Over the weekend, I visited an exhibit on the King James Bible and its influence during the past 400 years. One of the items on display was called the “Wicked Bible”. Due to a printer’s error, the phrase “Thou shalt commit adultery” was included in the 10 commandments. The printers corrected the error and received a hefty fine for their error.
Although the printers were fined, there have been some in the church that have worked at downplaying or watering down the seriousness of adultery. In many new versions of the Bible, the story contained in John 8:1-11 which is the story of the woman taken in adultery, is either omitted or footnoted. In many modernist circles footnoting is their way of changing or diminishing passages that bother them.
This story is also called the pericope de adultera in scholastic circles bothers some scholars. The reason is that the way it is written does not allow them to exaggerate the story and twist it to mean something other than what it says. Some pastors and theologians share similarities to the ‘Wicked Bible’, in that they want to change the teachings on adultery.
I mention this, with today being Sunday and with many churches often turning a blind eye to adultery if they address the issue at all. You may expect the church to be the last place to condone adultery, yet in order to be hip, modern and to avoid offending social sensibilities, the teachings on adultery are often watered down or ‘footnoted’ in order to make them look less authoritative, so that you do not take them too seriously. If you took them seriously, then adultery may be considered bad and you would not be so accepting of cheaters and cheating in general. The printers were fined for their error condoning adultery.
Best Regards,
Jeffrey Murrah
