I love the Bible too much to want it required.
I love the Bible so much, I devoted years of my life to helping lead a Bible translation called The Voice. We didn’t create it to win arguments or score political points. We created it because we wanted more people to fall in love with Scripture—to encounter it as the beautiful, sweeping story of God.
So, you might assume I’d celebrate the recent decision to require Bible passages as part of the public school curriculum in Texas.
I don’t.
Not because I love the Bible less.
Because I love it too much.
Voluntary, not legislated
As a pastor and a Baylor University graduate, I find myself thinking about one of Baylor’s most celebrated alumni, George W. Truett.
Standing on the steps of the United States Capitol in 1920 before thousands of people, Truett declared there “must be no union between church and state.” He argued faith must always be voluntary and government should never establish or advance religion.
His conviction wasn’t rooted in fear of Christianity. It was rooted in confidence Christianity has never needed the power of the state.
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I believe he was right.
Public schools should be places where children of every faith—and of no faith—can learn together without the government favoring one religion over another. This isn’t hostility toward Christianity. It is one of America’s oldest and most cherished convictions.
One of the very first acts of the First Congress was proposing what became the First Amendment, ensuring the government would neither establish a religion nor prohibit its free exercise. Religious liberty wasn’t an afterthought. It was among our nation’s first priorities.
Long before the U.S. Constitution, Baptist pioneer Roger Williams argued the church is healthiest when it is free from the power of the state. He envisioned a “wall of separation” not to protect the government from the church, but to protect the church from the government.
Williams understood when government takes hold of religion, it does not strengthen faith. It weakens it. It distorts it.
But my deepest concern isn’t constitutional.
It’s theological.
A story, not a subject
God has never been interested in coerced love.
Throughout Scripture, God invites. God calls. God woos. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. He doesn’t kick it in.
Real faith cannot be legislated.
It cannot be assigned.
It cannot be graded.
For years, I’ve carried a concern that surprises people. Even in Christian schools, I’ve often been uneasy about making the Bible just another textbook. Unless it is taught by extraordinary teachers, the Book of Life too easily becomes another homework assignment.
I’ve watched students memorize verses for a test while quietly losing any desire to read those same verses once the test was over.
The Bible was never meant to become another subject to pass.
It was meant to become a story that captures our imagination and draws us toward the living God.
The government can require students to read the Bible.
It cannot invite them to love it.
That is the calling of parents.
That is the calling of pastors.
That is the calling of the church.
Love, not coercion
History has shown us people never come to Jesus because they were compelled by power. They come because they encounter extraordinary love embodied in ordinary people.
Christian nationalism misunderstands both America and Christianity.
America is strongest when every person is free to follow the dictates of conscience.
Christianity is strongest when Christians stop trying to wield the power of the state and instead embody the self-giving love of Jesus.
Jesus never said the world would recognize his followers because they passed the right legislation.
He said: “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know you belong to me” (John 13:34–35, The Voice).
That is still our calling.
Not coercion.
Not legislation.
Love.
The kingdom of God has never advanced at the point of a sword or the stroke of a governor’s pen. It has always advanced through people who looked so much like Jesus that others wanted to know him.
I’m praying that kind of love wins the day.
Chris Seay is the lead pastor of Ecclesia Houston. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
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