As we approach the presidential election of 2024, more and more Christians are turning their thoughts to the Bible to guide their actions and decisions.

To establish good civilizations and good governments, we need to put into practice all of the good advice—all of the Wisdom—that the Bible gives us. (Matthew 7:24-27).

This doesn’t mean memorizing and applying the literal government practices that are described by the Bible in the vastly different circumstances thousands of years ago. What kinds of practices? Polygamy! Slavery! Stoning!

Instead, it means putting into practice the words and Wisdom of Jesus by applying the principles that Jesus taught us—and teaches us.

Mere memorization of Bible verses won’t be enough. Indeed, if applied out of context, words that were wise at the time they were given, may become foolish if applied unthinkingly in the circumstances that exist today.

I explained this in Appendix 2 of my book The Promised Land, at pages 160-164 (first published in 2004):

Suppose that a wife is eager to show her love for her husband by doing something nice for him.

She talks to her friend about what she might do. Her friend says that last weekend she did something that pleased her husband very much: on Saturday morning she made him a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, Belgian waffles, and sausage patties.

What conclusions should the wife draw from her friend’s experience?

Should she automatically assume that her husband will love her more if she makes him a big breakfast on Saturday morning? Of course not.

She must adapt her friend’s experience to the specific characteristics of her own husband.

For example, perhaps her husband likes to sleep late on Saturday mornings. If she gets him up to eat, she won’t please him. She’ll annoy him.

But perhaps her husband always gets up early on Sunday mornings and often complains that at church he gets so hungry that his stomach growls.

Upon reflection, a thoughtful wife would realize that she should modify her friends approach by making him a big breakfast on Sunday morning instead of on Saturday morning.

Or perhaps her husband prefers pancakes to waffles. She should replace the waffles with pancakes.

Perhaps her husband is overweight, or has high cholesterol.

Then she should forget about making him a huge breakfast, and should do something else that her husband would like. Going golfing or playing tennis with her husband every Saturday morning sound like good ideas for her heart attack prone husband.

From this everyday example we can see a number of approaches that should be used when applying the Bible.

First, the bedrock on which all else rests is our relationship with God. We must be a faithful “spouse” acting in love to make our relationship ever stronger and more intimate.

Second, the Bible should be a friend and neighbor who we know well. When we read portions of it, it is like going to a neighbor and asking for some friendly advice based on her experiences. The Bible is full of examples of things that have worked well in the past and things that have not worked well in the past.

Third, we should not assume that every detail of what the Bible describes as working well in a different time, place and culture automatically works well in the time, place and culture in which we find ourselves.

Here is where hard work is essential.

In order to apply the Bible correctly, we must understand  what the Bible said in the time, place and culture in which it was written. We must also understand the time, place and culture in which we find ourselves. And then we must be able to think reflectively, accurately and wisely in order to know what has changed and what has stayed the same.

Otherwise, our application of a supposed teaching of a Bible may, at best be an annoyance—similar to waking someone up on Saturday morning for a big breakfast when they’d prefer to stay asleep. Or, at worst, our ignorance will cause actual harm despite our good intentions—similar to feeding someone with heart trouble a high calorie, high cholesterol breakfast.

All of this shows that an open-minded, questioning approach (such as we find in a liberal arts education) must be taken when applying the Bible to specific issues.

For example, an understanding of social sciences such as anthropology, psychology and sociology helps us know whether our actions will be perceived in the way we intend. This is analogous to knowing whether Sunday is better than Saturday for the breakfast or whether, in fact, a totally different way of expressing love should be chosen.

A knowledge of physical sciences such as biology and nutrition is necessary to know what helps instead of hurts in the physical world. This is analogous to whether a high cholesterol breakfast is appropriate for a person and knowing how much exercise they should get.

Applications of science to agriculture and cooking technologies are necessary to produce benefits such as the food for the breakfast, the distribution system to harvest the food and get it to our homes, the freezer and refrigerator to store it, and the pots, pans, stove and energy to cook it.

A knowledge of economics and business is necessary to produce and buy the food and the implements that distribute, store and cook it.

And, most important of all is a knowledge of the laws which shape and guide the entire process. (Since I am a lawyer, this is meant to be a humorous, self-serving remark!).

Actually, we should conclude that the knowledge and application of religion is most important of all because God created and sustains everything. And, because unless we act with love when we make the breakfast, we are “only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Therefore, we can see that the Christian liberal arts tradition is essential to applying God’s Word wisely to our lives and to our world. Only in the Christian liberal arts tradition are all of the academic discipline’s guided by the insight that all Truth is God’s Truth. And only in the Christian liberal arts tradition are all of the academic disciplines inspired by the purpose of helping everyone experience and share God’s love in every endeavor and inquiry they undertake.

As the Apostle Paul wrote:

“Do everything in love” 1 Corinthians 16:14).

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2).

And then you will be “rooted and established in love” so that you are able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:17-18).

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Do you prefer to memorize what to do or not do? Why?

Do you prefer to think about what to do or not do? Why?

How do you transform your mind? Why?

READ MORE

For related thoughts, please read my blogs “Civilizations and Governments: An Independent Path”; “Civilizations and Governments: Giving Wisdom Without Finding Fault”; “Civilizations and Governments: Using the Word To Build a New Earth”, and “Civilizations and Governments: A Good Trainer”.

In my blog “Building Houses on Rock: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, I apply the principles of the Sermon on the Mount to explain why the Freedoms of Speech and of Religion are essential to a good civilization and a good government.

For my thoughts about how challenging it is to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, please read my blog “Grace and Peace—Ephesians”.