Have you ever heard of a person going to a buffet? I am sure you have. It’s a term we commonly use in the United States to refer to a large collection of food, both hot and cold, where you can pick and choose any number of items. Like a food buffet, I am metaphorically applying the term “buffet” here as the background for this writing. The analogy is obvious: a “Buffet Christian” seeks only the most palatable food for themselves from the biblical menu. The phrase describes how many people interpret the Bible and decide what to believe and what not to believe. When driving into the logic of someone using this method, they typically assume that the Bible is historically wrong, largely written by man, and poetic. They further state that, at the time the Bible was written, they lacked the scientific evidence we now have.
This skepticism toward biblical history is most frequently seen, all too often, with the topic of evolution. Which, as you know, evolution is not found in the Bible in the Book of Genesis. The Genesis account simply says that God spoke much of existence into reality. Saying, for instance, in Genesis 1:3, ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ The reason evolution theory is not found in the Bible is because it is completely unfounded and in no way compatible with the truth of God’s Word.
This skepticism toward biblical history is most frequently seen, all too often, with the topic of evolution. Which, as you know, evolution is not found in the Bible in the Book of Genesis. The Genesis account simply says that God spoke much of existence into reality. Saying, for instance, in Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” The reason evolution theory is not found in the Bible is because it is completely unfounded and in no way compatible with the truth of God’s Word. And I think where people run with the evolution claim largely extends from a place of pride where they were not privy to key Divine insights into the biblical narrative of creation, and therefore they postulate it is too unexplainable. People who use “Buffet Christianity” place their faith in man’s word rather than God’s Word. They examine key topics like evolution and falsely believe that people first emerged from bacteria. Then they became fish that suddenly transitioned into walking fish. These walking fish beings eventually became monkeys, then lastly people. Mind you, there is no evidence to support these claims other than man-made artifacts in museums that have only existed since the 1800s, when modern sculpture techniques were applied to deformed human remains to give the credibility needed to justify this theory. It is an absolutely self-centered perspective. Again, at its core, “Buffet Christianity” asserts that because modern journalism was not present at the time God spoke life into existence, topics like evolution must be true. This errant pathway wrongfully prescribes that God was distant and not involved in the process of creation and, importantly, the transcribing of these events in the writing, translating, and production of Bibles throughout history.
When we reduce God’s sovereignty down to speculation, we veer off the narrow path and into dangerous theological heresy, which is part of the wide road. Could you imagine saying to God, ‘I wasn’t there at creation and therefore I do not know how each molecule was moved into place at the beginning of time, so I will make my own beliefs from here – thank you’. The audacity of demanding from God is incredulous. Or in a similar instance, to disagree with the commentary Job had with God and say it was a bizarre hallucination. Taking the stance that at the time the historical instances of Job interacting with God were merely poetic and not historical. In fact, the phrase often heard in this argument is “Oh, the bible was written poetically.” What? All of the scripture is poetry? I think not.
Stripping Scripture of its historical reality begs a much deeper question about those that hold this view. If someone views the Bible as entirely symbolic, we must fundamentally question whether they have truly received salvation. We cannot simply assume that everyone who uses the label “Christian” has confessed with their mouth and believed in their heart that Jesus is Lord. This is the fundamental step necessary for salvation which is found in Romans 10:9. Without a firm foundation in biblical truth, it could be easy for someone to view the historical life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as just another piece of fiction or poetry.
This compromise highlights an emerging reality in the church: we can no longer assume that everyone reads, interprets, and believes that the Bible is the entirely true, inerrant Word of God. While I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, many who sit in church pews may not. They might accept parts of the New Testament while completely rejecting the inerrancy of the Old Testament. But where does the poetry end and the realism begin? We would never treat the U.S. Constitution or state laws this way—picking and choosing which public drunkenness law to follow and ignoring a parking ticket because we decided the parking law was “poetic.” This slippery slope is exhaustive, and the people who walk it are more prevalent than you think. If you engage them in conversation and declare that you believe the Bible is true and complete, they may very well make fun of you. But always remember what Romans 3:4 says: “Let God be true, and every man a liar.”
"Let God be true, and every man a liar.”
In conclusion, “Buffet Christianity” is a selective Bible-believing approach where individuals pick and choose which parts of the Bible they will believe are true while completely dismissing the rest as unscientific or poetic language not intended to be real history. The mindset of someone choosing which scripture is true and which is false often manifests as a rejection of the biblical creation narrative, taking the side of evolutionary theories, and this compromise usually extends to other areas of the Bible that the Buffet Christian will select from. Ultimately, reducing the Bible down to what is believable is dangerous and calls into question the salvation of those who practice it.
On a challenging note, how do you stand on this topic? Do you think my perspective is outdated and part of the archaic past? Let me know below by dropping me a line. Thanks!
