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The Bible Tells Me So: Uses and Abuses of Holy Scripture
A study of the Bible's often contradictory role in human morality demonstrates how the Bible has been used throughout history as a tool to justify harmful control, superiority, discrimination, and murder. Original. Tour.
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 27, 2014
very poor in the fact that all is done is copy and paste from atheist websites. usually don't give poor reviews, but this was a waste of a read.
April 16, 2008
Interesting. This little book provides an entertaining insight regarding how the Bible can arouse some rather contradictory conclusions, depending on what point of veiw it is quoted from. It touches on quite a number of subjects, from 'defining the poor', to defining marriage; from justifying slavery to supporting civil rights. There seems that there is a Biblical quote for every purpose out there - good or bad.
February 25, 2011
Interesting read... shows how the bible has been used to justify nearly every position imaginable on many subjects.
September 15, 2026
For two millennia, the Bible has been invoked in social debates, often by both sides. That's what this book is about — not about which side is right.
Slavery has existed for thousands of years. In early American history, the Bible was often cited to defend involuntary servitide. There are verses regulating slavery and urging slaves to obey their masters as they obey Jesus.
(Ephesians 6:5)
The Quakers cited other Biblical passages to defend their opposition to slavery. The Golden Rule, for example. Then there is Deuteronomy 23:15-16, which orders people to not return escaped slaves to their masters.
Afrer the Civil War, the KKK used the burning cross as a potent symbol of white superiority. The civil rights movement, led by black ministers, also invoked the Bible. "All are equal in the eyes of God." (Galatians 3:28). Martin Luther King Jr. espoused nonviolence and loving enemies as taught by Jesus.
The Bible played a prominent role in the debate over woman's suffrage. Conservatives cited Bible verses about the husband being the authority and women being quiet in church. Suffragists cited verses about there being no male or female in Christ.
Poverty is debated with Biblical references. Conservatives like a verse found in 2 Thess 3:10: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat." They also quote Jesus saying "The poor you will always have with you." (Matt 26:11)
Progressives reply that poverty is caused by oppression, per the Bible. The rich in Israel "trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed." (Amos 2:6-7)
"Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and to those who constantly record harmful decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor among My people of their rights." (Isaiah 10: 1-2)
The debate over ordination of women invokes conflicting verses. "Let the woman learn in silence. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence." (1Timothy 2:11-12)
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond or free. There is neither male or female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28).
Competing Biblical texts are also used when it comes to abortion. On the one hand, "before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you." (Jeremiah 1:5)
On the other hand, the law the Hebrews believed came from God describes the penalty for a man who causes a woman to miscarry as a result of assaulting her. He would pay a fine to the woman's husband. If the woman died, however, then the man would be put to death. (Exodus 21:22)
Scripture is quoted when it comes to corporal punishment of children. "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15) On the flipsode: "Fathers do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." (Colossians 3:21)
Few people today subscribe to the Biblical notion that disease is a divine punishment for sin. As recently as the AIDs epidemic near the end of the last century, Christians such as Jerry Falwell pronounced AIDs as God's judgment for sodomites.
Sodom and Gomorrah were oft cited during the debate over same-sex marriage. The problem is that they equated gang rape — which is what men of Sodom threatened to do to Lot's guests — with consenting sex between adults.
Proponents of gay rights quoted Jesus whose most famous words are “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In "God vs. Gay" (2011), Rabbi Jay Michaelson writes that love demands authentic compassion for others.
Compassion rejects snap judgments and imposing preconceived prejudice on others. It means extending to others the same benefit of the doubt we want for ourselves.
Another emotional issue is the death penalty. Proponents cite the old Testament's rule of an eye for an eye and a life for a life. (Exodus 21:23-24). God supposedly prescribed death for adulterers, those who cursed their parents, homosexuals, and those who picked up a twig on the Sabbath.
By contrast, Jesus insisted that his followers must forgive their enemies and leave revenge to God. (This reviewer cast a vote for abolition that passed with the bare minimum number in the Illinois legislature.)
There is a long American tradition of invoking religious beliefs, either explicitly or implicitly, to shape public policy. That practice will no doubt continue, but its potency will likely decline as the proportion of Americans decline in the proportion of people who actively participate in organized religion. The concept of "gospel truth" is less persuasive to a public that more and more practices no faith. -30-
Slavery has existed for thousands of years. In early American history, the Bible was often cited to defend involuntary servitide. There are verses regulating slavery and urging slaves to obey their masters as they obey Jesus.
(Ephesians 6:5)
The Quakers cited other Biblical passages to defend their opposition to slavery. The Golden Rule, for example. Then there is Deuteronomy 23:15-16, which orders people to not return escaped slaves to their masters.
Afrer the Civil War, the KKK used the burning cross as a potent symbol of white superiority. The civil rights movement, led by black ministers, also invoked the Bible. "All are equal in the eyes of God." (Galatians 3:28). Martin Luther King Jr. espoused nonviolence and loving enemies as taught by Jesus.
The Bible played a prominent role in the debate over woman's suffrage. Conservatives cited Bible verses about the husband being the authority and women being quiet in church. Suffragists cited verses about there being no male or female in Christ.
Poverty is debated with Biblical references. Conservatives like a verse found in 2 Thess 3:10: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat." They also quote Jesus saying "The poor you will always have with you." (Matt 26:11)
Progressives reply that poverty is caused by oppression, per the Bible. The rich in Israel "trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed." (Amos 2:6-7)
"Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and to those who constantly record harmful decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor among My people of their rights." (Isaiah 10: 1-2)
The debate over ordination of women invokes conflicting verses. "Let the woman learn in silence. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence." (1Timothy 2:11-12)
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond or free. There is neither male or female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28).
Competing Biblical texts are also used when it comes to abortion. On the one hand, "before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you." (Jeremiah 1:5)
On the other hand, the law the Hebrews believed came from God describes the penalty for a man who causes a woman to miscarry as a result of assaulting her. He would pay a fine to the woman's husband. If the woman died, however, then the man would be put to death. (Exodus 21:22)
Scripture is quoted when it comes to corporal punishment of children. "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15) On the flipsode: "Fathers do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." (Colossians 3:21)
Few people today subscribe to the Biblical notion that disease is a divine punishment for sin. As recently as the AIDs epidemic near the end of the last century, Christians such as Jerry Falwell pronounced AIDs as God's judgment for sodomites.
Sodom and Gomorrah were oft cited during the debate over same-sex marriage. The problem is that they equated gang rape — which is what men of Sodom threatened to do to Lot's guests — with consenting sex between adults.
Proponents of gay rights quoted Jesus whose most famous words are “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In "God vs. Gay" (2011), Rabbi Jay Michaelson writes that love demands authentic compassion for others.
Compassion rejects snap judgments and imposing preconceived prejudice on others. It means extending to others the same benefit of the doubt we want for ourselves.
Another emotional issue is the death penalty. Proponents cite the old Testament's rule of an eye for an eye and a life for a life. (Exodus 21:23-24). God supposedly prescribed death for adulterers, those who cursed their parents, homosexuals, and those who picked up a twig on the Sabbath.
By contrast, Jesus insisted that his followers must forgive their enemies and leave revenge to God. (This reviewer cast a vote for abolition that passed with the bare minimum number in the Illinois legislature.)
There is a long American tradition of invoking religious beliefs, either explicitly or implicitly, to shape public policy. That practice will no doubt continue, but its potency will likely decline as the proportion of Americans decline in the proportion of people who actively participate in organized religion. The concept of "gospel truth" is less persuasive to a public that more and more practices no faith. -30-
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews