Indoor plumbing came to the US in the 1840s, but it didn’t become widely available until the 1880s. Up to this point, everyone used outhouses, and the idea of having a room inside your house where you relieve yourself sounded outrageous and gross. And it wasn’t just individual households that debated whether to move the outhouse inside but also the church. While some people were open to the idea of indoor plumbing, others thought it was unholy and indecent to go to the bathroom inside God’s house and used a literal reading of Deuteronomy 23 to argue their point: 

Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. (vv. 12-14)

“God said it. I believe it. No inside bathrooms!” Thankfully, as indoor plumbing became common in public places, people started reading this passage in its historical context, and now we don’t have to use outhouses on Sunday mornings![i]

While this is a funny example of how a literal reading of the Bible doesn’t always serve us well, there are others that have caused great harm.

In the 1840s through the 1860s many Christians in the south were staunchly opposed to idea of ending chattel slavery in America. They built an entire culture and way of life around this institution and could not imagine a world without it. Many pastors, leaders, and laity insisted on a literal reading of passages like Ephesians 6 to argue that slavery was not only acceptable but part of God’s design for the social order:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. (vv. 5-8)

Fortunately, with the transformation of American culture overtime, most Christians came to repudiate the evils of slavery and to see these passages, not as the literal and infallible words of God, but as part of the ancient culture in which they were written.

We also see how an overly simplistic reading of passages like 1 Corinthians 14 was used to harm women:

Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is something they want to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (vv. 34-35)

For centuries (up to the present day) people have insisted that these are the infallible words of God and that women should not be pastors or leaders in the church. Thankfully, many Christian denominations, including the United Methodist Church, came to see these kinds of passages, not as divinely inspired prohibitions, but as part of the patriarchal culture of the ancient world, thereby opening the possibility of female ordination. Today, we have many women pastors who faithfully lead congregations in service to the mission of Jesus.

The same kind of literal reading that promoted chattel slavery and prevented women from being pastors, is still being used today to exclude people from full participation in the church because of issues around sexual orientation.  

It is a historical fact that a strict literal reading of the Bible has not stood the test of time, and that our interpretation of various passages has changed from generation to generation. Since the beginnings of Christianity over 2,000 years ago, groups in the church have started with a literal reading of a certain passage, but after more prayer, discussion, and ministry, they embraced a more symbolic interpretation that was considered more faithful. And every time this happens there are always people who get upset and say things like, “These heretics are undermining the authority of scripture and corrupting the church!”    

Much of this conflict centers around a passage in 2 Timothy 3:

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (vv. 16-17).

A careful reading of this passage raises an important question. What exactly do we mean by “inspired”?

Some argue that divine inspiration points to divine dictation. The authors of the Bible simply wrote down what they heard God audibly say, and what they recorded was preserved as the literal, infallible words of God. Consequently, when someone quotes scripture, they are essentially quoting God. But this view of inspiration is fraught with problems.[ii]

For example, the authors of scripture did not see themselves this way, as passive secretaries taking dictation from God. Paul thought he was writing letters to churches in the Mediterranean. The authors of the gospels thought they were recording the story of Jesus so people could see that he was the promised Messiah. Those who wrote the Psalms thought they were composing a song book for the church. Again, they didn’t see themselves as passive secretaries.

And nor did our founder, John Wesley.  

While Wesley was a man of his time and did not have access to modern scholarship, he acknowledged the humanity of the biblical authors and the importance of their own reflection and participation in the writing process. He also understood the importance of interpreting scripture in context and drawing on the best scholarly principles of his day.[iii]

If we are honest, most reasonable people today who cherish the Bible are extremely reluctant to say that they are simply quoting God when reciting scripture. Rather, we tend to see ourselves as wrestling with certain passages, trying to figure out what they mean for us today. And as we read, interpret, and listen for the still small voice of God, most of us do it with some measure of spiritual and intellectual humility.

So, if this view of inspiration doesn’t work, what’s the alternative? If the authors were not passive secretaries, and the words of the Bible are not the literal, infallible words of God, then what makes the Bible special?

This is an important question for those in the United Methodist tradition, because John Wesley was clear that the Bible is the most basic authority for determining Christian faith and practice. It is both the source of our faith and the measure of our spiritual authenticity.

However, instead of a static view that demands a literal reading, we embrace a dynamic understanding of inspiration. We believe that the Bible becomes the living word of God as we engage it in power of the Holy Spirit and are transformed into the image of Christ.

When we say that the Bible is inspired by God, we are saying two things: (1) that God did something in the hearts and minds of the original authors, and (2) that God does something in our hearts and minds when we read it faithfully in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Considering the biblical authors, we believe that God chose certain men and women and certain communities to have unique experiences of God’s saving power. As they prayerfully wrestled with the implications of these experiences, they were inspired by God and guided by the Spirit to see God and the world in radically new ways and to capture these revelations in different genres, like stories, laws, hymns, letters, and apocalyptic visions. Through ongoing reflection, prayer, and worship, God helped the people gain more clarity about the message God was trying to communicate.

Eventually God moved the authors to write these things down in such a way that future generations could have access to God’s revelation and experience the saving power mediated through it.

In addition, when we talk about divine inspiration, we are also describing something that God does in our hearts and minds as we prayerfully read it together with other Christians. So, what’s going on here?

The Greek word that is translated in 2 Timothy 3:16 as “inspired” was apparently invented by the Apostle Paul: “theopneustos,” which literally means “God breathed out.” So, a literal translation of this verse would be something like, “All scripture is God breathed out.” 

