Which came first–the chicken or the egg?

The second question is the emergent question regarding the Bible.

I must condense a lot of history and convergence, but here goes. In the era of the Protestant Reformation three realities converged to elevate the Book (the Bible) above the Person (the Christ). The three (and there are probably many more) factors were: 1) the abuses in the Church concerning salvation catalogued by Martin Luther which were a perverted departure from the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, 2) the “renaissance” in textual studies of ancient manuscripts, including biblical manuscripts( e.g., Erasmus’ work), and 3) the invention of the printing press enabling the dissemination of the Bible in “the language of the common people.” These three things congealed into the famous Reformation slogan sola scriptura!

This convergence, while necessary for the time, had a subtle, but detrimental impact: the common people began to have a relationship with a Book more than with the God of all life. Massacres over “doctrinal differences” swept Germany and France and Europe. A person’s different view on baptism or communion or the Holy Spirit was worthy of death. And you thanked God you weren’t a Jew during the wonderful “Protestant” Reformation. A human being made in the very ‘image of God’ was more disposable than the new and particular doctrinal expressions from God’s Word. The Roman Catholics could kill in the name of the Pope and the Protestants could kill in the name of sola scriptura. Dead is dead, however.

Protestants began to slice and dice the Bible in the interest of “rightly dividing the word of truth.” Wonderful and “scientific” principles of interpretation were birthed (thanks to the rennaisance interest in understanding ancient texts whether Plato or Paul, whether Homer or Hebrews).
Since the Bible is where we learn about the true and living God, the Protestants began to slice and dice God and other teachings into precise, “scientific” categories for theology. Why, “theology is the Queen of the…the…sciences!!” Pin the Bible to the mat like you’d pin a frog to dissect. No difference. And history has bourne the fruit of Protestant slicing and dicing. How many different “protestant” denominations within denominations and non-denominations are there? We are still trying to recover from the elevation of the “scientific method” in matters of God, the soul and the church.

Let me raise a hypothetical question. Now, this is just imaginary: would God—Father, Son, and Spirit—cease to exist if every Bible and every form of the Bible (tape, CD, chiselled stone, ancient manuscript, etc.) on the earth vanished? Think about it. Your thoughts and feelings will indicate whether or not you have a relationship with a Book or a Person. Could you maintain a vibrant and growing faith without written words? I’ve written a novel about this question titled Out of Print.

What did Christians do before the invention of the printing press and the availability of the Bible in the vernacular (the Bible was printed and read in Latin)? Were they less “spiritual” than us? Were churches less authentic? Was “real” Christianity impossible? In a culture flush with Bibles of every sort, we can hadly imagine not having personal access to the Word of God.

Jesus was “the Word made flesh.” Jesus was the Old Testament incarnate. Jesus was Torah, Psalms and Writings with eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouth. Is it possible to be so ravished by Jesus and his love, the Father and his grace, and the Spirit and his presence that we could thrive without the Bible? I’m asking this hypothetically to get us to think: Book or Person? Book or Person? Book or Person? Which takes priority?

Those who claim to honor the Bible really don’t. Imagine if a pastor got up each Sunday and just read the Bible for 30 minutes. No message; no commentary. Form a search committee quick! We tip our hand: our words about the Bible are valued more than the Bible. Yet, in some emergent churches that is exactly what is done: the Bible is read, listened to, obeyed without the prop of human commentary. Emergent folk live as if the Bible came from a Community (God Father, Son, and Spirit) through a community (Israel and church) for a community (God’s people and the world) and is best read, understood and obeyed in community. We don’t need our Protestant popes telling us what to believe. 

It’s easier (and safer) to have and maintain a relationship with the Book than with the Christ of the Book. We can open and close the Book at will. With the Person our will is severely challenged, and we USAmericans don’t like people blunting our wills. I can control the Book, but I can’t control the Christ. He reveals a wild God. He claims lordship. That’s why we rarely pray. I can read as long as I want, even fall asleep reading the Bible. But the moment I pray, I address a Person and that Person may just speak back. Have you ever contemplated Genesis 1, seeing what happens when God speaks? Imagine that Voice targeted at your life! “Lazarus, come forth!”

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