The Deity Encapsulation Service...

I found myself thinking last night about how so many people treat the Bible as a Deity encapsulation service. I have been reading recently about how some people when they give birth like to eat the placenta…fried, put in a smoothie etc. Then someone said that there was such a thing as a placental encapsulation service. 

Eh?? 

Apparently you can send your placenta off and have it dried and put in capsules to make something which seems very gross into something more palatable. For the record I have no intention of doing either of these things but it did get me thinking about how we relate to the Bible.

We treat it like one of these encapsulation services, we take the concept of God and decide that anything and everything that can be known or is important about God can be found in one book. We encapsulate the idea of God so that the concept of God becomes more palatable, easier to swallow. And we have to hand every answer we ever wanted in life, no need to look elsewhere… isn't that a comforting thought??

Well to honest for me, no it isn't.  It is a frightening thought!! The amount of times I hear people of faith starting and ending an argument with the words, “it says in the Bible”

There is NO argument that can be made like that, that cannot easily be refuted using the Bible itself, for every verse you take in isolation, there is another that will contradict it somewhere.

But even more frightening to me is that when we do this we end up reducing God to a few pieces of paper. And a living, breathing, transforming relationship with God becomes nothing more than academic. 

I watched a video the other week by the wonderful Rob Bell and it really struck me, he talked about how we have lost the awe and wonder when it comes to God. How God calls us to see the world in a childlike, not childish, fashion.

He’s right!! PUT YOUR BIBLE DOWN!! Not because it isn't important, it is, but because it is only a starting point, it is the place where we are taught how to look for God, how to begin a relationship with God, how to see the world through God’s eyes. We learn all that from the Bible. Jesus taught his disciples all this, but he didn't then say, “Go from here and write down word for word what I have said and done so that everyone will think I am awesome and worship me!!” He said, “Go from from here and live what I have told you, I have taught you a new way, now go and live it so others can learn it!” (Not a direct quote, my own interpretation)

But this is the thing…the Bible is not the God encapsulation service, if it were then there would be no Holy Spirit, or continuing relationship with God. There would be no need for prayer, or community, we could just continue in life with our little book and be done with it.

Thankfully there is nothing, not a library of books or a million great thinkers that can hold or fully capture our God and the endless possibilities for transformation, challenge or living fully as a person of faith, and for that I thank God every day.

Next time you open your mouth to say, “But the Bible tells me so” Close your mouth again and think…Does my experience of God in my life tell me this? Have the lives of those wonderful people of faith I share a community with shown me/taught me this? And if the answer is yes, then say it! Until then enjoy exploring life with God like a child, with awe and wonder and let yourself get a little challenged and excited about the God who is not always an easy pill to swallow!!