A CHRISTIAN SISTER asks, “To what degree do we take the Bible literally? You can take most issues and make arguments for both sides using Scripture. One example is homosexuality. How do we know what is written from a certain cultural perspective? Another example is women’s role in the church. How do I know what still applies to our lives in today’s world?”
Clearly, the Bible was written long ago in ancient languages to people and by people whose culture differed greatly from a 21st century western democratic culture. Most Christians consider culture when interpreting the Bible. On that basis, very few fundamentalist churches practice footwashing as a religious rite, or exchange a holy kiss, or require women to wear a head covering in public worship. Those who do practice any or all of these things see others’ omission as disobedience, though perhaps growing out of misinterpretation.
At the other end of the spectrum, most so-called “mainline” Protestant churches have already decided to ordain women and struggle now with whether they should ordain non-celibate homosexuals. Never mind that the Bible consistently lists homosexual activity among other sexual and non-sexual sins which, left unrepented, bring down divine wrath and exclude people from God’s eternal kingdom. Some argue that biblical teaching here merely reflects cultural norms and that it is irrelevant for life today.
The real question is not whether we take the Bible literally, but whether we take it seriously. If we take it seriously, we will ask its respective authors what they intend to say. We will examine their reasoning, their appeals to theological principles or to earlier Scripture. We will take into account the various types of biblical literature— whether poetry, prophecy, proverb, or prose—to name just a few of the possibilities. We will consider the circumstances and situations which elicited the various portions and books of Scripture. We will give due attention to context, to language, even to “tone.” And when we have done all these things—if we take the Bible seriously as the word of God—we will humbly accept as our final authority whatever we conclude that its writers intended to teach.