In praise of Biblical ignorance

It’s been noted that many people who identify as Christian have an abysmal knowledge of what’s actually in the Bible. No surprises there; scriptures are rich texts with multiple interpretations, so church-goers are generally much more knowledgable about their church’s interpretation of scripture than of scripture itself. Take it, Dr Prothero.

In a religious literacy quiz I have administered to undergraduates for the last two years, students tell me that Moses was blinded on the road to Damascus and that Paul led the Israelites on their exodus out of Egypt. Surveys that are more scientific have found that only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the four Gospels, and one out of 10 think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. No wonder pollster George Gallup has concluded that the United States is “a nation of biblical illiterates.”

For a particularly funny (or rank) example, check this clip of Georgia Congressman Lyn Westmoreland, who sponsored a bill to require a display of the Ten Commandments in federal buildings, and yet found himself unable to name more than three of them.

Okay, so people don’t know about the Bible. Whatever to do about it? Two ideas. a) Nothing, and b) Divert educational resources toward teaching the Bible in schools, for some reason. Let’s see what this author opts for.

One solution to this civic problem is to teach Bible classes in public schools.

Door number two. Surprise, surprise.

We already have huge buildings whose purpose is the teaching of the Bible. They’re called CHURCHES! Churches! You can go to a church and find out everything you’d like to know about the Bible. If even people who go to church aren’t getting it, this tells me that churches are falling down on the job. Perhaps they could work on that, instead of invading public schools to make them more Jesusy.

But here’s an argument:

Biblical illiteracy is not just a religious problem. It is a civic problem with political consequences. How can citizens participate in biblically inflected debates on abortion, capital punishment or the environment without knowing something about the Bible? Because they lack biblical literacy, Americans are easily swayed by demagogues on the left or the right who claim — often incorrectly — that the Bible says this about war or that about homosexuality.

Ooo, some tempting bait. Indeed, (you’re meant to think) perhaps if people were better informed about the Bible, they’d come around to a sensible way of thinking, instead of believing people who say that the Bible says things in favour of war, against homosexuality, and for the death penalty.

Except you know what? Last time I checked, the Bible actually did have verses that said all those things. And you know what else? It also had verses against all those things too. At least, according to someone’s interpretation. Well-educated scriptorians do not necessarily come to agreement on scripture. Like I say, scriptures are rich texts that can be enlisted to support just about any view. Vegetarianism? Slavery? Polygamy? Alcohol? No alcohol? It’s in there.

Oh, and of course, the Bible is the only book that deserves The Public School Treatment. Why?

[T]he Bible is of sufficient importance in Western civilization to merit its own course. Treating it no differently from, say, the Zend-Avesta of the Zoroastrians or Scientology’s Dianetics makes no educational sense.

Usually op-ed writers are better at concealing their biases. Not here. Eyeroll of the week.

No, the best way to avoid bad scriptural arguments is to avoid scriptural arguments altogether. They contribute nothing to a factual discussion. Instead, let’s try to settle public policy questions somewhat pragmatically. We need to focus on what outcomes we’d like to see, and then try to find out what will bring those about. And check out what’s happened elsewhere to see if it worked. Maybe it won’t much easier without the Bible than with it. Maybe we won’t even be able to agree on outcomes. But we may get a little farther then we’re getting now when we drag mythology into the discussion. The process won’t be helped with the inclusion of made-up opinions purportedly from a magical man.

There’s nothing wrong with ignorance of the Bible when the Bible lends itself to biased and ignorant interpretations.

UPDATE: Still don’t think you can find anything you want in the Bible? Here’s Michael Medved to tell you why the Bible says it’s wrong to give to the poor.

Leviticus 19:15 declares: “You shall not commit a perversion of justice: you shall not favor the poor and you shall not honor the great, with righteousness shall you judge your fellow.”
…
It should, indeed, come as a revelation and a rebuke to all liberals that Holy Scripture identifies “favoring the poor” as “a perversion of justice.”

As I argued in my recent townhall column about the essence of liberalism (posted on March 21st), the outlook of the left insists upon favoring the poor and the unfortunate—and thereby injecting unfairness and discrimination into the very core of politics and government.