Tyler Schwaller

I previously announced the November release of my first article in the Iowa Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) fall 2010 edition of the “Social Questions Bulletin” (SQB). This is part of a series on what it means to take the Bible seriously in ways that are uplifting and fruitful, especially considering the fact that our public debates often deploy scripture merely as a rhetorical tool to win an argument.

Part 2 is now also available in MFSA’s Spring 2011 SQB. In this essay, I think about the problem of the fact that many sides of issues can be debated by quoting biblical texts. So if you can stand on one side of a debate and quote scripture to make an argument, and I can stand on the other side and also quote scripture to make my case, where does that leave us? What do we do with this reality? If the Bible can’t always be a decisive mediator or, more strongly as some seem to purport it can be, a definitive rulebook, what can be the role of scripture in public religious and social life?

Taking up this question and thinking with John Wesley, I answer: “Who Cares about the Bible? Part 2” (Tyler Schwaller, SQB spring 2011)