Episode Details

Someone says the quiet part out loud: what if we just rip out the Bible passages that bother us? A pastor in Oakland suggests removing “problem” pages and even adding a third testament, and the internet predictably erupts. We slow the whole thing down and ask what’s actually at stake when Christians treat scripture as disposable, outdated, or only selectively “God’s Word.”

In this episode, we talk about why certain lines hit modern listeners like a slap, including texts tied to slavery and the treatment of women, and we don’t pretend those reactions are irrational. We also explore a growing pastoral reality: some communities reshape how scripture is proclaimed in worship because phrases like “The word of the Lord” or even lifting the book can feel weaponized to people carrying real trauma. Sensitivity matters, but so does the question underneath it: if the Bible is not God speaking to his people, then who decides what remains, what gets reinterpreted and what gets tossed?

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Father Don Wolf is a priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Living Catholic also broadcasts on Oklahoma Catholic Radio several times per week, with new episodes airing every Sunday.