An Anthropological Look at the (Mis)Use of Scripture

Bored yesterday while visiting friends actually doing work in the library, I decided to thumb through the various anthorpological journals. I wound up reading an article by Matthew Engelke titled "Reading and Time: Two approaches to the Materiality of Scripture" published in Ethnos. In it, Engelke looks at two different Christian approaches to reading the Bible (and how it relates to their concept of time, but I'm not going to focus on that). He compares the practices of the Friday Masowe apostolic Christians in Zimbabwe to Saint Augustine's writings. As you would expect with a comparative essay, the two differ widely in their use of scripture, Augustine finding all meaning in the Bible, while the apostolic Christians in Zimbabwe actively discouraging the reading of the Bible. As completely different as these two beliefs are, both make perfect sense to me. And in the end, I'm left with the disappointing cop-out that for me, there is a middle ground that is best, and is also informed by both ends of the spectrum.

Saint Augustine wrote that Christians could come to know and understand God by reading the Bible. He believed that by reading the Bible one could become closer to God through Jesus and that reading it is an integral part of developing and maintaining faith. Notably, Augustine did not believe in reading the Bible literally, but saw it as having two layers of meaning, the second layer needing to be decoded by the reader. He believed Christians should be critically engaged with their religion, and one way of doing that was through reading the Bible. Reading scripture is not the end objective, however,like I said earlier, but to use scripture to build and shore-up a relationship with God and Jesus. Saint Augustine, you're a Christian I can get behind!

And now, for something completely different:

The Apostolic Christians in Zimbabwe believe that the Bible is only a material item which does not reveal immaterial truths. Their emphasis is placed on the Holy Spirit and its ability to directly convey the Word of God to believers. They think that true believers do not need the Bible because they live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This rejection of the Bible could be linked to the forceful imposition of literacy on Africa during colonialism. "The introduction of literacy set the groundwork, from the missionary point of view, for progress on a number of inextricably interconnected social, economic, and religious fronts", literacy then becoming a method not just to share religion, but to enforce new social and economic ideals. "They manipulated the message of the Bible to support their own agendas and ideals. As one church elder put it, 'we learned that we could not trust the whites or their book.'" The Bible therefore became the key symbol of Christianity, as well as colonial power.

This would leave anyone with a bad taste in their mouth about the Bible, and I know many people will argue that the misuse of the Bible by colonial powers does not affect its message or the fact that these Christians should use it as part of their faith. Mmm, agreed, but their reasons for discarding the Bible don't end there. Above all, they see the Bible as an unnecessary mediation between themselves and God-- a historical document that does not hold insights into their modern, daily life. They don't need the Bible because they hear God's message in a more intimate, direct way. "You must not read it for the sake of yourself." A material item like the Bible is too static to convey something as personal as the Word of God. The material items wrapped up with religion (alters, robes, crucifixes, books) distract from and are barriers to faith.

And now I get religious:

Everyone gets wrapped up in materiality from time to time. The pretty shiny objects that attract our attention distract from other, more important things, especially when it comes to faith. There is something to be said for removing all material distractions and focusing solely on God's word. And, we've all seen people get so wrapped up in the Bible that they forget the modern environment and circumstances. You can't find God in a book and you can't find God in this material world. But, you can temper your reading of scripture with real-world experience. God's written word certainly gives food for thought, directives on how to live and be happy, as well as comfort in times of trial, but all of that is useless if you don't pull your head out of the book and go seek God in the world.

So I'm not sure if that makes total sense, and I know a lot of you couldn't care less about religious spirituality, but I hope you found the dichotomy interesting, and if you are religious, have something to meditate on.