News that the Bible is being 'defaced' at a Glasgow museum in the name of art has understandably, sparked an outcry. An exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), called Made in God's Image, features a Bible where gay and transgendered people are encouraged to 'write their way back in' if they feel excluded. Not surprisingly, perhaps, people have scribbled obscenities in the featured Bible.
The artist responsible for the exhibit, Anthony Schrag, worked in co-operation with a gay Christian group to get the project going. The rather naive church in question, The Metropolitan Community Church, has now been left somewhat red-faced over the incident. But Schrag has defended his exhibit, saying, "Are those who say they are upset offended by the things that people write, or just by the very notion that someone should write on a Bible?". (Photo: Vernon Dutton)
It's a good question. The things written (including remarks about God being a fascist) are offensive. And encouraging people to express negativity - rather than thoughtful responses - is a provocative and unhelpful gesture.
There is absolutely nothing wrong, in my view, with writing in the Bible - if the reader is engaging with the text in a thoughtful, respectful way. There is a long history of people 'talking back' to the Bible by writing thoughts in it. In the Middle Ages, it was called 'glossing' the text.
JS Bach scribbled notes in his copy of the Bible. One of those was against 1 Chronicles 25.6, where he wrote: 'This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing church music'. Florence Nightingale (pictured above) often wrote in her Bible - and sometimes critically. Nevertheless, she engaged with it thoughtfully, even writing next to Genesis 45.5: 'God did send me to preserve life'. Interestingly, there is scholarly speculation that Nightingale may have been a lesbian.
If this was true (and we have no way of knowing), then far from feeling excluded from the Bible, here is an example of a LGBT person who actually felt empowered by it. A far more constructive solution, in my view, would have been to encourage people to take inspiration from the Bible to improve our world - instead of encouraging them to moan.
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