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Nov. 2, 2023 - Straight White American Jesus
23:49
It's In the Code Ep. 72: "Rebellion is the Sin of Witchcraft"
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Hello, and welcome to It's In The Code, a series that is part of the podcast a series that is part of the podcast Straight White American Jesus.
My name is Dan Miller.
I'm professor of religion and social thought at Landmark College and your host for this series.
Glad as always to be with you.
As always, thank you to those of you who support us in so many different ways.
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Take a look at our show.
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And as always, welcome your insights, questions, comments.
You can reach me at Daniel Miller Swag, DanielMillerSWAJ at gmail.com.
Always looking for ideas and feedback and thoughts about this series.
And I'm just going to dive right in.
I've got, I think, a decent amount to say today.
As I record this, you know, I'm recording this.
Halloween is just past, but it's still on my mind, right?
The last series I looked at sort of harvest festivals and kind of conservative religious groups that oppose Halloween and so forth.
And I kind of wanted to stay in that spirit, that spirit of Halloween a little bit, and I wanted to say something about witches, right?
What can we talk about on Halloween besides witches?
There's a lot we could say about witches, there's a lot we could say about witchcraft, lots of interesting things, but the theme for today comes directly from one of my clients.
They are not the only one who've ever mentioned this to me, but they brought it to my attention, and I sort of hadn't thought about it in a long time.
And if they're listening, they know who they are.
But the reference comes from a verse in the Hebrew Bible that I have in mind today.
It's a passage in 1 Samuel 15, verse 23, That says, and I'm quoting here in the King James Version, okay?
And we'll talk about why that is, but this is sort of the, we might say in the English language at least, the kind of classic version of this.
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, right?
So I want to talk about this notion of witches and their purported connection to rebellion as it's outlined in this verse.
And as always, it's a good place to start with some background, right?
Every now and then I talk to somebody and you'll come across a passage like this, or they'll hear it and they'll be like, that?
Really?
The Bible says that?
I don't remember where the Bible says that, or I didn't know it said those things.
Well, there it is.
Most contemporary translations, if you heard that phrase, let me quote it again, right?
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
And you're like, that sounds a little awkward and clunky.
I don't remember reading that in my Bible.
The reason why is it's not a very good translation of the verse, okay?
Most contemporary translations, especially those that kind of, we might call it a text critical focus, Translate the passage as something like, Rebellion is no less a sin than divination, right?
That's the New Revised Standard Version.
That translation of divination as witchcraft, again, that's in the King James Version, and it is kept.
Of course, I should back up and say the King James Version, right, is the sort of first widely accessible, hugely available English translation of the Bible.
And is still used by many.
A very conservative Christian group sometimes will sort of take only the King James Version as sort of an adequate English translation.
Some people just love the translation of the King James and still use it.
If you had people in your family who are attached to church of a particular, you know, generation, let's say, Bible verses you would have heard would have been in the King James.
And there's a certain resonance to them.
All the these and thous and thou shalts and so forth of the King James.
And much of the King James was kept in sort of an updated version called the New King James Version.
And what all this means is that generations of English-speaking Christians learned the verse this way, with the language of witchcraft.
And there are other contemporary translations that have kept this more traditional language, but the better translation for lots of reasons is Divination, and most modern translations will say Rebellion is no less a sin than Divination.
So that's the first thing.
If you heard this and you're like, I don't think I've heard that verse, or I've read my Bible and I don't remember that, well, that's why.
On the other hand, I talk to people, my client as I mentioned, but others who are very familiar with this passage, who have heard this passage.
I myself had not thought of this passage in a long time because I don't read the King James Version.
I do know that Divination is the better translation.
But when this was brought to me, I sort of recollected this.
I was like, oh my goodness, that's right.
I have heard that.
I've heard this verse in that way.
And that's what I want to dive into.
So the first thing is, if it's not familiar to you, it's because it's this kind of archaic translation.
But it's an archaic translation, as I say, that has colored the interpretation of this passage and the use of this passage for generations of Christians and is very memorable and still alive and well, right, in certain contexts.
The second point worth noting about this passage, and I can't let things go without doing the contextualizing work and so forth.
