In Defense of Holy Scripture: The “Word of God” and other abuses of the Bible
In Defense of Holy Scripture:
The “Word of God” and other abuses of the Bible
The Bible is often called the “Word of God,” it has been called this throughout most of the history of Christianity. However, this is troubling, particularly with our modern reading of the Bible. Many Christians who espouse the view I am about to write about will disagree and say that it is an ancient reading. The reality is that a literalistic reading of the Bible is a modern phenomenon beginning as a response to the supposed attack on religion from science and philosophy. As science, particularly Darwin’s theory of evolution, became viewed as an attack on religion such greats as the Scofield Study Bible were published.
What I want to present is the danger of the modern literalistic reading in conjunction with the ideology of the Bible as the “Word of God.” Many people will question whether I take the Bible seriously as a book of faith. The answer is yes, absolutely. It is because of the seriousness of my approach to scripture that I find it absolutely necessary to combat this dangerous and detrimental view of the Bible.
Idolatry
What is the danger of understanding the Bible as the “Word of God?” Simply put the danger is the first abuse of the Bible, idolatry. No where in the Bible does the book make the claim of being the Word of God. I think that we can safely say that the Bible contains the words of God and words about God, but to say that the Bible is the “Word of God” is to commit heresy and idolatry.
The Word of God is Christ. We read this in the opening chapter of the Gospel of John, also known by the less romantic name, the Fourth Gospel. The Bible is not the Word of God chiefly because Christ alone can hold that title. Again, the Bible contains the words of and words about Christ, but the Bible does not contain Christ himself. I know that it seems to be a petty and picky difference, but it is important. Christ, Christ’s love for us is divine, the Bible is a book. While the Bible can relate to us stories of faith and stories of humanity’s relation with God, the Bible is not God nor the Son of God.
When we place any object, mundane, profane, or sacred in the place of God or co-equal with God we are committing the tried and true sin of idolatry. The Israelites, we read throughout the Hebrew Bible, were constantly falling prey to this particular sin. It is the sin of placing man-made things above God. When things created by humans become God then humans become greater than God.
Idolatry is the first abuse of the Bible in the modern era.
Religion Weekly Blog 
Interesting view. I have never really looked at it from that perspective (the bible not being the “word of god”). Another interesting debate I have always wondered about involving the Bible is the concept of fact or fiction. To perceive the Bible as direct fact causes all kinds of problems especially in terms of direct quotation. While perceiving it as fiction brings into doubt its reliability and authority.
I have always combated this argument by saying that the stories and lessons are what is important because the Bible is the “Word of God” and God wants us to understand the stories told within it. Within these stories are lessons we need to learn in order to be “good.” This is the case because stories withstand the test of time while lessons just written down do not.
What is your view on the entire fact vs fiction argument?
Nate, thank you for the question. In the coming days I will make an attempt at writing a response. If you are able to wait a week I can make it next week’s post. If you would desire it sooner and as soon as I have something written I’ll send it your way.
As a teaser, I think that the Bible is more complex than a division of Fact or Fiction, Truth or Myth. The nature of scripture is such that even the most concocted fictional accounts in the text are important and give us some sort of truths.