Articles

The ‘Holey’ Bible or the ‘Holy’ Bible?

By Byron Thomas
Wesleyan Christian Advocate
April 15, 2005

Ed. Note: This column was written for Methodists but is relevant to all Christians and to people of other faith traditions that call members to care for others, especially the less fortunate, with whom we share this world.

Jim Wallis, the author of The Soul of Politics, wrote of an experiment he and several of his colleagues engaged in during their years in seminary. They decided to do a study to find every biblical reference to the poor and oppressed. One of his colleagues took the initiative a step further. He took an old Bible and proceeded to cut out every reference relating to the poor. When he was finished that old Bible hung in threads. Wallis indicated that he used to take that holey, old Bible out with him to preach. Holding it high above American congregations, he would say, “My friends, this is the American Bible – full of holes from all that we have cut out.”

This resonated with me because when I think of the Methodist church’s claim on the Wesleyan tradition, what comes through with pristine-like clarity is the burden John Wesley had for the poor. It was among the poor coal miners and others of meager means that the early revivals of Wesley flourished. When the wealthy would not listen to him, the poor displayed “streams of mercy” in response to his preaching. In essence, the roots of the Methodist church are firmly rooted in ministry with the poor and the dispossessed.

Naturally this raises the question: if the poor, oppressed and dispossessed are central to the Bible and to the ministry of Wesley, is this ministry focus central to the contemporary United Methodist Church? Or, have the poor simply been cut out of our Bibles? Minimally, ministry to the poor, oppressed and dispossessed calls for us to preach, teach, and live out a faith whereby, as my Old Testament professor made clear, the “Bible holds that there is a preferential option for the poor.”

A recent conversation with a friend of mine in Dallas, Texas, reminded me of the need for the church to act as an agent of mercy on behalf of the poor. Our discussion centered on the insurance industry’s move to determine the amount people will pay for automotive insurance no longer being based on geography and on a person’s driving performance but on a person’s credit score. Historically, those who lived in areas of high population density where the potential for having an accident was greater paid more for insurance. Those with speeding tickets or those who were found to be at fault for an accident also paid more.

The shift to determining premium payments based on credit scores will more than likely create a windfall profit for the insurance industry. A shrewd business move? Absolutely! However, will it place undue and unnecessary hardship on the poor? Absolutely! In essence, those who can least afford it will be paying the highest premiums. Internal insurance industry studies have already substantiated this fact. Will the United Methodist Church, which is challenged by the notion of ministry to the poor, cry out and act to lift yet another “unnecessary “ burden?

I pray that we will give due consideration to the question raised by Jim Wallis: How could such central biblical teaching be so disregarded, especially among those whose religion is supposedly rooted in the Bible? Perhaps it is because for too long we have been using the “holey” Bible as the basis for faith instead of the Holy Bible.

The Rev. Byron Thomas is pastor of Fort Street United Methodist Church in Atlanta. He can be reached at ft32pastor@bellsouth.net.

This column is reprinted from the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, the official news source for the United Methodist Church in Georgia. For more information, visit www.wcadvocate.org.

For more information on Jim Wallis’ May 25-26 visit to Atlanta, click here http://www.faithandthecity.org/
resources/Jim_Wallis.shtml

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