Man is Not Made for the Bible
Let me begin by sharing a poem that borders on the heretical:
A candle giving advice to the sun can
make the sun smile because of the flame’s
remarkable innocence.
Maybe I should be careful about saying,
something like this, but every holy book…
Lifts the corners of my mouth, and even
makes me giggle a bit.[1]
To his credit, the author acknowledges that saying something like this takes some daring, and that he ought to be careful. Is it safe to compare holy Scripture to a mere candle while we, the readers of that holy book, supposedly shine like the Sun? Is there really more light within us than upon the sacred page?
These are questions worth considering. However, I can’t help but wonder if this poem is on to something, namely, that there is a tendency, especially among the deeply religious, to hold a particular collection of texts as more sacred than the human beings those texts were written to serve.
This kind of twisted relationship with Scripture was perfectly captured in a now viral social media post made by a woman identified only as “Beverly.” She wrote:
“My sister-in-law died in a fire, her Bible was beside her on a stand, not a burn mark on the Bible… awesome… miracle from God…”
Though the dark irony of her post seems lost on Beverly herself, it wasn’t by those who have since read her comment. What kind of God chooses to save His holy book rather than a human life?
As morbidly absurd as Beverly’s comment can seem, it reflects a common religious impulse that should be resisted. We must not believe that “protecting” the sacredness of our holy book is a higher priority than honoring the sacredness of a human life. Some want to behave as if we are the candle and Scripture is the Sun.
This impulse can be seen in every instance where the authority of Scripture is imposed on people “for their own good.” In the name of preserving the “authority” of scripture, we create spiritual ecosystems where outward obedience is preferred to the genuine conversion of the will. Where church discipline is a lazy and impatient substitute for wise pastoral care. Where relationships are sacrificed on the altar of stubborn conviction.
The human cost of this kind of relationship with the Bible is high, not least because it violates the human soul in such a way as to make faith nearly impossible.
I know of ministers who have lost employment because their spouse was not baptized in a method recognized by their congregation. The repugnance of this kind of spiritual malpractice ought to be obvious. If the manner of baptism is really a matter of deep conscience to the church’s leadership, why would they rob one of their members of the possibility of arriving at that conviction freely and without coercion?
Such a stance preserves the illusion of scriptural authority at the cost of authentic human conversion. The attempt to enforce strict obedience to Scripture pretends to honor the absolute authority of Scripture but, in fact, prevents Scripture from performing its essential task: to usher human beings into the life of God. Instead, we suffer from a relationship with Scripture that diminishes our humanity rather than expanding or redeeming it.
Surely, this is contrary to the will of God! To paraphrase Jesus’ teaching on the practice of Sabbath (Mark 2:27): “The Bible was made for man, not man for the Bible.”
All of that being said, I whole-heartedly affirm that honoring the authority of Scripture is essential to any life that can be rightly called “Christian.”
But what does it mean for the Bible to be authoritative?
In one sense, the Bible has no actual authority of its own. If what we mean by “authority” is the ability to reward obedience and punish disobedience, then the Bible is without authority. It cannot enforce itself. This is why, I imagine, some people volunteer to do that enforcing themselves!
To ensure the authority of Scripture, some religious leaders designate themselves as its deputies. They imagine the office of priest or pastor as the executive branch of God’s Kingdom, empowered to enforce the legislative will of God articulated in Scripture.
And yet, Scripture can be authoritative without exercising that kind of authority. Indeed, if Scripture is the Word of God, then it must exercise a wholly different kind of authority.
As the written Word of God, the authority of Scripture ought to mirror the authority of the Word made flesh:
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matt. 7:28-29).
We should not miss the irony here. It was precisely the teachers of the law who held some level of formal authority—the kind of authority that can indeed enforce itself. But here, at the close of the Sermon on the Mount, we are told that it is not they but Jesus, the rogue prophet, who teaches with authority.
This is the kind of authority we speak of when we call someone the leading authority on economic policy or molecular biology. It is not an authority that is derived by the ability to enforce a particular perspective, but an authority that comes from the sheer weight of their expertise. They are to be believed because they know their subject in the most intimate and thorough way possible.
And it is this kind of authority, and only this one, that Scripture possesses. It speaks a word that we simply cannot ignore if we want to know and love God.
For those of us who have been entrusted with the task of preaching this authoritative set of texts, we must preach with this same kind of authority. Not as those tasked with enforcing the authority of the Bible, but as those who attempt to faithfully give voice to the Word that captivates the human soul.
It is the task of the preacher not just to ensure that the Bible exercises authority, but that it exercises the right kind of authority in the lives of those gathered within the hearing of the Word. We must resist the temptation to preach in such a way that asserts Scriptural authority over the congregation. Instead, we should endeavor to speak in such a way that frees them to receive the authority of the Word with delight and amazement.
In our churches, may Christ still speak with an authority that is not like the teachers of the law.
1. Ladinsky, Daniel. “Every Holy Book.” In A Year with Hafiz: Daily Contemplations. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2011.