I'm just sort of constitutionally incapable of it.
But the second point worth noting is the context of this passage.
In this passage—again, it's in the book of 1 Samuel— It's one in which God is telling King Saul of Israel through the prophet Samuel that obedience to God is more important than mere ritual observance.
And the whole relevant passage of which this is a part reads something like this.
It says, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
That's the passage.
So this concept of divination is linked to the idea of idolatry, of worshiping gods other than the God of Israel, and the idea that the passage is trying to get at is this notion of sort of trying to uncover the source of some misfortune and find a way of remedying that, either through atonement or sacrifice or some deed or whatever, In a way that bypasses the God of Israel, right?
That appeals to false gods or practices sort of outside the cult of Yahwistic worship and so forth, okay?
That's the context.
So, if it doesn't sound familiar, it's because it's just a quotation.
I'll read the King James Version again.
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
It's because when it's given like that, it's an archaic translation.
It's a very small part of a larger block of text, which is itself part of a much larger narrative unit, okay?
So, that's the background and the immediate context of the Bible verse, right?
But what I'm interested in, and you know this, that's all interesting, that's good, but that's not really the focus of what we're looking at.
What I'm interested in is the kind of usage that my client highlights.
And again, they're not the only one that have highlighted this.
I'm interested in how this verse is used.
Not just what it means sort of literally, or the historical context, or translational issues, or whatever, but how it is used, and how it's used in the here and now.
And as you know, if you listen to this series, that's always my interest, is what these practices, or phrases, or slogans, or doctrines, or whatever, what they do, how they are used in social life.
And in its use, I think the translation of divination as witchcraft is really significant.
So let's take a look at how the verse is used, at least in the kinds of instances that my client illustrates, instances that others have experienced, conversations I've had.
I have heard this verse cited in this way before.
Some of you, I think, might have experience with this as well, okay?
The first point to make is this, again, that as it's used this way, it's only a single verse.
It's actually just like one part of one verse and the rest of the context is ignored.
Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
That's not even the full verse.
It's like one of, I think, three clauses in the verse or something like that.
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So instead of being a judgment offered by God on the actions of King Saul of Israel, that's the context, it becomes a kind of pithy, standalone admonition that can be leveled at someone who is, quote, rebellious or disobedient.
So I think the obvious point is that when it's actually used, it becomes used in the context of applications related to discipline or correcting, typically children.
It becomes a Bible verse that can be used to bring people back in line.
Again, especially kids.
It's a Bible verse about the evils of rebellion, or rebelliousness, or disobedience.
Okay?
Okay.
Fine.
Good.
Whatever.
Why the focus on witchcraft?
That's really why we're here today.
That's why we're talking about this.
It's not going to surprise anybody that Bible verses can be used to tell people to be obedient.
I don't think anybody needs me to tell them that.
But why the focus on witchcraft?
And so why does that play into this?
And let me begin by saying, I don't know the full history of this.
I think I could go find out the full history, but that's...
That's not for this episode, and it's not really the interest here.
I don't know how the Hebrew word that's used in the passage, which is nakash, I don't know how it came to be translated as witchcraft in the English.
I don't know the full history of translation there.
I don't know if it goes back to, say, earlier Latin translations that maybe misinterpreted the word or used a Latin word that later becomes common for witchcraft in In English or something like that.
I don't know if it was chosen because it resonated more in the cultural context of King James's England, the context in which the King James Version that popularizes this was made.
I don't know if it's because divination could be viewed as a kind of enchantment, something that a witch does, an action that a witch might undertake.
I don't know exactly which of those it is.
And knowing that would be interesting, but the matter of the fact is that I kind of don't care, at least not in this moment.
Why?
Because what I'm more interested in is the kind of resonance or what we might think of as the sticking power of this translation.
In other words, it's fascinating to me that despite the fact that Witchcraft is not a very good translation of this word, That lots of modern translations don't use it.
I'm interested in the fact that that translation has still stuck, that it still comes through, that people still use the passage using witchcraft, that people have experiences encountering the passage using the language of witchcraft.
I'm interested in why it sticks for so many, as I say, who sort of learned or read or heard the passage in old King James Version Bibles.
