Links to Think: 14.01.27

The Bible was ‘clear’… – While some may frequently disagree with the tone of this author, I found her writing here to be humble and gracious, yet addressing some important concerns, some of which hit close to home in chronistic and geographic proximity .

“In 1982: 

“The Bible clearly teaches, starting in the tenth chapter of Genesis and going all the way through, that God has put differences among people on the earth to keep the earth divided.” – Bob Jones III, defending Bob Jones University’spolicy banning interracial dating/marriage. The policy was changed in 2000.

In 1823: 

 “The right of holding slaves is clearly established by the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.” – Rev. Richard Furman, first president of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention.”

“But these quotes should serve as a humbling reminder that rhetorical claims to the Bible’s clarity on a subject do not automatically make it so. One need not discount the inspiration and authority of Scripture to hold one’s interpretations of Scripture with an open hand. 

It’s easy to look down our noses at the Christians who have come before us and discount them as unenlightened and uninformed. But to accept Galileo’s thesis, our 17th century forbearers would have had to reject 1600 years of traditional Christian interpretations of passages like Psalm 93:1, Ecclesiastes 1:5, and Joshua 10:12-14. And to accept the arguments of the abolitionist, our great-great-grandparents had to see beyond the “plain meaning” of proof texts like Ephesians 6:1-5, Colossians 3:18-25; 4:1, and I Timothy 6:1-2 and instead be compelled by the general sweep of Scripture toward justice and freedom . (I wrote more about this in my post, “Is abolition biblical?”)”

22 Unbelievable Places that are Hard to Believe Really Exist – Hana Kate and I had fun checking out the photos for this article. She was particularly fascinated by Mount Roraima, South America, so we spend some time learning a little bit more about it! 🙂