Robert Jeffress says James Talarico “twists Scripture.”
The problem here is not Talarico but Jeffress.
Of the U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, he said: “He is pleasant in his demeanor; he appears to know the Scripture. Even though he twists Scripture, he could be very appealing to people who aren’t educated in what the Bible really teaches.”
Rodney Kennedy
Evangelicals like Jeffress automatically assume other Christian readers of the Bible are “twisting Scripture” if they read it differently than they do. Jeffress puts great stress on the authority of the Bible as the only guide for life. But if the Bible is so clear, why aren’t all evangelicals in agreement rather than divided over how to interpret it? For instance, Jeffress would not agree speaking in tongues is the essential gift Pentecostals insist it is.
Jeffress knows there are many readings of the Bible, and he knows he doesn’t possess the one and only true version. What hides behind his so-called “biblical authority” is a hard-nosed disrespect for all other readings. He is a product of his evangelical upbringing and the often-overstated claim, “The Bible says.”
“Jeffress says, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ when he should say, ‘In my opinion, brothers and sisters.’”
Jeffress says, “Thus saith the Lord,” when he should say, “In my opinion, brothers and sisters.”
Jeffress defines Scripture according to his own restrictive view of the Bible. He reads Scripture through the extreme lens of fundamentalism with its insistence on an inerrant and literal Bible.
Yet Jeffress must know he claims more authority than he possesses.
His epistemological superiority shines brightly in every statement he makes with absolute certainty. He acts as if his words about the Bible have been carved in stone and given to him personally by Almighty God.
Jeffress and other evangelicals use excessive hyperbole as fact, and they appeal to emotion as God-inspired.
With his accusations against Talarcio, he insists Talarico is not a faithful, honest interpreter of Scripture and therefore cannot be trusted. This is a political claim more than a theological claim.
To say others “aren’t educated” is to say they have been educated to think differently than he wants. This is a slap in the face of every seminary-trained pastor and professor in the world — including Talarico.
Jeffress is lying when he claims we don’t know what the Bible really teaches.
Rodney W. Kennedy is a pastor and writer. He is the author of 11 books, including his latest, Dancing with Metaphors in the Pulpit.
Related:
Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick says Talarico will ‘go to hell’ for his beliefs
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