Letter to the Editor
Editor cherry picks Bible, discards the rest
Mike Kuhlenbeck
Issue date: 9/18/09 Section: Opinion
In the Sept.11 issue of The Grand Views, Features Editor Victoria Brady wrote a disturbing editorial that should be challenged by students and faculty members who were offended by her comments.
In Brady's editorial, she protested the decision made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America to allow gays and lesbians to hold pastoral positions in the church. She went on a tirade condemning the ELCA for "contradicting the Bible" and its stances on gays and lesbians. Brady cited examples from the Bible that condemn homosexuality and prove that the ELCA is contradicting the "Word of God."
The Bible may be clear on Christianity's venom against gays, or at least Brady's brand of Christianity. However, Brady seems to have neglected other passages in the Bible that would prove it to be a ludicrous doctrine that encourages immorality as opposed to her claims that it encourages morality.
Leviticus 25:44-46 expresses the Bible's approval of slavery, which reads "As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you." It is expressed again in Ephesians 6:5, which reads: "Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ…"
If Brady is so keen on Christians believing everything in the Bible, does this mean she supports slavery? If she doesn't support slavery, then she is contradicting the Bible, according to the logic she presented in her article.
The Bible also supports instances of parents beating their children with rods, killing non-believers, and also depicts various instances of people being slaughtered by or in the name of God. Hopefully Brady does not support these things either. If she wanted to justify her twisted beliefs by hiding behind the Bible, then she should have at least read the whole thing. She cherry picks the parts of the Bible she likes and discards the rest.
Brady also doesn't seem to understand that the Bible she has read (or possibly skimmed) is not the "Word of God," because the English version or any other translation can not be the word of God due to the fact that any translation is a deviation from the original text. It is inevitable that translators change words and therefore change their meaning. So the "Word of God" was already lost in translation for a long, long time.
In Brady's editorial, she protested the decision made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America to allow gays and lesbians to hold pastoral positions in the church. She went on a tirade condemning the ELCA for "contradicting the Bible" and its stances on gays and lesbians. Brady cited examples from the Bible that condemn homosexuality and prove that the ELCA is contradicting the "Word of God."
The Bible may be clear on Christianity's venom against gays, or at least Brady's brand of Christianity. However, Brady seems to have neglected other passages in the Bible that would prove it to be a ludicrous doctrine that encourages immorality as opposed to her claims that it encourages morality.
Leviticus 25:44-46 expresses the Bible's approval of slavery, which reads "As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you." It is expressed again in Ephesians 6:5, which reads: "Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ…"
If Brady is so keen on Christians believing everything in the Bible, does this mean she supports slavery? If she doesn't support slavery, then she is contradicting the Bible, according to the logic she presented in her article.
The Bible also supports instances of parents beating their children with rods, killing non-believers, and also depicts various instances of people being slaughtered by or in the name of God. Hopefully Brady does not support these things either. If she wanted to justify her twisted beliefs by hiding behind the Bible, then she should have at least read the whole thing. She cherry picks the parts of the Bible she likes and discards the rest.
Brady also doesn't seem to understand that the Bible she has read (or possibly skimmed) is not the "Word of God," because the English version or any other translation can not be the word of God due to the fact that any translation is a deviation from the original text. It is inevitable that translators change words and therefore change their meaning. So the "Word of God" was already lost in translation for a long, long time.
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