Constitution reads like … the Bible

The eruption of interpretations of the U.S. Supreme Court’s two blockbuster rulings this week brings to mind a thought about two quite famous pieces of writing.

The U.S. Constitution and the Bible have something in common. You can take from either document what you want to take from them.

The court affirmed the Affordable Care Act and gay marriage. It upheld the federal subsidies critical to the ACA and it declared that gay couples can marry legally anywhere in the United States.

“Strict constructionists” have declared that the court overstepped in both rulings. More liberal thinkers say the court ruled correctly.

It reminds a bit of the debate over Scripture between the fundamentalists and those who view the Bible a bit more, um, interpretatively.

You can read both documents in accordance with your own view of the law or of your own faith.

Furthermore, you can argue that your version of the truth is correct and the other side is wrong. How many times have you had that discussion about the Bible? I’ve had it more than a few times over many years.

I am guessing we’re entering a new phase of constitutional interpretation that will be just as fierce.