Want to know why, increasingly, the church is welcoming easy divorce, women in leadership roles, cohabiting couples, practicing homosexuals, and transgenderism? Perhaps surprisingly, just ask former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer-not that he is a theologian or commentator on church matters, but he might as well be. What he says about the Constitution is precisely what many in the church today are saying (or not saying openly) about the Bible.<\/p>\n
In his recently released book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism<\/em>,” Breyer castigates the current conservative majority on the Court for their “textualism” or “originalism” (applying the text as originally written). “It’s giving this country a Constitution no one wants.” This is to say that it’s out of step with today’s social norms – the very same social norms the church is now welcoming with open theological arms.<\/p>\n For “progressive” believers, honoring Scripture as written is like giving the church a “Bible that no one wants.” No longer wishing to live by the standards set forth in Scripture, they’re asking, does the Bible really mean what it says? (Shades of the serpent asking, “Did God really say…?”) Times have changed, and for the better, it is said, now that we’re no longer shackled by the hierarchal, patriarchal culture of the first century. What we need is a 21st-century Bible!<\/p>\n This “cultural lens” mimics Breyer’s own argument: “When the founders were thinking about and writing the words of the Constitution and protecting certain basic rights in the Constitution, women [and slaves] were not really part of the political process.” Point taken, yet this was later rectified by authorized Constitutional process through the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments.<\/p>\n When Breyer says, “the world has changed,” he’s certainly right, as reflected in changing attitudes about abortion and homosexuality, prompting the very pragmatism of Roe v. Wade (legalizing abortion) and the Court’s approval of same-sex marriage. No reasonable reading of the Constitution gives protection for either one. In a mutually intertwined downward cycle, rejecting the authority of Scripture has led to our “changed world,” in turn leading liberal jurists to engage in raw judicial legislation…blatantly violating the Constitution’s separation of powers!<\/p>\n Ultimately, at stake is not simply how texts that purport to be authoritative are to be interpreted-always a challenging task in itself-but whether they are amendable, and, if so, how? The Constitution, of course, sets out a clear process for making amendments, resulting in 27 approved amendments. Yet, considering there have been almost 12,000 proposals, it’s far easier for “pragmatic” Justices to make amendments through their decisions. It is little wonder they reject “originalism” despite paying lip service to Constitutional authority.<\/p>\n Likewise, despite paying lip service to the authority of Scripture, “progressive” believers undermine the Bible’s authority by amending it through their own self-serving reinterpretations. Whereas the Constitution is inherently amendable, to blithely amend God’s Word is to stand on dangerous ground! Is it to be believed that God wouldn’t be aware of how the world might change? Indeed, the more the world changes, the more it stays the same. Sin hasn’t changed.<\/p>\n Next time somebody at church says biblical norms are outdated, tell ’em to take it up with God!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Author Unknown (SMH?) Want to know why, increasingly, the church is welcoming easy divorce, women in leadership roles, cohabiting couples, practicing homosexuals, and transgenderism? Perhaps surprisingly, just ask former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer-not that he is a theologian or commentator on church matters, but he might as well be. What he says about the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-67932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53650,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-constitution-and-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":0},"title":"The Constitution and the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The debate over the Constitution illustrates some of the same problems in agreeing over the Bible. The problem does not come\u00a0from these documents. It comes from the agenda of those who approach either one. Some are intent on making laws to fit their own will and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94507,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-separation-of-church-and-state-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":1},"title":"The Separation of Church and State","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by David New via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 4, December 1994 [David is a member of the Annandale church of Christ and, as a lawyer, represents clients who are trying to restore prayer to the public schools.] On June 25, 1962, Justice Hugo Black, writing for the Supreme Court in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-bible-in-english\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":2},"title":"The Bible in English","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant One of the great blessings we have is that we have the Bible, God's Word, in the language of the common people -- English. And we are thankful for those who provided this for us at a high cost. The story behind the translation is an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40312,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-an-organization-formed-to-meet-the-governments-requirements-have-any-say-over-congregations\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":3},"title":"Does an organization formed to meet the government’s requirements have any say over congregations?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings to you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. How are the brethren over there? I want to thank you for the support you gave me whenever I come to you. I have always had it in mind that I will do my best to change things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32254,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-it-really-make-any-difference\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":4},"title":"Does It Really Make Any Difference?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant In our daily Bible reading, my wife and I have finished Exodus and are now in Leviticus. Although we had read these books in years past, there are things that have caught my attention that I had not paused to think about before. That is one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68351,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/just-what-exactly-are-the-standards\/","url_meta":{"origin":67932,"position":5},"title":"Just What Exactly Are the Standards?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton I got a notice from the powers that be that I would not be able to do anything for one hour because I did something (like publish a good post with biblical and godly standards) that did not comport with their \"community standards.\" They didn't say\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}