It’s not in the Bible

Demitri Martin has said that “sort of” is a harmless phrase. Although sometimes it can mean everything. Like after certain phrases… “I love you…” “You’re going to live…” “It’s a boy!”

This is true of the phrase, “It’s not in the Bible.” There are variations of course. “Jesus never mentioned it.” "Paul never wrote about it." 'Moses never told a joke about it." Now sometimes this is a really helpful point. Other times, it’s quite misleading.

Does the Bible ever use the words “nuclear bombs” or “chemical weapons" or even "asassination?” No. Does the Bible have things to say about how we treat our neighbors and our enemies? You betcha!

Does Jesus ever discuss cocaine or huffing? Not in my version of the NT. Does Jesus talk about all of us being God’s children, about our bodies as temples and a gift from God? Does he tell us to love ourselves that we might love others? You better believe it.

When thinking about these topics, it would seem like saying “It’s not in the Bible” or “Jesus never talked about it,” could always be dangerous. However, when followed up with… “But the Bible does say….” Or “Jesus did teach…” it can be a useful tool for studying scripture.

“The Bible doesn’t use the phrase ‘premarital sex.’” True, but it does talk an awful lot about the power and consequences of sex, including a heck of a lot of illustrative cautionary tales. It does talk a lot about the special gift from God. It does have a lot to say about loving others as you love yourselves and not ever taking advantage of other people and has a lot to say about relying on God to resist temptations. And just as importantly, it has a lot to say about making mistakes and the overabundance of God’s forgiveness and expectation that we do the same.

“Jesus never utters a word about homosexuality.” True. And he does have tons to say about loving one another, seeking God’s will as found in the holy texts and words of the prophets. And Jesus has a whole lot to say about loving others, feeding the poor, visiting the sick and imprisoned, sheltering the homeless and standing up for the downtrodden. How we doing on that?

Now, admittedly, as a Presbyterian, born and raised, my first instinct to a moral or social quandary is maybe not to say to their friends, “I wonder what the Bible says.” (I'm working on this, thanks to some non-Presbyterian friends) But the next time someone says, “that’s not even addressed in the Bible,” I challenge you to say, “are you sure that’s entirely true?”