This is just a thought I had a while back and I figured I would throw it out there and see if some people can help me fill it out a little more.
I want to preface this thread with where I am coming from with this thought. I can hopefully say that everyone agrees for the most part that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 It is how we come to know God and his ways. It is our Ketubah and our Lamp. I grew up being taught that you didn't even lay the Bible on the ground or set another book on top of it and I have the same respect for it now. I don't want anyone thinking I am downing the Bible. What I want to get at in this thread is, is it possible to worship the Bible instead of the God it is about and if so what does that look like in practice.
So to begin, can you make the Bible an Idol? My thoughts on this are "Yes" Have you ever ran across someone who knew the Bible inside and out yet something wasn't quite right? They could make the arguments and could play the part but they would cut down a fellow believer in a second. Someone with head knowledge but not relationship. In Jesus' time they were called Pharisees. They knew the Word but there was something missing. They knew about God, but they didn't know God. They could quote Moses but couldn't discern God walking among them. It seems to me that knowing God's Word does not equate to knowing God.
That brings me to what does it look like in practice... My thoughts on this take me back to the Pharisees. A religious spirit seems to me at least to be the fruit of Idolizing the Word. That means being able to quote scripture while attacking fellow believers, neglecting weightier matters, and the such would be signs. Maybe a person quick to use the Word as a Sword and not a Lamp would be a sign.
This isn't a completely formed thought that I am working with here. I have things coming to me as I write but I would like some input to help flesh it out a little more or maybe I am way off. I am in no way dogmatic about this.
I want to preface this thread with where I am coming from with this thought. I can hopefully say that everyone agrees for the most part that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 It is how we come to know God and his ways. It is our Ketubah and our Lamp. I grew up being taught that you didn't even lay the Bible on the ground or set another book on top of it and I have the same respect for it now. I don't want anyone thinking I am downing the Bible. What I want to get at in this thread is, is it possible to worship the Bible instead of the God it is about and if so what does that look like in practice.
So to begin, can you make the Bible an Idol? My thoughts on this are "Yes" Have you ever ran across someone who knew the Bible inside and out yet something wasn't quite right? They could make the arguments and could play the part but they would cut down a fellow believer in a second. Someone with head knowledge but not relationship. In Jesus' time they were called Pharisees. They knew the Word but there was something missing. They knew about God, but they didn't know God. They could quote Moses but couldn't discern God walking among them. It seems to me that knowing God's Word does not equate to knowing God.
That brings me to what does it look like in practice... My thoughts on this take me back to the Pharisees. A religious spirit seems to me at least to be the fruit of Idolizing the Word. That means being able to quote scripture while attacking fellow believers, neglecting weightier matters, and the such would be signs. Maybe a person quick to use the Word as a Sword and not a Lamp would be a sign.
This isn't a completely formed thought that I am working with here. I have things coming to me as I write but I would like some input to help flesh it out a little more or maybe I am way off. I am in no way dogmatic about this.