Above Rubies Part 8: Mishandling Scripture
- mercynotsacrifice
- Feb 21, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 23, 2020
Problem #8: Mishandling Scripture
As we’ve already seen in the past posts in this series, if you pay attention to Nancy’s use of Scripture, you’ll notice a few different things. Instead of exegesis, she’s known to practice eisegesis, or “proof texting” and cherry picking, looking for verses that support her point of view instead of forming her view off the passages and the entirety of Scripture. Making her point is more important to her than textual integrity. For example, she frequently refers to Hosea 9:11 (it is mentioned in 14 different posts on the website alone) to make the point that God considers conception and fertility to be the “glory” of the nation:
“As Christians in the last few decades have decided to have fewer children, they have limited the power of God on earth. God's plan is to fill the earth with His glory. God calls the increase of children our ‘glory.’ (Hosea 9:11).”
“The inner sanctuary of our home is also our glory. It is our sphere of fruitfulness. It is where we yield our greatest power. It is where we fulfill our highest destiny of raising godly children for His glory. When we forsake the heart of our home, we say goodbye to fruitfulness. Most mothers who choose a career will end up limiting their family. We leave behind our glory. In Hosea 9:11 God calls conception, pregnancy, and birth the 'glory’ of the nation.”
“Let’s read it in Hosea 9:11 RSV: ‘Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird – no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!’ God looks upon motherhood and the bringing forth of children as a glory. He told Ephraim they would have no more conception, no more pregnancy, and no more births. This was not only Israeli’s glory, but God’s glory.”
However, other verses in the book give some crucial context. Hosea is describing God’s judgement (and forgiveness) of Israel, or Ephraim, for their unfaithfulness to him. In addition to worshipping Baal, they also had been worshipping their fruitfulness. Their “glory” was an idolatrous glory, elevated above its proper place and above God. Matthew Henry's Commentary says: “They dishonoured God with that which was their honour… It was their honour that they were increased in number…. Worldly glory is glory that will fly away; but those that have their God their glory have in him an unfading everlasting glory”. “The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame” (Hosea 4:6-7). “Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars” (Hosea 10:1-2).
The use of Hosea 9:11 is a huge part of Nancy’s Quiverfull doctrine. A lot hinges on it, or must, if she uses it so often. Yet its real meaning is almost prophetic — like Israel, those in fundamentalism have taken something that was meant to be good and made an ugly idol out of it. Now let's pretend for a moment that fertility and conception is truly a worthwhile glory. Why does that mean we then should pursue it even to excess? It is actually accurate to say that the Bible calls a woman's hair her glory (1 Corinthians 11:15), yet most Quiverfull women would not object to the management of its length.
As I read so much of Above Rubies material to prepare this series, I found that the above example is the norm, not the exception. If you continue to read anything she writes, I strongly recommend that you test Nancy’s Bible interpretations by looking up the passage yourself.
Above Rubies is patriarchal, Quiverfull, legalist, nationalist, dominionist, and fundamentalist. These doctrines would not exist if their creators were satisfied with Scripture as it is, sufficient and complete. Nancy Campbell has built a globally reaching influence on extra-biblical premises and unfortunately, that seems to be why she is successful.
The magazine’s readers often say things like this:
"Your magazines are my second Bible. My husband is also very blessed with everything I share with him.”
"I keep an issue of Above Rubies in the car at all times and even read while waiting for something else. I like to leave my extra issues in doctors and dentists' offices and pray it blesses some weary mom who picks it up."
"I love your magazine so much. I tell all my mama friends that it is the most wisdom you can get from any literature next to The Bible."
Nancy encourages:
“Dear wives and mothers, don’t use your Facebook for the mundane. Use it to proclaim God’s truth. To write it. Not only to your Christian friends, but the Bible says, “to the heathen.” If you can’t think what to write yourself, share with all your friends the posts I write to you each day. Scroll down this Facebook and check some posts that are powerful to you and share them with your friends too. TAKE ABOVE RUBIES MAGAZINES with you wherever you go and share them with mothers you meet at the supermarket, etc. Leave them in waiting rooms. Place them in baby changing tables in restrooms. Or, think of all the people you know in your city and across the nation. EMAIL THEIR NAMES AND ADDRESSES TO ME at nancy@aboverubies.org and I’ll be happy to send a magazine to them. Together, we can get the message out! Psalm 60:4 reminds us that God has given a banner of truth to us. He wants us to fly it high. A banner is never to be hidden. It is to be displayed. I can’t do this alone. Will you help me? We need to get Above Rubies out to thousands and thousands more families who have never heard of it. Every mother in the home needs this encouragement. Millions of mothers need wooing back into the home. Back to where they belong. Back to their children. IT’S TIME TO LIFT UP THE BANNER! WAVE THE FLAG OF GOD’S TRUTH FOR BIBLICAL MARRIAGE AND FAMILY. TIME TO PUT AWAY ALL FEARS AND FEAR GOD ONLY.”
God’s banner of truth, the one that we should be proclaiming wherever we go, would be the gospel, right? Not according to Above Rubies, as so well summarized in the quote above.
Scripture tells us to do opposite of what Nancy says in the above instance. “They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach” (Titus 1:11). I wrote this series because for years I felt burdened and troubled by the propagation I saw of something so dishonest and harmful. The next time you come across Above Rubies’ books, magazines, cds, study guides, or Facebook posts, please think twice before you believe anything they say, and please remember you have a choice to obscure Nancy’s banner and instead choose what Christ wants us to be identified by: freedom, grace, and love.
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