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Last fall I wrote Being Bound By Denominational Creeds and Confessions. If you haven’t read it or don’t remember much about it, I highly recommend reading it first. You will get much more out of this post because it is a sort of continuation (with more months of observation and dismay). I came across two glaring examples that demonstrate how Big Eva wants to keep the people in the church dumb and compliant.

In other words, no human will ever be as invested in your individual spiritual growth and well-being as you. My spiritual growth and your spiritual growth will depend entirely on how much we seek out the Lord and what only He can provide. To think we can trust and somewhat passively outsource this to a church, a pastor, a deacon board, etc. is a huge mistake far too many Christians make every day.

So first let’s take a look at a response an author received from a well-known publishing house (Moody). You can read the entire 2014 post in Why Not To Read Books about Jesus and the Bible from Major Christian Publishers. This was eleven years ago. If this was the attitude then, it explains so much of the compromise and false teaching that has ripped through the church since then. The bold part is mine.

I’ve had the chance to read through your proposal. I appreciate what you are looking to accomplish with this in-depth look at Jesus actions. I think it is valuable to open the eyes of believers to some of the less-obvious truths of scripture, especially in the life of Jesus.

After reading through this, however, I think it isn’t going a direction we would like to publish. The primary challenge we would face with our audience is that the book is a little technically in-depth. It is less of a narrative and has more of a historical commentary feel. The other challenge is that, when explaining things that are not readily obvious to a lay person reading his bible, it is important not to make him feel like he is unable to truly understand scripture without the background knowledge. While you do NOT make the reader feel this way intentionally, the very content of the book calls into question a normal reading of scripture.

In other words, it is better that the average Christian be comforted by the “normal reading of scripture” that everyone has been fed than to be introduced to the idea that perhaps in order to truly understand the Bible, you must dig deeper which includes understanding the historical background knowledge.

Here is how the author responded. Bold mine.

I was floored. It made sense to say I wouldn’t make you money. But, it doesn’t make sense to purposefully publish books without the depth to move Christian readers beyond a normal (i.e., uninformed) reading of Scripture. Much of Scripture cannot be understood without serious study of the literary and historical contexts. That’s just the way it is. The premise behind getting my Ph.D. in Biblical Studies and teaching Hermeneutics for the last decade is: understanding the whole Bible requires technical skills. Hiding that reality from the “average reader” is downright deception justified by making readers “feel” good. Screening out books that reveal more is needed to understand Jesus or the Bible keeps your audience dumb, happy and mishandling their Bibles. That got me fired up.

He wrote back to the publisher. Bold is mine.

I would encourage your team to think about the effect you are having on a broad body of Christians. Purposefully screening out books that bring both depth and point the way to a more accurate reading and response to Scripture is a tenuous way to serve the body of Christ. Although it may be hard for someone to realize that their use of Scripture or understanding of Jesus has been inadequate, it is necessary, healthy, and a growth opportunity. Relegating all books with depth that may challenge the status quo to an academic line of books steals the opportunity for a larger, popular audience to grow. I say these things as a teacher in many “lay” settings where people have been disappointed or almost disillusioned by the inadequate use of Scripture they were taught after hearing my content, but then inspired by the whole new world of following Jesus that has been opened up afterwards.”

He is correct. The internet, however, has radically changed things in the past eleven years. Big Eva is much less effective at theological gatekeeping because there are too many Christians who are hungry for the truth and seeking it out for themselves. They may still be showing up at church for now, but they are feeding themselves elsewhere all week. (That’s another post.) 

Even among pastors who will say they want their congregation to study God’s word and follow Jesus, that isn’t always the case. In reality, they want their members to understand the “normal reading of scripture” as defined by their confession or creed. Pastors do not want anything in their church that disrupts their ability to be an accepted member in good standing of the confessional guild to which they belong.

Think that’s a bit harsh? 

Let’s move on to the second part of my post in the form of a video. 

I’ve mentioned before that for over a year I have been digging into partial-preterism and preterism. If you aren’t familiar with those terms, a partial-preterist believes that most of the prophecies in the Bible have already been fulfilled with a focus on the events around 70 A.D. Dr. R.C. Sproul is probably the best know partial-preterist. Preterism is the belief that all of the prophecies of the Bible have been fulfilled. Partial-preterism is generally accepted within Christian circles, even by people who hold to another view of eschatology. Preterism will frequently get you labeled a heretic.

I give this as background because the video I’m sharing is from a CensorTube channel called Heretic Chick Chat. Kristen calls herself a heretic tongue-in-cheek because she is a preterist, not because she has rejected Christ. She hasn’t. I’ve watched many of her videos and as far as I can tell she is a sincere follower of Christ who takes studying the Bible seriously. 

However, asking difficult and valid questions about the Scriptures has gotten her (and her husband) into trouble at church. Remember, we’re not supposed to ask thoughtful and probing questions that go against the “normal reading of scripture.” It causes way too many problems. 

In this video, Kristen tells a couple of stories that illustrate this point. To give you the background, they attend a church that prides itself on teaching through the Bible verse by verse. She mentions in another video that it can take a year or two to get through one book of the Bible because they address every verse – even the difficult passages. Their church is known for this.

So they are going through the book of Luke. Kristen and her husband are interested to see how they handle Luke 21:32. (She cites it incorrectly the first time and then corrects herself later in the video.) This is the verse.

Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Luke 21:32

(See also Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30.) 

I’ve cued it up to the right place. Watch to the end. 

“He read unauthorized verses. At church.” 

I still laugh out loud every time to watch that.

Kristen, if you happen to see this here just know that David and I would love to share a Sunday School table with you. 

Okay, back to being serious and my righteous indignation.

And, no, I’m not exaggerating. It is reprehensible that a pastor of a church that prides itself on going through books of the Bible verse by verse deliberately skips a verse that makes him uncomfortable.

How is that not a form of lying to the congregation? Isn’t this similar to a sin of omission? 

At least be honest. Read the verse and tell the congregation there is a lot of debate about it. Acknowledge that many Christians find it difficult to understand. At least offer a few explanations for it. But it is appalling that a pastor would care so little about his congregation that he is willing to blatantly deny them instruction about something important.

I’ll stop with those two examples today. I have a lot more to say about topics related to this. But let me close with this although it might sound trite. 

You don’t know what you don’t know. 

And if you don’t dig for yourself and tackle the hard questions, you will never know. There is an entire network of Christian leaders and “Christian leaders” who have a vested interest in making sure you and I and Kristen don’t rock the boat. 

I’m not satisfied with the “normal reading of scripture” because I’ve dug deeper into enough topics over the past few decades to know that pat answers that keep everyone in line are often wrong and are driven by questionable motives. 

Never underestimate the lengths even “good Christian men and women” will go to in order to keep their access to powerful people/organizations and their standing in the denomination that controls their ability to minister via the confession.