Texts Without Context

Proof texting of Holy Writ has been going on for centuries.  What is proof texting?  It is taking a text (a sentence, a verse, a passage) from the Bible without any regard for the context (the circumstance, milieu, historical background from which the passage is taken) to support a particular belief.  Elton Trueblood  used a humorous anecdote to illustrate the dangers of proof texting:  “A man unhappy with his life decided to consult the Bible for guidance.  Closing his eyes, he flipped the book open and pointed to a spot on the page.  Opening his eyes, he read the verse under his finger. It read, ‘Then Judas went away and hanged himself’ (Matthew 27:5b).  Not liking this advice, the man randomly selected another verse.  This one read, ‘Jesus told him, Go and do thou likewise.’ (Luke 10:37b)  The man tried one more time.  The text he found was ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:27)

The Reverend Jesse Jackson says, “A text without a context is a pretext.” A pretext is to (perhaps intentionally)  misappropriate or misuse or misapply or misrepresent a “sentence, a verse, a passage” to support a position that it in fact does not support.  

If, for example, you had access to a text message conversation between me and my grandson, and picked out a single text from the whole conversation (“Yeah I could do the 14th I just have class at 2 that day but it shouldn’t be a problem”) and used it to support your idea, or gave it a meaning not implied, you would be proof texting. “A text without a context is a pretext.”

The old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover” means you shouldn’t prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone.  So, too, you shouldn’t assume the worth, value or meaning  of a text (“a sentence, a passage, a verse”) without checking out its context.  

In February, a Republican senator pointed to a “text” from former FBI agent Page in September  2016 that said, “potus wants to know everything we’re doing,” and alleged (without any corroboration, without context) it proved President Obama had demanded information about the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information.  It did not mean that at all—“A text without a context is a pretext.”