The Twisted Scriptures W. Carl Ketcherside The Twisted Scriptures Preface A number of years ago, during an extended period of labor in Belfast, North Ireland, I regularly visited some of the many bookstalls in the city which displayed used volumes. While almost casually browsing one day, I spied a book of which I had frequent-ly heard but had never seen. It was titled Union, or, The Divided Church Made One. The author was John Harris, and the original purchaser had inscribed his name and the date of purchase on the flyleaf. The date was March 5, 1867. I purchased the book for a shilling, which was then valued at twelve cents in our coinage. It was a rare find and I read the book through that night, underlining statements which impressed me with their truth and factuality. I have since read the volume twice more and it is now quite marked up. One quotation I wish to share with you is found on page 21, where the author is writing about the cross of Jesus. His cross, like the ark in the wilderness, is the center around which his people are to encamp; so that they cannot separate into factions, or withdraw from each other, without retiring at the same time from the presence of the cross. As you read my own book you will be constantly aware that this is the point I am trying to make. Our relationship with the Father of mercies is created and maintained through faith in Jesus as the Son of God. It was the cross which established beyond doubt how far God was willing to go to end alienation and pride and reconcile us unto Himself. And it is the cross which makes possible that marvelous sharing of eternal life which is called "the fellowship" in our English versions of the divine revelation. Fellowship is not conditioned upon orthodoxy of opinion, uniformity in knowledge, or conformity in thought. The only unity possible to thinking men and women is unity in diversity. Conformity is possible only for robots or mechanical men, although slaves in their hopeless servility may approach unto it. Free men can be one only in Christ, and the deeper they go in their relationship to Him, the closer will be their relationship to one another. To justify division in the family of God, which is never once sanctioned by the holy scriptures, those scriptures must be wrested, twisted and distorted. It has been my intention to honestly and humbly investigate some of the passages which have been cruelly misapplied and return them to their proper context where they will encourage us to produce "the peaceable fruits of righteousness" rather than the bitter and depressing harvest of heartache and sorrow which has been our lot for so long. Much of what is said will be universally applicable to believers in Christ, regardless of the names on the signboards behind which they meet. But the perceptive reader will soon recognize that I have addressed my remarks primarily to conditions existing in a certain segment of a historicalrestoration attempt, listed in the United States Census Bureau of Religious Statistics under the denomination Church of Christ. The movement of which this is one of the branches was launched as "a project to unite the Christians in all of the sects." That it is now the most divided movement on the con-temporary scene is not so - i - The Twisted Scriptures much due to an abandonment of the scriptures as to the twisting of them to perpetuate "a System" which is confused with and substituted for the reconciling community purchased by the blood of Jesus. --W. Carl Ketcherside - ii - The Twisted Scriptures Chapter 1 - The Twisted Scriptures "The right to be wrong in matters of religious belief must be accorded, otherwise we produce hypocrites instead of persons with an enlightened belief that is fully their own. If the truth be might and God all-powerful, His children need not fear that disaster will follow freedom of thought."-- Francois De Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambrai. One of the most interesting letters in that treasure chest which is popularly referred to as the New Testament, is the one designated as 2 Peter. Written by the impetuous fisherman who was called from his occupation by Jesus, the letter is robust and challenging, filled with stirring thoughts and emphatic language. It is from this depository of revelation that I have chosen the statement which will form the theme of this little volume and provide its title. Near the close of his communication the apostle urges his readers to exert every effort to be found at peace with God and to remain unblemished and above reproach in his sight. He reminds them that God's patience exercised in our behalf will result in our salvation, and mentions that Paul also endorsed this thought when he wrote to the same people. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience with us is our salvation, as our beloved brother Paul wrote to you, out of the wisdom he had received, speaking of this matter as he does in all of his letters, some of which contain certain difficult and obscure statements, which those who are untaught and unstable, distort as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15,16). There is no message, divine or human, which is proof against distortion by men who are ignorant or unscrupulous. But while such wresting of a communication given by men may not evoke consequences of a serious nature, destruction may result from misinterpreting or misapplying God's revelation. In this volume I am going to concern myself with the use of scripture to divide and fragment the family of God, and to excuse and justify the very schism which the Word deplores and condemns. But first let us look at the rendering of our passage in two other versions. As indeed our beloved brother Paul has written to you, out of the wisdom vouchsafed to him, speaking of this as he has done in all his letters--letters containing some knotty points, which ignorant and unsteady souls twist (as they do the rest of the scriptures) to their own destruction. (Moffatt) Our beloved brother, Paul, from the wisdom that God gave him, also wrote to you about this. In his letter to you, as in all his letters, he speaks of these things. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, that is true, and there are people lacking knowledge and steadfastness who twist his words to their own destruction, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures. (The Simplified New Testament--Norlie). The scriptures can be twisted, distorted and slanted. When this happens they may be used to undo the very purpose of God who gave them. When the - 1 - The Twisted Scriptures written word is so wrested as to defeat the purpose, plan and prayer of the Living Word, something is indeed seriously wrong. I do not think that we must infer from the statement of Peter that every person who wrests a scripture from its context is willfully ignorant or purposely unsteady. No doubt men can do this while innocent of any evil motive and with a firm persuasion that their application is the will of God. If they are ignorant, it is involuntary, and not deliberate. Such men, when shown a more excellent way, will at once amend their thinking. It is because of my firm conviction that the good and honest heart will receive the seed of the Word, and not reject it, that I address myself to those of my brethren who are shivering the kingdom of heaven into fragments under the delusion that by so doing they best serve the interests of our King. Ignoring the Context Perhaps it would be well for us to contemplate some of the ways in which the scriptures may be twisted. Immediately, most of us will think of the practice of lifting a passage out of its context or setting, and interpreting it in isolation and detachment. This is always a malpractice, but it is even more grievous when the purpose is to justify or defend a presupposition or arbitrary position. Our word "text" is from the Latin textus, to construct or weave. It is found in such words as textile and texture. It is related to technical, which was originally applied to the art or skill of constructing or weaving. Thus context refers to the discourse or writing produced by the weaving together of words in language, and specifically to "the part or parts of a written or spoken passage preceding or following a particular word or group of words, and so intimately associated with them as to throw light upon their meaning." The sacred scriptures occur in three contexts--time, place and revelation. If properly understood, they must be studied in the light of all of these. The word of God was not delivered neatly packaged and tied with a ribbon. It was the divine response to human situation. It did not create needs and then proceed to meet them, but circumstances existed and the will of heaven was revealed to relate to them. We are obligated to determine as nearly as we can the situation which gave rise to the revelation, and study it in the light of the circumstances. As we prosecute our search for meaning it will become evident that strife and division have actually been promoted by ignoring the immediate purpose for which a thing was written.