I'm also interested in the sort of sticking power that it has for so many who've had this passage thrown at them, demanding obedience or compliance or labeling them as rebellious as a kind of rebuke.
I'm also interested in the more modern translations that have kept this word, that despite the fact that it's not a good translation, there are contemporary Bible translations that keep this.
And so whenever, and all of you who've listened to me, a lot of you I feel like have gotten to know me pretty well over the years doing the podcast, either this series or our weekly roundup or whatever it is.
You know that when I come to these kinds of questions, that's what I'm interested in.
So the question of like, why does a particular practice or phrase or translation persist even if there's like no evidence for it or there's no legitimate basis for it or there's obvious counter evidence, whatever it is.
I'm always interested in that.
Why does it persist?
Whether we're talking about a conspiracy theory, whether we're talking about a Bible interpretation, whether we're talking about a political position, here, whether we're talking about a particular phrasing of a Bible passage and the use that it has, I'm always interested in what it does for those who continue to use it or to practice it.
My presupposition is that if people continue to hold to this passage, to use this translation, despite the fact That it's not a great translation.
Get something out of that.
There's some reason.
And the question that I have is, what do people get from linking this command to obey with witchcraft?
What's the appeal of this translation?
Because you could still tell somebody that they need to be obedient and non-rebellious and use the language of divination, but it's the witchcraft phrase that sticks.
It's the witchcraft phrase that people are like, I remember my grandma would say that all the time when she was sort of setting me straight, or I remember my mom would say that, or I heard my grandma actually say that to my mom once at Christmas, or whatever it is.
That's what I'm interested in.
What do they get from this?
And I'm interested in people who use this verse now.
That's part of why I'm not as interested in the history of it, though I think it would feed into this.
I'm interested in what this passage does for people now.
And the first thing, maybe the most basic, is I think it's appealing to many.
I think it has the sticking power it does because it links the Hebrew Bible to centuries-old but still very much alive Euro-American conceptions of witchcraft and the occult.
And this is obviously where I think it links up with conservative Christian opposition to Halloween, the kind of stuff we talked about last episode.
And I can hear the person now, the person who wants to do the Harvest Festival or won't let their kid go trick-or-treating or Sort of a while back, but I remember all the controversies about Harry Potter and, you know, churches preaching against Harry Potter and things like this.
I can hear somebody saying, well, you know, there's nothing cute or harmless or fun about witchcraft or about dressing as a witch or pretending to be a witch or reading Harry Potter.
Those things aren't funny or cute.
It's real and the Bible prohibits it.
The Bible says witchcraft is bad, and this is not the only passage in the Bible where words that could be translated as witches or having to do with witches or witchcraft is used, but I can hear that statement.
I can hear it plain as day when somebody says that.
It wouldn't be in the Bible.
The Bible wouldn't say not to do it and wouldn't condemn it if it wasn't real.
So there's a sense in which the interpretation, that language, it makes the passage relevant.
All the fear and the cultural anxiety that a certain kind of Christian subculture feels about things like the occult or witchcraft or the increasing rejection of Christian religion or the adoption of neo-pagan practices or wicca practitioners or whatever, all of that fear and cultural anxiety, it makes the Bible relevant to those.
And I think part of that relevance is that the word witchcraft, it covers a broader range of activities than divination.
Divination is something that a witch might do, I guess, but witches can do other things.
And so I think it legitimizes that fear.
It gives voice to that fear.
And for those in a biblicist tradition, this is a term we've talked about before in this series.
I invite you to go back and take a listen to some other episodes that talk about the Bible and Bible-believing churches and so forth.
For them, that means the Bible has something to say about this.
And it's not just cultural anxiety they're feeling.
The reason they feel it is because God doesn't like witchcraft.
It's worth throwing out here, by the way, that whatever words can be translated as witches or witchcraft in the Bible, they're not going to line up well with the kind of traditional Euro-American folklore-ish conceptions of witchcraft that people have.
But that's kind of beside the point for how the text actually works.
So, I think that this translation sticks because it expresses and feeds into kind of deeper cultural and spiritual fears on the part of those who are drawn to it.
