That great Bible scholar, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Depends

How did scripture interpretation become a field in which the views of untrained anybodys are regarded as more reliable than the insights offered by well-educated professionally-trained scripture scholars? Billy Graham had only an undergraduate degree in religious studies—kind of thin. Many denominations require a master of divinity degree and ordination before putting a stamp of approval on someone entitled to preach and practice ministry. Franklin Graham, in contrast, has no formal theological training at all. Just saying.

I’d be the first to say that degrees and certifications alone make no one good at what she or he does professionally. But if I think I might have been exposed to a potentially deadly virus while protesting against ICE I want a highly competent board certified physician guiding me through next steps; not RFK Jr. But not just any trained physician—I’d take my chances with a shaman over Dr. Oddz any day.

Back to my opening question. Why is your understanding of a Bible passage you just read from the Gideon Bible that fell out of your motel room’s bedside table more reliable and trustworthy than an interpretation of the same passage by a degreed biblical scholar who has published a well-respected commentary on the same passage?

It seems tough to me to be a Protestant or at least to have once been a Protestant and not appreciate the extraordinary contributions of the remarkable Martin Luther. He became mortified at how an educated and greedy clergy with papal approval (long before my current religious hero, Pope Leo) could take advantage of the trusting, sometimes uneducated, rank and file communicants. Indulgences. Relics. Fearmongering.

Luther’s heart was in the right place with all of the energy he put into getting scripture translated into the vernacular of his people and into their hands so that the ones among them who could read could nonetheless have access to scripture for themselves without any required interventions from priests.

A meticulous scripture scholar himself, Luther did not envision that the laity would always read scripture for themselves, relying only on their own resources for understanding and interpretation. It’s one thing to have favorite parts of scripture, such as one of Luther’s scholarly areas—the book of Psalms—to read devotionally and such. It’s entirely something else to appoint oneself a bonefide biblical interpreter and to present one’s interpretation as authoritative—especially in reference to prophecies and harsh judgmentalism.

Unfortunately, and all too often tragically, that later scenario has become commonplace. MAGAts are the worst. Case in point. Netanyahu‘s genocide is applauded by many Christian fundamentalists as a part of what must happen, according to scripture, in order for the current world order to end. Donkey dung!

As much as it pains me to take an unpopular position (hahaha hahahaha) I will here.

One of the inevitable outgrowths of letting anybody who claims to understand a biblical passage or all of them believe it and act on it is that those who do not feel thusly empowered or informed too often refuse to question anybody who makes such a claim and who seems sincere. They passively accept whatever someone like I’ve described claims. This can be disastrous.

I’m a professional theologian. All of my degrees including my doctorate have had something to do with scripture interpretation. I feel very fortunate to have had those opportunities. I say what follows with my experience in mind.

Very few people even the most sincere are able to read and understand Hebrew scripture and Christian scripture without study tools connected to linguistics, history, sociology. And a scholar competent in interpreting Christian scripture likely cannot claim the same level of competence interpreting Hebrew scripture. Biblical interpretation done correctly is very hard work, which is one reason a true scripture scholar spends a lifetime digging ever deeper. Furthermore, there are very few passages in either Hebrew scripture or Christian scripture that have only one possible interpretation as affirmed by the worldwide community of biblical scholars.

So someone on Substack a while back had a detractor who slammed her or him with the news that LGBTQIA+ people should be put to death according to the Bible. And it was long before Rep Andy Ogles made his homophobic pronouncement.

It is much clearer in scripture, although MAGAts won’t accept it—which doesn’t negate it—that liars and adulterers must be put to death. Yes. There is no biblical ambiguity here.

So let all those who “believe” the Bible gather in DC to demonstrate their biblical obedience and begin there putting adulterers to death by stoning. It would take a few years to complete that biblical challenge.

OR we could find a few scholars who could help us understand why such admonitions came along in the first place and why the practices were abandoned. That would be excellent biblical interpretation though it would make the DC trip dramatically less enjoyable.

Speaking of adultery, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Depends and self-appointed Bible scholar and teacher.