(OPINION) Famous author Joyce Carol Oates has faced an onslaught of criticism in recent days after posting on social media her belief the Bible is “a work of fiction.”
“The bible, as you call it, is a work of fiction; or rather, an anthology of fictions,” Oates wrote in a Jan. 11 X post. “It is not ‘the’ bible for much of the world’s population & those who claim it as their own select those verses that appeal to them while ignoring other verses. Fertile ground for hypocrisy.”
Before we get into the reaction to this post, it’s important to note the impetus for these comments, which appear to be part of a reaction to a separate statement on X originating from writer Matthew Sitman.
Sitman commented about the mistreatment of an inmate in Alabama and then more generally called out the handling of prisoners, calling the “treatment of incarcerated people” an “abomination.”
the bible, as you call it, is a work of fiction; or rather, an anthology of fictions. it is not "the" bible for much of the world's population & those who claim it as their own select those verses that appeal to them while ignoring other verses. fertile ground for hypocrisy. https://t.co/fWT8lC4ipM
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) January 12, 2024
He then followed up with a separate message on X, writing, “Widows, orphans, prisoners — no Christian can, without doing great violence to Scripture, get around the extremely clear obligations we have to such people.”
That’s when Oates offered an initial response that seemed to question these sentiments.
“‘Widows, orphans, prisoners’ — really, these entirely disparate categories have something in common?” she questioned, with Sitman’s friend and podcast co-host Sam Adler-Bell responding, “Read a book (the bible).”
And that’s when Oates seemed to double down by calling the Bible “fiction.”
The reactions were unsurprisingly swift. While some sympathized and agreed, others ranged from heartbroken to frustrated over her take, pondering how she could get Scripture so profoundly wrong.
“I’m going to pray for your soul tonight,” one X user wrote. Christian author Robert Clifton Robinson offered a more robust reply, noting he was once a skeptic who eventually came to faith.