It feeds a kind of fantasy about witches and the occult, okay?
That's the first reason why I think it sticks.
But here's the second, and I think this is more significant, okay?
I think it sticks because it brings gender into the equation.
Now, there is nothing in the verse That's gendered on the surface of it.
Where the passage occurs in the Hebrew Bible, there's nothing specifically gendered about it, and it's even named at the practices of a male character.
But witches, as they operate within this kind of fantastical Euro-American tradition, are distinctly feminine.
And I think probably all of us are familiar with those who study the history of witchcraft, the history of things like the Salem Witch Trials and so forth, who will say and show us, I think very convincingly, that witchcraft, quote unquote, it was a code.
It was a cultural code.
It was a code for attacking women who were independent, women who practiced herb lore, women who challenged patriarchal traditional norms.
Women who challenged Christian teachings, women who were sexually active or involved with sex outside of traditional marriage patterns, or whatever.
And we can just, the list can go on and on and on.
The accusation of witchcraft has been used as a mechanism for maintaining a particular social order for decades, and specifically for keeping women in line within that social order.
And in its darkest times, that language of witchcraft has been used as an excuse to murder women who are out of line.
And yes, occasionally men, but overwhelmingly women.
And I think that this is the resonance that keeps the witchcraft translation alive and well.
I think it's not just a passage that is thrown at people to keep them in line, to get them to not be rebellious, to try to get them to be obedient.
It is a passage thrown at women and girls to keep them in line, and typically young women, girls, children, to try to shape them into a model that is acceptable within the kind of Christian context in which this language is used.
I think it expresses essentially the same anxieties about women and girls who are, quote, rebellious or disobedient, and I think especially when sexuality is in question, I think it expresses the same anxieties about those women that has been on display for centuries.
By linking disobedience or rebellion to witchcraft, the passage lends a special social force, a kind of intense social force, to efforts to bring wayward women back into line.
And I think that's why it has the sticking power.
I think that when we decode it, when we go just below the surface, we find that it is heavily gendered.
It reinforces a patriarchal order.
I think it is very specifically aimed at women.
I think it encodes all kinds of assumptions about what women are, what an obedient or non-rebellious or compliant woman is or ought to be and so forth.
And we could talk for a lot longer time than we have about that.
I also think that, you know, arguably, in kind of the cultural and theological history of the kind of Christianity this comes out of, there's almost no worse accusation that could be leveled against a woman than being a quote-unquote witch.
With the possible exception, I think, in the Bible of being labeled as a Jezebel, right?
And that's a topic for another time.
But it does all of this work.
I think that's the work that it does.
So we've got to wrap this up.
I've been talking for a while here.
But I think that, again, the phrase is this, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.
It turns out it is a verse that is heavily coded for gender.
And in its use, I think it aims to keep women and girls in line.
It aims to reinforce a certain conception of what femininity is, what women are supposed to be like, what it means to be obedient and compliant.
And I think all of that is encapsulated in this passage, and I think that that That is why this version, Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft, has this ongoing life that it does.
I think there might be exceptions to this, but if you find those church communities where the King James Version is still the version that's preferred, it's the only version that's allowed, if you talk to Christians of a certain generation where all the Bible verses that were learned were King James and so forth,
You are, almost without exception, going to find a highly patriarchal order that is based on a lot of very rigid, very fixed conceptions of gender and gender roles, and an order that levels all kinds of social sanctions against those, women in particular, who step outside of those roles.
So those are my thoughts on this notion of rebellion as it is as the sin of witchcraft.
As always, I welcome your thoughts, welcome your ideas.
Daniel Miller Swag, danielmillerswaj at gmail.com.
Please keep them coming.
Thoughts on this, thoughts on other topics, new ideas.
This is a series that is driven by you.
Such a privilege to do this, such a privilege to get to talk to you.
I always say, you know, I'm behind on the emails.
I am.
This is the part of the semester when I am the most swamped and I fall further and further behind.
But I'm constantly endeavoring to catch up.
Reach out to those of you that I'm able to reach out to.
And thank you and value you all so much.
So, continue to listen.
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New thoughts or ideas, let me have them.
Otherwise, thank you and please be well.
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