Bart D. Ehrman | How to Weaponize the Bible @bartdehrman | Uploaded 2 months ago | Updated 1 day ago
Visit bartehrman.com/nint to sign up for the "New Insights to the New Testament 2024" conference and get a special discount by using code: MJPODCAST.
Anyone familiar with American politics and the empty rhetoric used to promote divisive views is never much surprised when politicians appeals to the Bible to support their own social agendas. Depending on who you listen to, the bible is both pro life and pro choice, pro and anti immigrant, pro and anti homosexuality…the list goes on. On today’s episode, we explore how people use and, oh so frequently misuse, ancient texts of Scripture to promote their agenda, and consider the question of whether it might help to read the Bible before claiming to know what it says.
Megan asks Bart:
- What examples do we have from early Christianity of people using scripture to try and win arguments?
- What kinds of early social issues was the bible weaponized for?
- Pre-Christianity, were other religious texts used in a similar manner?
- We’ve talked before about modern Christians using scripture to argue for or against things that are completely unrelated to what the passage actually says. Just to refresh our collective memories, could you give us an example of this? (abortion, homosexuality, etc)
- Is this selective quoting something that we see also in early Christianity?
- Do non-canonical texts ever get brought into arguments, or are they typically dismissed out of hand as unauthoritative?
- What other similarities or differences do you see between how early and modern Christians use scripture?
- Do people believe you when you tell them that the Bible actually doesn’t say what they think it does?
- What would be some more severe or problematic examples of this be?
- Do you have examples of people cherry-picking biblical evidence?
- Examples of how different translations change arguments?
Visit bartehrman.com/nint to sign up for the "New Insights to the New Testament 2024" conference and get a special discount by using code: MJPODCAST.
Anyone familiar with American politics and the empty rhetoric used to promote divisive views is never much surprised when politicians appeals to the Bible to support their own social agendas. Depending on who you listen to, the bible is both pro life and pro choice, pro and anti immigrant, pro and anti homosexuality…the list goes on. On today’s episode, we explore how people use and, oh so frequently misuse, ancient texts of Scripture to promote their agenda, and consider the question of whether it might help to read the Bible before claiming to know what it says.
Megan asks Bart:
- What examples do we have from early Christianity of people using scripture to try and win arguments?
- What kinds of early social issues was the bible weaponized for?
- Pre-Christianity, were other religious texts used in a similar manner?
- We’ve talked before about modern Christians using scripture to argue for or against things that are completely unrelated to what the passage actually says. Just to refresh our collective memories, could you give us an example of this? (abortion, homosexuality, etc)
- Is this selective quoting something that we see also in early Christianity?
- Do non-canonical texts ever get brought into arguments, or are they typically dismissed out of hand as unauthoritative?
- What other similarities or differences do you see between how early and modern Christians use scripture?
- Do people believe you when you tell them that the Bible actually doesn’t say what they think it does?
- What would be some more severe or problematic examples of this be?
- Do you have examples of people cherry-picking biblical evidence?
- Examples of how different translations change arguments?
