I had very mixed reaction when I saw this art piece by Zack Myrow.
He wants you to take the Bible with a grain of salt.
Literally.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, the artist explained that:
“The Salis Bible is a response to fundamentalist Christians who interpret the Bible as inerrant truth, and believe it gives them the right to restrict the freedoms of others in a democracy that promises separation of church and state. It is a request for readers to keep an open mind and to draw their own moral conclusions.”
I understand where the artist is coming from, I truly do. Christians or those calling themselves that have done a lot of stupid and downright bad things with the Bible in their hand. And it’s easy to point at the Westboro Baptist Church and claim that they are the ones who give fundamentalist Christianity a bad name, but we all know that’s shifting the blame. Too often we ourselves, us normal every day Christians, we give God and His Word a bad name by what we say and do and by what we fail to do.
Take the Bible with a grain of salt, that’s what the artist wants us to do. I wish more people would actually do what the Bible commands us to: loving God above all else and loving our neighbor like ourselves. Take care of the weak, the poor and the oppressed. Bring freedom to those who need it. Visit those in prison, clothe those who are naked, heal the sick, feed the hungry.
If we as Christians did that, if we truly obeyed God’s Word, I don’t think anyone would have a problem with us taking the Bible literally…
Thoughts?
chief says
Interesting. If nothing else, it makes you think – which is always a good starting point, right?
To be a little more accurate, we should probably take individual interpretations/responses of the Bible with a grain of salt. I’m learning more and more that the Bible has a LOT more information “hidden” in its context than most Americans realize.
Rachel Blom says
Truth.