2007-05-09

Bibliolatry canard

When debating religious liberals (notice I'm not saying "liberal Christians"), you'll often have the claim of "bibliolatry" thrown up in your face if you provide Scriptural references for why you disagree with them.

I came across an interesting section of Deuteronomy that addresses the issue:
“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
Notice that the voice is not idolatrous - it's doing things the voice says not to do that ends in idolatry (see commands 1 & 2). Passing on to others what the voice has spoken is commended. Trying to create impressions of it is not.

We believe that Jesus is the Word of God, the rationalizing principle of the universe. Words help us re-member Jesus. "Bibliolatry" is simply a way to construct ones own Jesus - a Jesus who is accountable to us (what we can "know" and "historically reconstruct") instead of the other way around.

No comments: