In an article about 6 popular Christian sayings that aren’t true, David Schell points out the problems with saying that the Bible is the “Word of God.” He writes:
Neither the Bible, nor the Nicene Creed, nor the Apostle’s Creed says this. 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is inspired by God, but “inspired” ≠ God’s word, nor God’s words.
John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” So, if “the Bible is the world of God,” but the word of God is God, then the Bible is God. But of course, John is talking about Jesus, who Christians have long believed to be both God’s “word” and God himself.
Jesus is the word of God, and Jesus is God. Scripture is neither.
It seems quite simple. Conservative Christians (not to mention many others) accept as authoritative and true the equation of the Word of God with God that is made in John 1:1. If the Bible is the Word of God, then the Bible is God. If the Bible is not God – and I hope you will agree it isn’t – then it isn’t the Word of God either.
Obviously many people who are not conservative Christians will not accept the premises. But that isn’t the point. The point is that those who are most likely to say that the Bible is “literally” the Word of God, are being inconsistent with other beliefs they hold.
Does this logic work? Is the point persuasive? Why or why not?
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