It seems that taking the Bible as being literally true is in the news lately, and that such a view of the Christian Scriptures leads to crimes like murder.
For instance, when Robert Aaron Long went on a murderous rampage in Atlanta, Georgia leaving eight people dead, he purportedly blamed his actions on a “sex addiction” and the massage parlor workers he killed were a “temptation he wanted to eliminate.” Some have suggested Long’s crime was fueled by a literal interpretation of the Scriptures promoted by the Southern Baptist Church where he was a member.
If that was true then why did Long ignore the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue where God clearly said, “You shall not murder,” Exodus 20:13. Evidently, Long did not believe God literally said, “You shall not murder.” If he believed the Scriptures were literally true then he would have never murdered anyone.
It has been suggested that a literal interpretation of gender and sexuality in the Scriptures leads men like Long to believe women’s actions are responsible for their sexual urges, and that leads to all sorts of aberrant behavior, like murder.
We live in cultural climate that wants to believe matters of faith are to blame for all kinds of problems when a lack of faith is actually the problem.
The truth is it is a lack of the literal belief in the Bible that leads to aberrant behavior. It is an asinine perspective of the Scriptures that seeks to blame a literal understanding of the same for all sorts of sinful actions. But we live in cultural climate that wants to believe matters of faith are to blame for all kinds of problems when a lack of faith is actually the problem.
We live in a culture that likes to play the “blame game,” that is, we want to blame others for the troubles we see rather than taking responsibility for them ourselves. Here is another literal truth from the Scriptures, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God,” Romans 14:12. No one will succeed in blaming what they do on what others have done when we face God’s judgment.
Others may do sinful things; they will give an account for what they have done. But no one will be able to blame another for how they respond and react. Long will not be able to blame his “sex addiction” on what others have done. He alone is responsible for how he reacted and he alone will give an account for what he has done.
“The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the Lord,” Proverbs 19:3. Man foolishly does sinful things then when the consequences come home to roost, he wants to get mad at God. Society cannot blame the Church for Long’s murderous acts, and Long cannot blame the women he killed for his “sex addiction.” We cannot blame God, the Bible, the Church, or others for the problems we created. Most people’s definition of a sinner is someone else, maybe we just need to take a long look in a mirror.
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