SPEAKING THE TRUTH What?
Trash talk in the Bible
By Karl N. Jacobson
An article on trash talking in the Bible?
Has the editor of The Lutheran gone mad? Before you turn the page, hold tight and read on—trash talking comes right out of the Bible. Both Testaments are full of dif- ferent types of speech. There are prayers, poems and prophecies; proverbs to live by; and laws to live according to. There also is over- looked biblical speech that plays a vital role and ought not be dismissed. The words of the Bible aren’t just holy or simplistically “religious.” The word is much richer than this and is also earthy—sometimes shockingly so. There are “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs,” but there is also smack-talk or trash talk. Believe it or not, trash talking is hugely important, not just in par- ticular biblical narratives but for a fuller understanding of biblical theology. But let’s be clear, our defini- tion of trash talk in the Bible needs to be broadened. This isn’t simply the stuff of sports fans. Biblical trash talk can sound an awful lot like that (just ask Amos’ “cows of Bashan,” Amos 4:1), but is also far more profound.
Hurtful trash talk There are many cases in which one biblical figure talks trash to another. There is prideful, boasting foolish- ness, similar to what we hear daily. Then there’s the speech of the lead- ers and onlookers mocking Jesus at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:39-44). And the nasty speech of the wicked and the enemy in the Psalms (22:7-8; 137:3; 71:11; 109:6-19). A word of warning: this particular kind of trash talking might, in some cases, actu- ally be “of God.”
Often in the Bible the punish- ment of Israel at the hand of the Lord leads to Israel becoming a “taunt and a byword” (the book of Judges; Psalm 44:12-14). We should only rarely presume to speak in this manner ourselves, if ever. The one whose intentions God may use for good shouldn’t be the one found quoting
Broadly speaking, the Bible con- tains two kinds of trash talk: that which is intended to be hurtful, and that which is intended to speak truth.
Joseph (Genesis 50:20).
Truth-telling trash talk The second kind of trash talk, and the most common in the Bible, is truth-telling. The prophets were the great verbal-mudslinging heroes of the Bible. Micah, Habakkuk, Isaiah, even John the Baptist pulled no punches when they spoke to the powers that be.
‘Go to God and acquire grace for yourself.
If you want to make me righteous, I tell you:
Physician heal yourself.’ — Martin Luther
trash-talking the devil Jacobson is assistant professor of religion at Augsburg College, Minneapolis.
Along with oracles of judgment and salvation, the prophets spoke oracles of smack; the truth spoken loudly, if not “in love” (Ephesians 4:15 and taunt songs of Micah 2, Habakkuk 2 and Isaiah 14). Alongside prophetic derision stands the trash talk of unbelief, of doubts that are honestly spoken, voic- ing truthfully the reality of our own pain. Nathanael wondered if anything good could come out of Nazareth. Thomas wondered if the other dis- ciples had lost their minds. Can God heal the pain of death and separation? How does faith make sense in the face of cancer, malaria or AIDS? Doubt— genuine, faithful doubt— may well express itself in tones of sarcasm and even contempt. But this doesn’t make it untrue or unfaithful. And it is to this kind of need that the ultimate in trash talk, the street corner champion of verbal sparring, the speaking of God’s truth to a world in pain, is uttered. You may never have thought of gospel truth-
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