Religion for Sale…

Students of theology are taught two foundational approaches to reading scripture: exegesis and eisegesis.

Exegesis vs. Eisegesis:

Exegesis is the honest and scholarly interpretation of religious texts based on full context: historical, cultural, political, linguistic, and literary.

It asks:

What was happening in this time and place?

What would the original audience have understood?

What does the text actually say before we apply it to our lives?

What were the idioms and colloquialisms of the region and time period?

Eisegesis, on the other hand, is reading into the text, projecting personal, political, or economic agendas onto passages, often to justify beliefs or behaviors that the text itself never supported.

This distinction may seem academic, but its consequences are everywhere, especially in modern American Christianity. Without understanding what was going on at the time, and reading from the beginning and end of a passage for context, the intended meaning by the writers of the time is lost, and more often than not used to control.

I recently watched a great TikTok video on the subject. And the influencer used the perfect example from the Bible, and it went something like this…

If you’ve ever read the bible, you probably know about the story in the Gospel of Mark (and also Luke) of the poor widow who gives her last two coins at the temple.

In most sermons, this is presented as a praise of sacrificial giving, that we should be willing to give everything to the church, even when we have little.

But a closer exegetical reading tells a different story…

Jesus isn’t praising the woman; he’s condemning the system that allowed and encouraged her to give away her last means of survival while the religious and political elite grew rich and comfortable. You’d know this if you start at the beginning of the passage for context, where he condemns the church leaders for not caring for widows as the scriptures command.

Then he moves on to the widow and praises her because he condemns them for allowing this to happen… allowing her to give her last penny while they keep their pockets full.

It’s a moment of chastizement, not admiration.

But eisegesis flips the script. In the hands of prosperity preachers, megachurch pastors, and Christian nationalists, this becomes a moral directive to tithe beyond your means, or a tool for justifying a growing wealth gap under a religious banner.

It conveniently sidesteps Jesus’ warnings against hoarding wealth, exploiting the poor, or using religious power to serve the powerful.

This TikToker gave us a perfect example of how religion in the wrong hands creates more harm than good.

Nowhere is this more dangerous than in the current rise of Christian nationalism in American politics.

Politicians like House Speaker Mike Johnson frequently quote scripture to back their positions, but they’re not trained theologians or ministers. Their use of the Bible is not rooted in careful exegesis; it’s rooted in ideology.

These cherry-picked verses are used to mask harsh economic policies, regressive social agendas, and the erosion of democratic freedoms.

This isn’t religion, it’s branding.

It’s not faith, it’s messaging.

It’s not a moral compass, it’s manipulation.

In a hyper-capitalist structure where literally everything is for sale, even religion has become a commodity. Church becomes entertainment. Faith becomes politics. Scripture becomes a weapon. And those in power distort sacred texts not to liberate the oppressed, but to justify their own dominance.

So how can we protect ourselves from this distortion?

Ask questions. Demand context. Study the text deeply or find leaders who do. Make sure they’re teaching from an exegesis lens.

If a preacher or politician tells you what a verse means but doesn’t explain its historical and cultural background, Run!

Because when religion is sold like a product, truth becomes expendable.

And in the words of Jesus, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes… and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Mark 12:38–40)

Thoughts?