{"id":27154,"date":"2014-11-15T10:32:23","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=27154"},"modified":"2014-11-15T10:32:23","modified_gmt":"2014-11-15T15:32:23","slug":"deifying-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/11\/deifying-the-bible.html","title":{"rendered":"Deifying the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In an article about 6 popular Christian sayings that aren\u2019t true<\/a>, David Schell points out the problems with saying that the Bible is the \u201cWord of God.\u201d He writes:<\/p>\n

Neither the Bible, nor the Nicene Creed, nor the Apostle\u2019s Creed says this. 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is inspired by God, but \u201cinspired\u201d \u2260 God\u2019s word, nor God\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

John 1 says, \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.\u201d So,\u00a0if\u00a0\u201cthe Bible is the world of God,\u201d but the word of God\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0God, then the Bible is God. But of course, John is talking about Jesus, who Christians have long believed to be both God\u2019s \u201cword\u201d and God himself.<\/p>\n

Jesus is the word of God, and Jesus is God. Scripture is neither.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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 \u2013 and I hope you will agree<\/a> it isn\u2019t \u2013 then it isn\u2019t the Word of God<\/a> either.<\/p>\n

Obviously many people who are not conservative Christians will not accept the premises. But that isn\u2019t the point. The point is that those who are most likely to say that the Bible is \u201cliterally\u201d the Word of God, are being inconsistent with\u00a0other beliefs\u00a0they hold.<\/p>\n

Does this logic work? Is the point persuasive? Why or why not?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an article about 6 popular Christian sayings that aren\u2019t true, David Schell points out the problems with saying that the Bible is the \u201cWord of God.\u201d He writes: Neither the Bible, nor the Nicene Creed, nor the Apostle\u2019s Creed says this. 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is inspired by God, but \u201cinspired\u201d \u2260 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":17130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,43],"tags":[1140,1163,4974,5787,13843],"class_list":["post-27154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-inerrancy","tag-bible","tag-bibliolatry","tag-idolatry","tag-john-11","tag-word-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\nDeifying the Bible<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"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." 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