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45 chapTer 4 The Danger of reading the bible As we hand out Bibles and urge people to read them, it is imperative that we also say, caveat lector, let the reader beware. —Eugene H. Peterson1 Because reading changes us in powerful ways, we need to attend carefully to the ways in which we read. —Carolyn J. Sharp2 Take it slowly. This book is dangerous.”3 This warning appears inside the front cover of Fox in Socks, a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss. Those who read this book are admonished to proceed with caution, not because the book contains “mature” subject matter or politically subversive ideas (it does not), but because reading its tongue-twisting rhymes requires considerable effort and patience. Reading too fast inevitably leads to jumbled words, missed phrases, and intense linguistic frustration. Although the Bible is a far cry from the fanciful world of Dr. Seuss, I have often wondered if similar words of warning might be well placed just inside the cover of the Bible, albeit for different reasons. Many readers would benefit from heeding such words of caution when they open the Bible and begin to read. We should take it slowly because, whether we realize it or not, the Bible is a dangerous book. In fact, Mieke Bal claims that “the Bible, of all books, is the most dangerous one, the one that has been endowed with the power to kill.”4 46 The Violence of Scripture Admittedly, this is not how most Christians conceive of the Bible. While many would concede that parts of the Bible are difficult to understand, few would say the Bible itself is dangerous. On the contrary, many Christians revere the Bible and regard reading it to be extremely beneficial. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that many Christians believe that reading the Bible is to our spiritual health what exercise and good diet are to our physical health. Many churches promote Bible reading as an essential part of faithful Christian living. Pastors regularly exhort parishioners to “get into the Word” and to “listen to what God might be saying” to them through the Bible. This encouragement is given enthusiastically, without the slightest hesitation or equivocation. Since the Bible is believed to reveal God’s character, God’s plan of salvation, and God’s will for humanity, reading it is seen as indispensable for Christian growth and maturity. Therefore, believers are not only expected to read it, they are expected to abide by it! Those who approach the Bible with these expectations quite naturally assume that reading it will be an edifying, enriching, and faith-enhancing experience. And quite often, that is precisely what it is. But not always. The Bible has a dark side that is not often acknowledged by those who regard these texts as Scripture. Those who open the Bible in search of divine wisdom and truth may find themselves confounded by morally difficult passages that violate their own sense of right and wrong. They may encounter depictions of God that are deeply disturbing and fundamentally at odds with their own beliefs about God. They may even discover that some texts they had long assumed were life-giving and liberating are actually quite oppressive. As we have seen, reading the Bible can have some rather nasty side effects. People have used the Bible to sanction all kinds of awful behavior. Time and again, the Bible has been used to justify injustice, oppression, and killing. Many individuals have suffered serious abuse and significant harm at the hands of “devout” Bible readers. But how can this be? How can the Bible—something so many people believe is profoundly good—sometimes be so terribly bad? Part of the answer has to do with the simple fact that reading the Bible influences us significantly, and it does so in ways that are not always beneficial. In this chapter, we will consider what the Old Testament does to those who read it. More specifically, we will consider how the presence of so much “virtuous” violence in the Old Testament affects readers, often in rather troubling ways. Additionally , it is necessary to consider how people actually read the Old Testament. If we are to overcome the Old Testament’s troubling legacy, we must pay careful attention to the way these texts are read and applied. What Does the bible Do To You? For better or for worse, people who read the Bible are influenced by it...

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