The Bible and religion are always a tricky subject to talk about, much less to write about. But here we go…
For some reason, we recently began to think about why there were Bibles in hotels and they were usually found in bedside tables. This came out of an idea one night by two traveling salesmen who were Christians in 1898 as they shared a room in a crowded hotel. As a result, they formed a group calling themselves the Gideons. They placed their first Bible in a nightstand at the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana in 1908.
As of February of 2020, 2.4 billion Bibles had been distributed by Gideons International, the evangelical Christian organization, to hospital, prisons, schools, and hotels. But a recent survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association indicated that the number of Bibles in US hotels are on a downward trend. In 2018, 65% of those hotels responding still had Bibles in their room’s nightstand but this number continues to decline.
When we were young, we were told that the Bible was left in hotel rooms to try to prevent “hotel suicides.” Hotels were where some occupants would go to contemplate taking their lives. Wives’ tale or not, the Bible was in the drawer. Instead of a Bible, one German Hotel now leaves a copy of the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights. This may be a wise choice since the Bible does condemn non-believers and many others to post-mortal suffering and the idea of burning in hell is not very welcoming.
Now to be honest, the Bible has never been one of our favorite books. We always worried about the translation and if the message was really what it was meant to be. Our real concern today is that it is being used to justify bad and vicious behavior. And, that one can cherry pick and choose what the reader wants and then use it in God’s name. One can start a war, torture a person, or justify a death by just reading the “right” section. For example, in one passage, God can direct a group to loot and kill and another passage to love thy neighbor. One reading reinstitutes slavery with the right to beat slaves without mercy (Exodus 21:21) and children who strike or curse a parent are to be executed (Exodus 21:15,17). Deuteronomy and Leviticus reek of passages that declare that women are subservient to men, daughters can be sold into sexual bondage, and that Jews are “children of the devil.” The Bible allows one to justify slavery, war, and crimes against certain cultural groups.
Chris Hedges, the author of American Fascists, states, “There is enough hatred, bigotry and lust for violence in the pages of the Bible to satisfy anyone bent on justifying cruelty and violence.” This again proves to us that anyone can twist or change those words to create rules of their own and to do what they want to do. We are sure that it was not the intention of this book but, in today’s world, its words can be dangerous.
Millions of people have based their entire lives on a book written by other human beings who are imperfect and many with prejudices. Right wing, conservative Evangelicals and others in the Republican Party are using religion to take away others’ rights in order to promote their own xenophobic agenda. And as part of this they are using their positions of authority to promote gerrymandering and voter suppression. It seems that Texas and Florida are leading the way in the attempt to overpower women, persons of color, indigenous people, and other minorities. It should be a concern that the Bible and religion can be used as a tool to promote thinking that pushes the account of slavery out of school curriculums and history books and denies the existence of the Holocaust. These political changes are pushing to deny universal health care, constitutional rights, women’s rights, including abortion, and LGBTQ protection. How can these right-wing Republicans, who tout that they are following “God’s Law,” call themselves Christians!
Our friend in Virginia, where they are walking on eggshells with the current Governor’s race, reminded us that the actions of these Republicans are designed to create and institute a “Christian Democracy.” A democracy that copies the oppressive politics of Russia, Brazil, and Hungary and that fights multiculturalism while supporting a “Christian Culture.” Again, we ask, how can these people even call themselves Christians? Not by our standards! Especially when your practice of Christianity is merely a weapon of destruction.
Titus 1:16
“They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” (NIV)
The extent of cruelty today is not limited to animals but to those humans who do not look like you or act like you. This is a shame and should be a crime. How about as humans, we focus not so much on interpreting the Bible but on being courteous, respectful, and practicing simple acts of kindness. How about being grateful and taking the time to listen and try to understand those not like ourselves? Would that be such a painful and laborious effort? This is what should be taught in churches around the world on Sunday mornings and practiced the other 6 days of the week.
Maybe when quoting the Bible, white supremacists and our politicians, who practice daily acts of meanness, should take note of passages such as Ephesians 5:4 “and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” (NASB)
Maybe the Bible should come with a disclaimer as do hand tools –
If you can pull the good stuff from the Bible, more power to you. For you have a powerful tool in your hand and, if not used properly, it can harm others.
We understand that we may be preaching to the choir here. We write this blog with respect to those who honor the Bible and teach and practice kindness and peace. It is the others we worry about.
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are detestable to him:
Haughty eyes,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked schemes.
Feet that are quick to rush into evil.
A false witness who pours out lies,
And a person who stirs up conflict in the community
(NIV)
Right-wing Republicans take heed!