Obviously, this phrase is a metaphor. God does not literally have a body with lungs and doesn’t literally breathe like we do. As a metaphor, it does not have a precise meaning; it is open to interpretation. To further complicate things, the phrase does not appear anywhere else in the Bible. If others had used the same wording, we could compare different passages to help us get a better idea of what it means. But we don’t.

Given these challenges, it can be helpful to draw a connection between the phrase “God breathed out” in 2 Timothy and the wording of Genesis 2 where it says that God breathed into the nostrils of the first human being (v.7). In both verses, God is “breathing out” and bringing something to life.[iv]

Circling back to the way that God inspired the authors of the Bible, we can say that God breathed into their hearts and minds, bringing to life a desire to record what God was revealing. Likewise, when we read the Bible prayerfully with other Christians, God breaths into our hearts and minds, making the words of scripture come alive in us. This inspires us to be more like Jesus and transforms us from the inside out.

This last point is what seems most important to our founder John Wesley. Rather than focusing on exactly how God inspired the writers of scripture, he emphasized how God works through scripture to awaken us to God’s love and make us more like Jesus. When describing this transformation, he insisted that the Bible should be the “constant rule of all our tempers, all our words, and all our actions.”[v]

Consequently, the more faithfully we read scripture, the more God transforms us into the image of Christ, and the more we are transformed into the image of Christ, the more faithfully we read scripture.

This is the true test of our faith, including our understanding of the authority of scripture: Does it make us more like Jesus? Does it more deeply reshape our hearts and minds according to the law of love? If it does, we will read with more wisdom, humility, and openness. Instead of forcing our agenda on the Bible, trying to squeeze it for a single, literal, infallible meaning, we can surrender our addiction to certainty and open our hearts to the work that God wants to do in us. Indeed, if we walk around with a mouth full of scripture and heart fill of hate, we demonstrate that we have no idea what we are talking about when we talk about the Bible. 

When was the last time you heard God speak through the Bible? How has God moved through your reading of scripture to make you more gracious, loving, and forgiving? How has meditating on scripture awakened you to the presence of the living God and helped you grow deeply into the image of Christ? At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter if we can nail down exactly how God inspired the writers of scripture or exactly how God inspires us today. If we are honest, there is more mystery here than we would like to admit. What is most important is how our reading of scripture is making us more like Jesus.   

While there is no magic method that guarantees a faithful reading, there is an ancient spiritual practice that has helped Christians through the ages listen for the still small voice of God. The practice is called lectio divina and it unfolds in five simple steps.[vi]

First, select a passage of scripture on which to focus. There are many different reading plans and devotionals that can help, or you can simply pick a book of the Bible such as the Psalms or one of the four gospels. Second, read this passage very slowly, and when something strikes you as interesting, helpful, or challenging, stop reading and make a note of this observation. Third, believing that God may be trying to say something to you in this passage, begin to pray, asking God why this word, image, or verse is capturing your attention. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on this until you make some connections. Sometimes it helps to journal or record your thoughts. Fourth, once you get an idea of what God might be trying to say to you, pray and ask God to show you how to apply this message in your everyday life. What will you do today having heard God speak to you? Finally, spend some time in silent meditation. The goal of silence is to simply to be with God without distraction and let the message move from your head to your heart. Some people find it helpful to take the words they have heard from God and silently repeat them to the cadence of their breath, remembering that God can breathe on you in the process and resurrect you to new life. 

What would it be like for you to use this form of meditation on scripture? Over time, it has been transformative for me, and I invite you to try it over the next several days in hopes that it will be transformative for you too.

(This is the second message in a series, “Wesleyan Rooted,” that focuses on what is means to follow Jesus in the United Methodist tradition. For the other messages, see Pastor Mark’s YouTube and podcast channels.)

[i] Adam Hamilton, Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn’t Say (Abingdon 2016).

[ii] In addition to the examples given below, there are serious textual problems. First, it is difficult to say that the Bible is the immutable, infallible word of God when we do not have any original manuscripts of the Bible. Rather, we have multiple handwritten copies of parts of the Bible, many of which come to us in fragments. While these copies are generally close to one another in what they say, there are variants, places where the wording is different. When trying to compile the Bible in its original language, scholars must decide which variant is most likely what the biblical author intended. This requires them to make interpretive decisions that may prove mistaken later down the road if we find more writings. This means that the interpretive decisions of scholars are built into the Bible as it comes to us from its original language. Second, someone must interpret the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament into English, which also requires interpretation. Like many English words, Hebrew and Greek words can have different meanings depending on context, and when scholars try to translate passages, they often disagree on what word best communicates the intent of the author. This is why we have more than 100 translations of the Bible. So, when we consider the decisions that scholars make about variants in the original language and the decisions they make when translating into English, we see that the Bible is made possible not only by the interpretations of the biblical writers but also of many different scholars who have worked for decades to compile the version you hold in your hand today.

[iii] Randy L. Maddox, Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology (Kingswood 1994) 36-40.

[iv]See Adam Hamilton, Making Sense of the Bible (HarperOne; reprinted edition 2016).

[v] See Wesley’s sermon, “Dives and Lazarus” (quoted in Maddox, Responsible Grace). 

iii  For more information, see Mark Reynolds, “Shaped By Scripture: Two Different Ways of Reading the Bible,” www.revmarkreynolds.com, June 29, 2015: https://revmarkreynolds.com/2015/06/29/shaped-by-scripture-two-different-ways-of-reading-the-bible/.