Jeff Sessions, Romans 13, Proof-Texting, and the Magic Power of Words

As I commented a couple days ago, I have never been able to convince my fellow communication colleagues that proof-texting is an important rhetorical device. Biblical scholars, in contrast, know that proof-texting is important in conservative religious talk. But religious and political talk often overlap, not only in content, but also in methods. The ways that conservatives think don't necessarily change when they switch between politics and religion. Thus, we have the interesting dust-up between Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who established his point by proof-texting, and his own church, which disagrees. Proof-texting is not so much a fallacy as it is a different way of thinking: for proof-texting attributes almost magical power to words.

Jeff Sessions

In his June 14, 2018 speech responding to Christian leaders who objected to his zero-tolerance policy toward undocumented immigrants, Sessions said this:

"First—illegal entry into the United States is a crime—as it should be. Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution. I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order."

Here is the relevant passage from Romans 13:1-4 (NRSV):


"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer."

1. What is proof-texting?

Proof-texting is a method of biblical preaching and analysis that uses little itty-bitty tiny snippets of the Bible to prove big points. Conservative preachers have used this method for centuries. For example, many of us studied Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," in high school. In this firebreathing speech, Edwards warned his congregation that God was angry at them and ready to cast them into hell. The text on which he based his sermon was this: "Their foot shall slide in due time." Edwards began his sermon like this [italics added]: "In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites." This verse comes from a lengthy song that Moses sang for the Israelite exiles as he turned his leadership over to Joshua; Moses praises God's power and mercy while threatening harm against those who violate God's laws. But, for Edwards, Moses' complex theological exposition comes down to one simple phrase. That is how proof-texting works. 

2. Why does proof-texting ignore context? 
 
Writing in the Minneapolist Star-Tribune, Lutheran pastor Richard Jorgensen objects to Sessions' use of proof-texting: "If patriotism is the 'last refuge of a scoundrel,' the biblical proof-text is one of his favorite diversionary tactics." He explains that proof-texting ignores context, leading us to view the Bible one verse at a time, which is a misleading way to read. 

But there is another factor. Suppose that you believe, as many people do, that the Bible is divinely inspired, that God is responsible for every word, and that its truth is both literal and infallible (which are not the same things). In that case, every phrase, every word can be relied on to give truth. Thus, Edwards could  say "Their foot shall slide in due time" and pay little attention to what comes before and after. And Sessions could cite Romans 13, ignoring everything that comes before and after, for, as a conservative Christian, he might believe that every inspired word and phrase is utterly reliable. 

With proof-texting, the words gain a supernatural power of their own. Cultural and literary context don't matter as much. Literalism is a way of thinking, a heuristic to understand texts, and Bible literalists take it very seriously. A liberal Christian will be interested in higher criticism; that is, a liberal Christian will want to understand the Bible's historical, literary, and cultural context. To a literalist, those factors aren't irrelevant, but they become much less important, as Roger E. Olson argues in his essay, "The Absurdity of Higher Criticism of the Gospels..."

So, does context matter? To some people it does; to some people it does not. Sessions ran into a firestorm because he assumed that context didn't matter; to many believers, it did. 

And, as I wrote a couple days ago, conservatives also use proof-texting in political situations. The power of words isn't just in the Bible; it's everywhere. 



First Amendment Issues: Sessions' critics started the dispute by saying that the Bible supported tolerant, loving policies toward immigrants. Sessions accepted their premise - that the Bible applies to public policy - but tried to proof-text his way out of it. I'm sure that many people would prefer to keep the Bible and the government separate. 


P.S.: The NRSV translation of  Jonathan Edwards' verse (Deut: 32:35) doesn't support his view very well, giving us another reason to be careful with proof-texting:

Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
because the day of their calamity is at hand,
    their doom comes swiftly.

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U. S. A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

  
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