Some Protestant Christian Bibles show the words of Jesus printed in red. Supposedly, these red-letter Bibles let readers know exactly the words uttered by Jesus during his three year ministry in first century Palestine. The problem, of course, is that this claim is not true.
The gospels were written by unknown authors decades after the death of Jesus. At best, the gospels reflect the oral traditions that were circulating in the first century. Are the words in red actually the words of Jesus? Not likely. At best, they could be an approximation of what Christ said. Jesus never wrote anything down, nor did anyone make written reports of his words. It would have been nice if someone had recorded or videotaped Jesus. That way we would know exactly what he said. Instead, all we have are third party accounts of what a Jewish apocalyptic preacher supposedly said during his public ministry.
As an Evangelical who believed in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, I thought that Jesus uttered every word printed in red. That said, I didn’t elevate the red words above other words in the Bible. My logic was simple: God wrote every word in the Bible. Jesus is God. Jesus authored (and spoke) every word, and not just the ones recorded in red.
Some Evangelicals call themselves “Red Letter Christians.” Uncomfortable with the increasing politicization of Evangelicalism, these well-meaning believers focus on Jesus’ words. While I understand their motivations, I find their approach to the Bible to be intellectually lacking.
Were you ever a Red Letter Christian? Please share your experiences in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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