Twisting scripture

One of the things that really annoys me is when people take a passage from scripture and twist it to fit their meaning. For example, I got an email from an American friend with an article where one Christians describes why they wouldn't vote for Obama. Within the article was this quote:

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

The problem with this is that the passage is not addressing the type of king that is chosen over Israel. Rather, God is condemning them for wanting a king, when he was supposed to be the one ruling over them! But Israel instead decided that they wanted to be like the nations around them, and so God gives them a king but warns them of what life will be like under a king. Note that this applies to Saul, David, Solomon and thereafter.

Add this to the fact that this passage, in context, it about the leadership of God's people, and you should be able to see that God's people are not a nation anymore (not America!), but people from all nations who are a part of God's worldwide church.

All in all, we should pray for our leaders, whoever they might be. But twisting a passage of scripture in this way is not on in my mind.

Two other favourites:

1. "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" used to argue why smoking and tattoos are a sin.
2. My parents suggested that the "mark of the beast" passage from Revelation means that a one-world currency will hail the coming of the antichrist. We had a great discussion about that.

Any other twisting of scripture passages that you hear frequently?