When Scripture Confronts Our Biases
In a world increasingly divided along ideological lines, Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and The Candler Foundry joins host Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime for a candid conversation about the importance of breaking free from echo chambers.
Drawing on the breadth of voices found in the biblical canon—from the tensions between Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs in the wisdom tradition, to the distinct perspectives of the four Gospels—Dr. Bonfiglio challenges us to resist the temptation of self-affirming silos. Instead, he invites us to embrace a richer, more nuanced way of engaging with God’s Word and one another.
Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio
We have to get out of these echo chambers if we ever want to find a way to be together in some substantial, generative way—other than just this kind of conflict-avoidant, agree-to-disagree modality that we sometimes implement.
Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime
Yeah, and like you said, not just because it's sort of the right thing to do—not just in a “maybe eat your vegetables” reason.
Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio
That’s right.
Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime
—but in a “you will have a more full palette.”
You will experience life more fully—literally—if you can bear the sometimes discomfort, risk, and vulnerability of encountering the other and finding spaces with the other.
Then it comes down to doing it, and thinking through how to actually do it. And I'm wondering if you have it either in the Candler Foundry or in other places. Where do you see examples or little sprouts of hope on that?
Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio
Well, I'll say this goes in the opposite direction, because it's not like now, but previous. We inherit a tradition that is shot through with people and content that moves outside of echo chambers and self-affirming silos.
I mean, I even think, Katie, of the canon itself—our Scripture. It would be easy; that canon could have been formed around a library of texts that all basically said the same thing about the same thing. But that is decidedly not what we find in the canon—whether it's Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs in the wisdom tradition, or Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Gospels.
We inherit a canon that models for us a way to say, “Hey, we actually need a diversity of views.” It's not all going to line up. There are going to be some really hard tensions, most of which cannot be fully resolved. And that is Scripture. That is the witness.
So, how do we do what the Bible does in that sense?
This conversation invites us to reconsider what it means to be faithful to Scripture. Dr. Bonfiglio reminds us that the Bible was never meant to be a uniform, one-note document. Instead, it is a rich tapestry of voices—sometimes in hamrony, sometimes in tension—that together reveal God’s truth.
Reflective Questions:
- How have you seen diverse perspectives strengthen a community’s faith?
- What parts of Scripture challenge your own assumptions?
- Where might God be inviting you to step outside your theological cofmort zone?
Explore Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio’s full sermon from episode 4195 >>>
