Working In A Quote Mine

Whether or not you are a Christian, chances are good if you were born and raised in the US, you can quote a handful of Bible verses. Most of you reading this probably know John 3:16 and (for better or worse) Matthew 7:1 by heart. If you sat down and read a Bible for any length, you'd also recognize how many verses in it are part of everyday speech in the US. For instance, to "see the writing on the wall" is a reference to King Belshazzar's experience in Daniel 5. (for more, see this Squidoo page)  "The blind leading the blind" was imager  Jesus used to warn others about following the influence of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:13-14. 

It's a great reward to many people then to not only read the Bible, but recognize and memorize the scriptures within. Because the words have so much life, memorizing them can be inspirational. It also serves to lift others when they need words of encouragement. It can even communicate to non-Christians how practical the Bible's advice is for daily life. And when teaching, knowing scriptures can add an air of competency to your material (and support to your arguments). Indeed, being familiar with what the the Bible says is something to strive for and cherish. 

In fact, this phenomena parallels how Jews in the 1st century approached the scripture. To take different scriptures and apply them to something happening was a source of great honor for a speaker or teacher. It showed respect for tradition and mastery of intellect. It was also something almost every New Testament author did to help others see how God's hand was moving amongst followers of Jesus – just like he had for Israel. So why do I write this? Could there be any reason not to praise the memorization of scripture? Of course - allow me to share a brief personal story that will show why.

Every quarter, my wife and I have 1 month during which we are not teaching Sunday School. During that month, we make an effort to attend other adult classes and see what other people are doing. We of course like to socialize as well, but last month we stopped by to catch up with the adults in our age group, and caught the middle of a study on the book Not A Fan. The scripture reference being discussed was a chapter in which Jesus proceeds to fire off about a dozen accusations of “hypocrites!” to the Pharisees in what is clearly not a moment of affection and endearment. 

During the study, this example was used to help explore one of the major characters in the Not A Fan plot, who similarly seemed to have the air of being religious but little understanding of what things looked like in application. And what was one of his defining characteristics? That's right – true to stereotype, he had a Bible quote for just about everyone and everything. And as we are exposed more to his personality, we realize he was hollow in his ability to act and serve Jesus in a useful way. He was proof of one thing - memorization and quoting of scriptures doesn't always lead to real knowledge and application.

Many of you may know such a person. You may have grown up with one in your family, or been exposed to a few in your congregation. Your Sunday School class likely even has such an individual. For the first few years of my Christian walk, I even wanted to be that person! Their memorization of scripture is amazing and often overwhelming (or encouraging, if you value learning). Their verses were the meat of every Jack Chic tract, or any other attempt to make you aware of your sinfulness. Not only impressive, but successful!

No doubt you also know many of the scriptures they quote by heart, and have heard them more times than you can count - passages like Jeremiah 29:11, Revelation 3:20, Romans 8:28, Phil 4:13, Proverbs 3:5, Ephesians 2:8, and so on. BibleGateway (a popular website for reading and searching the Bible) has even compiled a list of these verses, and it is impressive. Some people, like Jack Van Impe, even have a television ministry because of their ability to memorize and quote scripture for every thing they say. It is a feat that certainly demands recognition; a skill that can be very valuable.

It doesn't take much time of me listening to an individual like Jack Van Impe, however, to realize things are unusual with his use of the Bible. So why do we not get the same impression from that person in our Sunday School class? At first, I imagined it's because there are too few people who know a public figure like Jack Van Impe. They don't have anyone to compare their brother or sister to in order to suspect they suffer the same malady. The smoke and mirrors that often accompany such magic acts go unnoticed. But certainly, it must be more than that. After all, not everyone would spot Van Impe's nonsense right away – right?

So, why do we fail to recognize the dangers of such individuals? Why do we admire their abilities so highly? Is their memorization skill a badge that grants them equal credit in understanding the Bible? Perhaps not, but I think that often becomes the case. The vocal personality of such "quote-miners", as I'll call them (not just because it seems that is what they should be called, but it is also a nickname for the logical fallacy of quoting out-of-context), ensures they receive attention. Lots of it. As a result, individuals in their presence come away with as much insight as the quote-miner shared. In some sense, the quote-miner literally dominates discussions. After all - everything talked about triggers more scripture in their memory, waiting to be shared to the perceived benefit of all. 

