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#ProdigalSonsMatter vs #AllSonsMatter: On Why we Need to be More Thoughtful About How we Deploy the Bible

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This is a bit of a departure.

We already have a Card Talk written about the Story of the Prodigal Son (which you can read here), so this isn’t another one. Not exactly.

We are returning to this passage of Scripture because it came up recently in a way that made us reexamine the theology and message of the story. And that came from an unlikely source: a tweet.

No, not a tweet from the orange dumpster fire, the cheeto-in-chief. It’s not incendiary, or racist, or homophobic, or transphobic, or in praise of oppressive capitalistic regimes, or propping up the patriarchy, or using the Bible to beat anyone someone the unholy wielder may choose. For once, it’s the exact opposite (OH HAPPY DAY)!

 

We loved the tweet when we saw it. But then we thought about it. And then thought about it some more. And well, you know how it goes:

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Here’s the tweet:

So what in the world could our problem be with that?! Well, look at the result.

As quickly as one person can reply

some asshat can reply :

Jay—the initial tweeter— is being an ally and using his platform to get the message out there to people in his sphere of influence. He is equating this passage from the Gospel According to Luke with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and the racist (yes, we said it, RACIST) reply of #AllLivesMatter. He’s using the Bible to make an analogy.

Jay is boldly and lovingly spreading that message to everyone—even, and especially to the asshats—that speaking up for the lives of Black people does not mean having less love, care, or concern for all lives. But “right now” we’re talking about vulnerable lives. And there are many who, “right now,” need to understand that “it’s not about you.” We get that. We appreciate that. We love that. However, asshatery persist and inappropriately don their haberdashery with vigor.

The asshat in question responded by taking up the same analogy and used it to equate the “prodigal son”—the Blacks whose lives matter— with how he views those currently in the streets demonstrating against the murder of those same Black lives: as lawless and violent rioters. And by the rules of the analogy set up in the initial tweet, he can do that validly.

All analogies break down eventually.

When dealing with a Biblical text, if the passage itself is not advocating a certain point, when someone stretches it for the sake of a point, even a good one, the analogy breaks down pretty dang fast.

Jay’s point highlights the fact that a movement is specifically about one group, not everyone. There wouldn’t be a movement if it were about everyone. The movement happens because one group needs protection, rights, recognition, or some of the civil goods that have been denied or limited. This is a good point. This is a great point. AND it’s biblical. We have no issue with Jay or his point. But the story of the prodigal son doesn’t communicate that point at its core. And that’s the danger of using it in this way.

As we know all too well, there is a danger in using the Bible as a proof-text or an illustration in this way. It is something we at A Game for Good Christians try to be very very very carefully about when we are writing our (normal) Card Talks.

So bear with us as we role-play for a moment. We’re going to dive into the mostly empty mind of an asshat, and run this analogy to its logical extent. And since we are a hell of a lot smarter than a one who wears his hat atop his anus holder, we can do a lot more damage.

Be disgusted and see our point…

{Inside the Asshat Mind}

Yeah this tweet makes sense. As long as we admit that those people (you know the ones I mean) put themselves in this position in the first place, just like the prodigal son!

They had a good thing going, but they couldn’t be satisfied with what they had. Always bitching about something. So they run away and steal, just like they do. And what happens next? You know. Living their urban lifestyle: crack and malt liquor and rap music and guns and all that monkey sex. And then when things go bad, what do they do? Run to the government for a handout! “Please sir, can I have some more. I need a bailout! Where’s my welfare check?! I need to feed my 18 babies by 7 different daddies!” Those people have no concept of taking no personal responsibility for their actions. Always blaming other folks for the mess they got themselves in. Always looking to how people supposedly treated them unfairly in the past.

And look at that older brother: he went and did everything right! He got up in the morning, went to work, did he part. His fair share. More than his fair share since that brother of his left. And he never got no thanks from no one. But he never complained. Nope. Never complained. And he never ran off and lived like an animal chasing his every desire. No sir. So yeah, he had every right to be pissed off when he dad started acting like a socialist in his own home! But he’s the one everyone talks bad about. He gets no respect.

But the story did end in the right way: the father admits that everything left belongs to the older brother. The upstanding citizen. The one who did all the work, made all the real contributions in the world.

I will give the younger brother some credit though. When he came to his senses, he didn’t put on no airs. No sir. He recognized how his kind ain’t as good as the rest of us. That boy was honest: said he would be better off as a slave.


(Pardon us while we change out of this skin and take a shower. Being inside an asshat’s mind is emotionally taxing, even for so short a time.)

This is the danger of using the Bible for analogies and illustrations without thinking things through.

The Bible is complex and nuanced. Every story has layers that have left people of all faiths and no faith arguing over for centuries. It cannot, easily, be reduced to a meme or sound byte, which we would all do well to remember—us too—because asshats have access to the same book.

But what do we know: we made this game and you probably think we’re going to Hell.