Original statement:
Reverend Dr. Mel White, in his article What the Bible Says- and doesnt Say- About Homosexuality, says Biblical ignorance is an epidemic in the United States Rev. Dr. Mel White further states in the article, Most people who are certain they know what the Bible says about homosexuality dont know where the verses that reference same-sex behavior can be found. They havent read them, let alone studied them carefully. They dont know the original meaning of the words in Hebrew or Greek. And they havent tried to understand the historical context in which those words were written. Yet the assumption that the Bible condemns homosexuality is passed down from generation to generation with very little personal study or research
I've heard a lot of people suggest it is common, and words such as "they", but I haven't seen an "I" yet. Is biblical ignorance an epidemic for everyone else, except for you?
Do you still agree with the statement? I'm going to assume most would not... which, despite how many "yes, that statement is true" have been said in this thread, will prove people's bias towards their own superiority and opinion on anything the bible has to say.
***NOTE: This thread is NOT about homosexuality, or a place to debate it. It is based off the idea of biblical ignorance in general. However, one can note that as such a statement can be seen to be true, until a subject is injected into those words, then everyone suddenly believes they are right and the opposition is wrong.
Regardless of what Dr. White believes about homosexuality, his point about the Biblical illiteracy of Americans is absolutely true. I have a friend, a person I consider a beloved brother in Christ, who has said that homosexuality is an affront to God. Let me be clear: he is correct in saying that homosexuality is an affront to God. But it disheartens me that he most likely doesn't know where in Scripture to find this. However, please keep in mind that the Biblical illiteracy of Americans extends to Christians in apostate churches (i.e. liberal churches) as well. Many Americans believe that Jesus taught that non-Christians can go to heaven, or that Jesus taught us not to judge sin, or that Jesus' primary mission in this world was to teach principles for social reform. None of these things is true. Jesus taught that anyone who doesn't trust in Jesus (which necessitates giving up non-Christian religions) will go to hell, as taught in John 3:18, John 3:36, and Mark 16:16. Jesus taught us to pronounce proper judgment against sin in the church; the principle of church discipline was ordained by Christ in Matthew 18:15-17. And while I'm all for social reform, Jesus taught that his primary mission was to serve his people by giving his life as a ransom, as he said in Matthew 20:28.
Many people believe as they do because of influence from their parents or American culture, and they have not tested their beliefs against Scripture. This is true of people whose beliefs adhere to the Bible, and of people whose beliefs run contrary to it. Neither case is desirable. A person who believes rightly, but for the wrong reason, has no ground to stand on his conviction, and may fall. The Bible says that the Law of the Lord revives the soul and makes wise the simple (Psalm 19:7), and so it is important to be familiar with it. But a person whose belief is contrary to the Bible is also in danger, because such a person is without the words of eternal life, and destined for hell. In both cases the cure is better education in God's word, and rejection of false religions.
There is one other point I would make. In my experience, Biblical ignorance is more pronounced in liberal churches than in Bible-believing ones. Churches that preach, teach, and believe in the Bible tend to place a greater value on God's word, and encourage their congregants to study the Scriptures. On the contrary, it is denominations such as the Catholics, Presbyterians (USA), Episcopalians, Methodists, and United Church of Christ, which preach common wisdom from the pulpit instead of resting on God's word. It is my experience that they do not encourage their congregants to read God's word. And while I am not aware of any statistics on the issue, I find that there is far more Biblical illiteracy in these apostate denominations.
One word: interpretation. If people believe homosexuality is a sin, they will find a way that they can make them and others believe that the words were meant in a way to refer to it as a sin. It is the same accusation that others would suggest homosexuals only believe it isn't because they are making excuses for 'what is clear', when to many it obviously is not. It can swing both ways.
And in the end, comes down to whether or not you will humble yourself, or will be self righteous. Too many of times christians choose the latter.
I'm fully in favor of humbling myself, but I fear that you may (perhaps inadvertently?) be using such wording to avoid the issue of objective truth. I hope I'm not going out on a limb here, but I think that God's word has a definite meaning, i.e. the truths of Scripture are timeless, and they aren't subject to change. They don't depend on the opinions of the reader. It's true that some people start with the presupposition that homosexuality is wrong, and then read this into Scripture. But the pro-homosexual crowd does this too. I have heard all manners of absurd Biblical arguments for homosexuality, most notably the argument that every Biblical condemnation of homosexuality is really just a condemnation of pagan idolatry (I find this argument dubious, because its proponents believe that false religions are valid means of salvation). But since you brought up the homosexuality issue, please allow me to address it.
There was a time in my life when I did not believe that homosexuality was wrong. The words of Scripture changed my mind on the issue. I grew up as a non-Christian theist, and indeed the first time I ever read the Bible I was 19. So I think I can approach the issue from a reasonably neutral standpoint. Now the fact that someone can be born and raised in America and not read so much as a paragraph of God's Scriptures for 19 years demonstrates the Biblical illiteracy of Americans. Fortunately I happen to have a bit of a talent for academics in general, which has aided me in this area. After placing my faith in Jesus, by God's grace I was able to acquire a familiarity with the literary content Bible in a rather short period of time. I am most certainly no expert, nor do I have any formal seminary training. But I've read the whole book, I understand how it is structured, and I know how to study it. It does not support homosexuality. Neither does it support various other liberal doctrines, most notably the false belief that non-Christians are going to heaven. I mention that because support for homosexuality is usually indicative of a deeper disagreement with the doctrines of Scripture.
You criticize Americans for being Biblically illiterate, and rightly so. But if you are going to adhere to the belief that homosexuality is acceptable to God, you owe it to yourself to check this belief against Scripture. Remember that opinions are ubiquitous: everyone has one, and no one cares. But objective, Biblical truth endures throughout the ages and into eternity. I encourage you to study the Bible and let it inform your opinions.
