thing, but with other traditions. Rather than continue to divide each other, true believers should come together with other denominations that aren't necessarily like mine. And let's seek commonality in essentials.

Let's find unity. And then let's agree to disagree or debate agreeably on the other non-essentials of our faith. Without all these inflammatory comments or shaming someone into hell. You see, those who disagree with the Bible and walk away from it may have done so not based upon what the Bible actually said, but what others said about the Bible. Friends, we shoot our own wounded here in the church. And rather than allowing people to wrestle with the Holy Spirit in constant conversations about the scriptures, they simply hear words like abomination and assure it must be meant for them, and they walk away from the scriptures altogether. My friends, King David was a polygamist, narcissist, adulterer, murderer, and scoundrel. Yet he is a Bible hero to us.

The Pharisees adhered to a strict interpretation of the laws, and Jesus told them they were a brood of vipers. Just because we follow laws doesn't mean our hearts are right with God. You see, there are people in this world who are wrestling with the concept of does God love me, even with all my stuff? And they face judgment simply based on Christians who hold certain sins greater than other sins.

And the weight of all of that just falls upon all of them. Wouldn't we be better off spending our time in sharing stories of redemption rather than condemnation? Because my friends, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The scriptures are simply a mirror, a standard by which we can daily see where we fall short of his holy expectations. All of us should struggle and wrestle daily that we might reflect the true image of God implanted in us at creation. So back to the question, can I be a Christian and disagree with the Bible?

Well, ask yourself the following questions. Is the reason I am using to interpret the scriptures actually valid or sound? Does it resonate with human experience? And more than that, does the Holy Spirit give me reassurance in the body believers that such things are true? And is there any evidence throughout historical interpretations of what I believe might be true or false? You see, scripture interpretation isn't easy. And that which you think you disagree may spurn transformation either in your life experience or maybe the way that you relook at scripture. The scripture, it says in 2 Timothy, is God-breathed.

It's useful for teaching and encouraging, but it's also used for rebuking and correcting. The scripture doesn't take sides in cultural wars, but it stands as God's revelation passed down through generations to you. And as long as you keep your Bible open daily, it's OK to be a little disagreeable.

My friends, continue to read. Continue to engage in God's scripture whether you agree or disagree because somewhere in there the Holy Spirit will give you your truth. May God bless you. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support.

And we'd love to hear from you. Email us at radioatuss.salvationarmy.org. Call 1-800-229-9965 or write us at P.O.

Box 29972, Atlanta, Georgia, 30359. Tell us how we can help. Share prayer requests or share your testimony. We would love to use your story on the air. You can also subscribe to our show on iTunes or your favorite podcast store, and be sure to give us a rating. Just search for The Salvation Army's Words of Life. Follow us on social media for the latest episodes, extended interviews, and more. And if you don't have a church home, we invite you to visit your local Salvation Army worship center. They'll be glad to see you. This is Bernie Dake inviting you to join us next time for The Salvation Army's Words of Life. MUSIC