There is a common assumption among Christians that the Bible will keep us from being deceived. As with any of the myths we’ve already dealt with, this one is just as misleading, just as widespread and just as dangerous.
Let’s start with my conclusion and then explore the why. YES, the Bible reveals and contains truth about life, reality and God. And YES, the Bible can keep us from deception (at least potentially). But no, keeping us from deception is not automatic or guaranteed.
Let’s consider why Christians often believe this myth to begin with.
What do Christians mean when they say, “The Bible will keep us from being deceived?”
One, many Christians were taught that the Bible will keep us (or guard against) from being deceived. In other words, they were taught that by merely reading and meditating on what the Bible says, they will be kept from any and all deception. Two, they were also taught the Bible is incapable of deceiving or leading one astray. This second belief about the Bible is what is referred to as the Doctrine of Biblical Infallibility.
These two beliefs, or assumptions, about the Bible go hand in hand with the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy, which asserts that the Bible is without error in doctrine and teaching. We dealt with that doctrine in Myth 2 in the series (check that out if you haven’t yet).
YES, the Bible reveals and contains truth about life, reality and God.
After reading, meditating on and studying the Bible for over forty years, I can say with a high degree of assurance and reason that the Bible reveals and contains truth about life, reality and God. However, that is not the same thing as saying the Bible only contains truth about life, reality and God. It is also not the same thing as saying the Bible cannot and will not deceive us.
YES, the Bible can keep us from deception (at least potentially).
What do I mean? There are many truths in the Bible that, if taken seriously, can revolutionize our lives forever for the better. They can also, to one degree or another, keep us from deceiving ourselves and others. Here are a small handful.
1). The highest and best expression of humanity (or golden rule) is to treat people the way we want, or wish, to be treated.
2). Agape love is about intentionally using your life for the betterment of others; it is laying your life down for others.
3). The greatest expression of agape love, the golden rule and mercy in the Bible is when Jesus confronted and ended the cycle of violence by sacrificially dying on behalf of his enemies.
4). To claim to know Jesus but then not follow his way of mercy, non-violence, and radical inclusion makes a mockery of his sacrificial death.
5). It is the kindness of God modeled by Jesus that leads us to human transformation; not taking, controlling and abusing others.
6). It is better to give than to receive.
7). Mercy is far greater than judgement.
Tapping into those truths for starters will send us on a new path of continual improvement and transformation that will benefit both us and others.
NO, keeping us from deception is not automatic or guaranteed.
In fact, if we come to the Bible with faulty assumptions about the Bible, if we expect it to deliver something it’s not designed to deliver and if we bring to the Bible unhealthy perceptions about God and the world, we might just discover that the Bible may actually lead us further into deception rather than away from it.
Let’s look at the first of these: some people come to the Bible expecting it to deliver something it’s not designed for. For example, if you expect the Bible to be a perfect manual or a holy rule book that gives one united voice about every theological topic and life truth without any ambiguity or diversity of opinion, you will likely read into the Bible seriously unwarranted or possibly unethical, abhorrent and even inhumane interpretations (see my recent review of the book How the Bible Actually Works). The Biblical authors have a wide variety of opinions and perspectives about topics like judgment, reciprocity, retaliation, vengeance, forgiveness of debt, enemy treatment, salvation, hope, faith, love, blessings, curses, sacrifices, religious fervor, obedience and what is in fact the unadulterated and clear “Biblical” mission God has mandated.
This leads us to the second faulty assumption: all of us bring to the Bible unhealthy perceptions about God and the world, and the Bible has plenty of examples that will support our already unhealthy perceptions. In other words, if we attempt to find something in the Bible to enable our confirmation bias, we will. For instance, if you come to the Bible already believing it is completely normal for one nation to believe and claim that God has divinely called them to take over another nation or people group, their land and/or their livelihood, you will have ample support from at least some of the Bible books and Biblical authors. In the Canaan account (which is included in the first five books of the Bible), it was believed that God led Abraham and his descendants (the Hebrews—later Israelites) to take over an entire geopolitical area (Canaan, also called the Promised Land) because they believed God had blessed them and given the land to them. They also believed that God also called them (the Hebrews) to be agents of God’s punishment to those same inhabitants already living in Canaan by killing them off (which included somewhere between 5-7 tribal groups and nations). Fast forward to the colonial era: white Christian colonists and Christian politicians from Great Britain, Spain and France used Biblical examples such as this as reason and inspiration to take over the land of the Native Indigenous Peoples of North America. The Bible in this sense led them into deception.
Here’s another example. If you come to the Bible assuming is perfectly ok to give “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for tooth,” even hate your enemies, retaliate against them and kill them, there is plenty of talk within the Pentateuch and in the Prophetic books of Scripture to excuse your behavior and assumptions. The Gospels and the life of Jesus (thankfully), however, present a stark contrast to both conquest and to enemy treatment. The New Testament takes the conquest narrative focused on one geopolitical place and the nations living there and transforms it into a missional narrative. Instead of Israel’s calling being tied to one geopolitical region (the Promised Land), then taking and subjugating other people groups and nations in that area, followers of Jesus are instead called to serve the betterment and healing of the nations with self-sacrificial-others-oriented-enemy embracing love in every day practical ways.
The “Biblical Truth” about how the Bible deceives us.
The point is that the Bible provides plenty of content, commands and stories to support and inspire BOTH our BEST AND WORST inclinations as human beings. When it’s doing the latter, it can (and sometimes does) deceive us. Yes, the Bible can deceive you into doing and believing certain things that are wrong, unethical, immoral and inhumane.
I get that is counterintuitive to what many Christians are taught. If you assume the Bible is infallible, inerrant or that the Biblical authors are speaking with one unified voice about all theological topics and life truths with little to no disagreement, this may be offensive. Totally get it. I once assumed that too because that is what I was told to believe.
Here’s a trustworthy statement that is worth your time: While it is not a guarantee that the Bible will lead us to truth (as if on auto pilot) just by reading or studying it, it is also not a guarantee that it will lead us into deception automatically. In other words, the Bible is BOTH capable of leading us to truth and capable of leading us into deception. As we already discussed, this will depend on what we bring to the Bible and what we expect from the Bible. It will depend on any unhealthy preconceived ideas or perceptions about God and the world we already have. And it’s absolutely true that some of those things we bring to the Bible are rooted in circumstances that are outside our control: like where we were born, how we were raised and many other situations outside our control and decisions. It also depends, in part, on things that are within our control. In as far as we are presently open and able to self-reflect, self-critique, practice humility, be open to new learning, new perspectives and an ever-expanding view of the world different than what we were taught, the Bible will lead us to truth. In as far as we are unable to do those things (or refuse to), we are susceptible to the Bible deceiving us.
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Next post: Bible Myth 10: The foundation of the Christian faith is the Bible.
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