Can you put your finger yet on the potential problem with memorization? If not, allow me to share another personal story that should help us take every thought captive here.  

This past Wednesday, during the weekly “Clubs” our Jr. High class meets for, I had my kids investigate the idea of a “7-day” creation as opposed to interpreting the creation week as happening over a long period of time. If you are familiar with the debate, a verse often “quote-mined” to support 7 days as long periods of time is 2 Peter 3:8. Because 1 day is equated to 1,000, many people propose this allows the 7 days of creation to be long periods of time. I presented this example to my students to show them that, in-context, Peter is not inventing a mathematical equation. He has talked about false teachers and false prophets (in those days, the Jews) who enslave people with distorted teachings. As Chapter 3 rolls along, he begins talking about people in 2 Peter 3:3 (probably those same false teachers) who in 2 Peter 3:4 scoff at waiting for a return of Jesus because it seems to take longer than people will wait.

By the time we come to verse 8, Peter has re-assured his readers that God, having created everything out of water and not hesitating to use water to flood the earth, is also storing up a similar judgment against such scoffers. And when we continue on to 2 Peter 3:9-10, we see Peter also reminding his readers of God's patience, and his timing – reassuring them that he is not acting slowly, even if it may appear that way. In summary, 2 Peter 3:8 seems to be give readers a reminder of how God works outside our time scale and is assuredly working on the world's problems. Peter is exhorting his followers to patience – not inventing a mathematical formula.

So what was the difference in both understandings of the verse? One was given based on context and careful evaluation; the other was given without context. And this is the problem with quote-mining, what I know happens with many verses that are recited - the recollection of the text is great, but the application is off. The study methods that accompany the memorization need improvement. Yet in the end, the impressiveness of memorization and recitation overwhelms people (and not surprisingly, since for thousands of years this was a sign of honor), leaving them with a low quality contextualization or interpretation of the Bible.

If case you're thinking "but the New Testament writers quote scripture constantly!", allow me to clarify something. It was one thing for the New Testament writers to quote-mine their work (which they did, liberally). They lived in and were exposed to the same culture that produced Old Testament writings. They knew the contexts and used them properly, or they would not have received recognition for their work (you could not earn a reputation in those days without public acknowledgment). 

What I think happens today is quote-miners achieve reputation without acknowledgement, or perhaps even without challenge. And this is because, just as we discourage heaping too much praise on people we discourage being too critical of them. This is why anyone in the US even knows who Harold Camping is. Rather than publicly shame and ridicule his beliefs (or at least ignore him), people were careful to do little more than vocalize their disagreement with his beliefs.

Another reason why many people miss out on good scriptural context is it takes time to learn and discover, not to mention the effort to teach it. Most church-goers, then, end up as ignorant of the information as the quote-miner. Over time, the quote-mined version of Christianity becomes all people are exposed to and quote-miners become the heroes of Christian teaching. All the while what is lacking, as with the Pharisees, is an ability to use scripture properly. 

Furthering the problem is the fact that the only people in churches not prone to such a shallow knowledge of scriptures are those often not involved in much teaching. They are pastors, overseers, deacons, or seminary students who will go on to counseling or research jobs. And some who do want to teach even meet resistance and conflict along the way (I can think of a specific example at my church, and it's not myself).

Before I wrap up, I want to point out how much I still hope to encourage people to read their Bibles and commit scriptures to memory. Alone, there is nothing wrong in doing such. Part of daily life as a Jew in the 1st century was reciting certain scriptures, multiple times per day. Scriptures that communicated the core message of their belief – their covenant status with God and God's awesome power over all other created things. And this is a good model for us to follow as Christians as well. It helps shape and focus our personality around Christ.

What I am advocating, however, is not to stress memorization of scripture over studying of it. I memorize and recite basic verses that are encouraging when needed (for instance, Galatians 6:9)  But I long ago stopped trying to be a quote-miner. Why? The more I've learned what scripture teaches, the more endeared I've become to Christianity and the more confidence I've had in my beliefs. Knowing what passages mean is more valuable than just knowing what they say.

Thanks for taking every thought captive here with me today! I've been working on a 2-part post about author's intent as it relates to context, so stick around to hear more about related issues!