Stretching all the way back to Augustine in the fourth and fifth centuries the very idea of proof texting, the idea that any one verse or group of verses ought to be literally understood or to be interpreted in isolation from other scriptural texts, was seen as poor practice, poor interpretation, poor scholarship and poor biblical study.

Augustine calls the practice sinful.

Augustine and the early church fathers believed that isolating chapter and verse was detrimental to the understanding of scripture in general, and in particular could lead to the abuse of scripture and God’s word. They proposed and taught that when reading and applying scripture to life’s many situations one ought to never isolate chapter and verse. Instead one ought to interpret scripture as a part in relation to the whole.

The danger lies in taking isolated passages as God’s law, immutable and unchanging. Yet, this is not Christian practice as evidenced from our early beginnings and the writings of St Paul. Christians believe that a new law and new relationship with God was inaugurated with Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that Christians do not practice the 613 Torah laws.

As Christians we speak of the New Covenant, instead of the Old Covenant.

This of course does not stop proof texting.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are often abused in this manner. Many individuals use chapter and verse from the New Testament as means of providing illustrations in isolation of what we ought to do, or what God expects of us.

For example, an often cited passage against homosexuality is Romans 1:26-32

For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.

In isolation this passage seems to condemn homosexuality and when this passage is lifted out of the whole of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the New Testament and the bible, it would indeed be pretty damning. Yet if we continue to read we discover that Paul says something else entirely:

Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. (My emphasis)

Judging others is equated with all other sins against the Father. Paul’s point seems to be that God is the only judge and when we, humans, judge one and another we sin.

Therefore one could conclude that the point Paul is trying to make is about judgment and not about homosexuality. Perhaps homosexuality is simply a means to illustrate how the sin of judgment is most heinous.

Now I realize that providing an example of proof texting surrounding homosexuality is a charged issue and I suspect I will receive a few comments on it, so let me approach it from a slightly different perspective and with a different issue.

Genesis 9:24-27 says:

When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,
‘Cursed be Canaan;
lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.’
He also said,
‘Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
May God make space for Japheth,
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.’

The descendants of Canaan, Africans, were subject to slavery and the slavery was defended as God’s punishment according to scripture. Slave traders, the American South and even the British Empire relied upon this interpretation to maintain the slave system, isolating this passage from the rest of scripture. Ignored were the passages where God sets his people free, reconciles his people and leaves the temple and Holy Jerusalem to be with his people in slavery and exile.

Proof texting, as we can see, is very dangerous and can lead to all kind of abuses of God’s word including maintaining systems of oppression, domination and violence, like chauvinism, sexism, patriarchies, nationalism, militarism and such. Isolating chapter and verse creates and breeds misunderstanding about what we do as Christians and what God wants for us. And this misunderstands then continues in the world with people we seek to engage with and bring the Good News of Jesus Christ too.

Here I am thinking of Richard Dawkins at the moment and many in the new atheist movement. Many times I encounter people, atheists of this particular variety, who engage me in conversations in an attempt to educate me as to what I believe (somehow I didn’t know before but luckily they have arrived to let me know). Often passages, chapter and verse, are quoted. The claims of course are proof texting claim.

The argument goes that because the bible is the word of God, whether literal or inspired, depending on your theological bent, that every phrase and every word in the bible is somehow immutable and unchanging, even though it has been translated many times. Yet, if one is to read the whole and not the part, we see that God does in fact change his mind many times; He remembers his people and inaugurates a New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

Proof texting, whether used as an attack against Christianity or used by Christians themselves to justify actions or behaviors creates misunderstanding and is very dangerous. And as St Augustine stated so many years ago, it is poor scholarship, poor biblical studies and a sin.

So the next time that someone quotes a passage to you, chapter and verse, stop, and ask what the next verse is and if it might be important also.