EULOGY FOR MICHAEL BROWN, FERGUSON, MO

To wade into waters fraught with political agendas, racial overtones, and high emotions may bring the wader angry reactions and charges of insensitivity, racism, and who knows what else. That's why, for what it's worth, I make no assumptions of guilt or innocence in the Michael Brown case which has been inflammatory, to say the least. Such judicial pronouncements are not the content of this essay.

It's the use of the Bible during the eulogy for Michael Brown that concerns me and is therefore the content of this presentation. So, with that in mind, read on.

The uncle of Michael Brown spoke at the funeral service for his nephew and it serves as a premier example of twisting the Scriptures beyond recognition, using them in ways that are far, far from the authors' intent and far, far from the AUTHOR'S intent.

Let's read what his uncle, Rev. Charles Ewing, said. He will be speaking for himself, his words, according to the transcript of the service, are in italics.

"Michael Brown was 18 years old.  He was shot around noon.  Our Lord and Savior hung on the cross — now compare our time frame 12 o’clock to the Jewish time frame which is at the sixth hour.  Michael Brown died on August the 9th.  Jesus hung on the cross between the sixth and the 9th hour.”

In this statement, the pastor has discovered that a time of day reference from Matthew 27:45 has a hidden meaning that has to do with someone's being "shot around noon." Then he finds a hidden reference in "the ninth hour" as having to do with August 9, 2014, the number of the day in August on which the person who was shot died. In his eulogy, because of Matthew 27:45, an hour of a day and a day of the month have a hidden meaning concerning a shooting in St. Louis, Missouri, in August 2014.

Pastor Ewing continued his Jesus comparison by tying the St. Louis area’s geography to biblical numbers.

If you look at the demographics of St. Louis, Missouri, we are known for the Gateway to the West. Now [the] Holy Spirit said ‘Well, look at 12 gates of Israel.’ The East gate that Jesus is going to walk to is shaped like an arch. Look at Interstate 70 rides 2,153 miles from Maryland to all the way to Utah. Jesus spent 70 hours. Israel went into captivity for 70 years.

Aside from the fact that he misuses the word "demographics," this statement is even more bizarre than the earlier one. The famous St. Louis Arch, he says, has biblical connections. The "twelve gates of Israel" somehow speak of the nickname of St. Louis according to the Holy Spirit. Then he tells the congregation that the Holy Spirit also said to "Look at Interstate 70 [which] rides 2,153 miles from Maryland all the way to Utah."

 What does Interstate 70 have to do with all this? He explains, taking "Interstate 70" and connecting it into the fact that "Jesus spent 70 hours." Jesus spent 70 hours where, doing what? And when did this occur? To what does this refer? He doesn't say. Then we read that Interstate 70 somehow has something to do with Israel's going into captivity for 70 years.

What in the world is going on here?

What's going on--interpreting the Bible allegorically--has a hoary history. The Church Fathers brought this method of "understanding" the Bible into the church and we've been suffering ever since. It's a method by which the interpreter can make the Bible say anything he wants it to say. But Jesus and the Apostles never used the method, instead, they used the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpreting the Old Testament.

The woods are full of allegorists. Rev. Charles Ewing isn't the Lone Ranger; there are many a pulpit Tonto who do the same thing Sunday after Sunday. One preacher writes:

"In Genesis 6:14 God commanded Noah to build an ark made of cypress wood and to coat both the inside and the outside with pitch. . . the pitch represents sin in our lives."

Here's another example: a pastor who is speaking on Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. Regarding the stone rolled over the mouth of the tomb, he says, "Many of us have a stone rolled across our hearts and for a true living faith the stone needs to be rolled away from our heart."

Another Tonto found a hidden meaning in the account of the thugs making fun of Elisha. Elisha had just picked up Elijah’s mantle after witnessing his being taken up to heaven, and was on his way up a mountain. On the way, they came up to confront him saying, “Go up you bald head." The pastor said that's a reference to the world's making fun of those who believe in the Rapture. What? He's "found" the rapture in II Kings 2?



But how about giving the prize for the most fanciful and far-fetched allegory in our hit parade to Augustine ((354-430AD) who read the story of The Good Samaritan and concluded, "The main character is Adam, that being set on the animal is a belief in the incarnation of Christ. The inn is the Church, where travelers returning to their heavenly country are refreshed after pilgrimage. The morrow is after the resurrection of the Lord. The two pence are either the two precepts of love or the promise of this life and of that which is to come. The innkeeper is Paul, the promise to pay for future expenses is Paul’s vow of celibacy, and Jericho is the moon and represents our mortality [because it waxes and wanes]." 

Reading that hermeneutic circus wore me out. Just for grins, read many an author's understanding of Nehemiah 3 and their finding all the hidden meanings to the "gates" in the text.

Allegorizing a text in the Bible is not Bible teaching and never was. It sets loose a virus in the auditorium. Next time you hear the beginning of an allegorical sermon, head for the exit. Fast.