God Doesn’t Dwell in Things Made by Hands

God Doesn’t Dwell in Things Made by Hands August 28, 2013

Acts 7:48 literally says “the Most High does not dwell in that which is hand-made.” Often a word like “temples” is added to make the sense clearer. But the statement itself is broader, and was a typical term used to refer to idols.

The statement seems to me to apply as much to Bibles as to buildings and statues. Human beings thought the words, uttered them, and wrote them down. Human beings copied them, compiled them, and decided which ones would be considered Scripture and which would not.

If you think that God dwells in the Bible, then you are, ironically, ignoring one of the many things that is said in one of the writings that is included in that very Bible that you revere.

It seems that you have to choose between accepting what the Bible says, and revering it as somehow the special locus of God’s presence. For according to Acts 7:48, God does not dwell in things made by human hands. And there is no plausible way to argue that the Bible does not fit into that category.


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