Common Sense or Scripture: Which Do You Follow?
Posted on October 27, 2024 by Todd Leonard, One of Thousands of Spirituality Coaches on Noomii.
Bad religion asks you to turn off your brain & do whatever the organization tells you the Bible says. Make sure to keep your brain on and think first.
One of religion’s big deceptions is that we are supposed to follow the Bible (or another sacred text) even when it doesn’t make sense.
Why is this a deception? 1) No sacred text is inerrant. 2) The Bible isn’t clear and straight forward on most things. It requires all sorts of research and an acceptance of nuance to come to any sort of conclusion. 3) When someone says “Follow the Bible,” what they actually mean is “their” or “their organization’s” understanding of the Bible.
If I could say something to you, let it be this: if something in your religious text doesn’t make sense to you, don’t follow it…or certainly don’t follow it until you’ve consulted some people who you consider to be very wise.
One pastor I listened to recently said that you have to follow the Bible, even when it doesn’t make sense. Here are the “nonsense” examples he used: “Forgive someone who has harmed your family;” “bless someone who curses you;” “do good to someone who has abused you…”…these are all “biblical,” but they don’t make sense, the pastor says.
Here’s the truth: you don’t have to forgive someone who has harmed your family. For your own mental, spiritual and relational health, you may need to release the need to get fair revenge or payback from the person who harmed you. But you are not called to be Jesus and welcome this person back into your life.
You can curse those who curse you. Don’t get in a cycle of harm and violence with another person, but if a person insults you, return the favor and move on. Or don’t return the favor. But move on. You don’t have to bless.
For God’s sake, don’t try to do good to your abuser. Get away from them. Get a restraining order. Protect yourself and leave them in the dust. Abusers don’t change if you, the abused, try to change them.
Don’t waste time loving people who hate you. Follow the Hippocratic oath and do them no harm. And be kind. And seek a world that provides justice and equity for all. But don’t try to love everybody. You’ve only got so much love to give. Again, if I haven’t made it clear already, you’re not Jesus.
See, pastors like this guy I listened to have forgotten something very important in all this biblical-sounding rhetoric (and something sacred texts aren’t very good at addressing): you’ve got to take care of yourself so that you can do good in the world. Sacrificing yourself for the sake of healing the world is a recipe for self-destruction and failure. Please take care of yourself so you can actually make an impact for good.
