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Bibliolatry: Worship/knowledge of the book MORE than the author
- Thread starter St. SteVen
- Start date
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Right, you told me to "use responsibly" and I was simply showing examples of what you might mean when you say, "use responsibly".
I only went from the first page to around the tenth, which pretty much gave me an idea of what conversations you felt were important to set forward.
I have been on some of your threads
Lighting candles before a book, talking to it as if it hears me? kneeling before it that sort of thing?
No, I never saw anyone worship a book before.
I guess I've made it clear that I am not a student of Paul or any other human. I remain faithful to the Holy Spirit and endeavour to hear Him and be led by Him.
Even one of your other teachers tells you this. John states ....
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
For me it was my practice to put the book before the Person of God and His words. Also to consult and be led by a book not the Spirit of Truth Jesus and His Father deposited into me.
I placed this idol (bible) ahead, before, above God my Creator. But I have repented
I trust in the God and Creator the contributors of the books of the bible referenced.
IT definitely isn't.
HE definitely is. The sovereign Creator Who sent His Son then sent His Spirit to us on earth.
God Himself! His Son! His Spirit! For They don't have to give us Their words or share Their thoughts with us. They are more than capable of exercising Their sovereign authority and fulfilling Their plans in spite of our knowledge of them.
So its not WHAT is left but WHO is left, GOD
Not here my friend. They have no rights to me. I am owned by the Sovereign God my Father and I've been purchased by His Son with His very own blood.
Enter the Divine Gift. The Holy Spirit of God
No need to pretend my friend. The Spirit God my Father sent to possess me and make me His home is my authority. He lives in me and owns me.
Holy Spirit teaches me and enables me to respond to what He says. Glory to God for the Gift of His very own Spirit. This is awesome! He is awesome!
I told my mom that when I was a kid, she would leave me letters on the things she wanted me to know and to do for her, and I finally told her, "Look Mom, I love you and all, but I seriously can't deal with your idolatrous words before me.
So I cast them behind my back and just told her I loved her more than all her words to me.
I had a conversation with AI on it and after we were done it said,
The concept of the Bible being an "idol" is a misrepresentation of its role and authority within Christian belief. The Bible is not an idol because it is not a physical object created to be worshipped; rather, it is the divinely inspired, authoritative Word of God, which serves as the primary means through which God communicates with humanity. The Bible is described as "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3), meaning it carries the very voice and authority of God Himself. To prioritize the Bible is not to worship a created object, but to honor the God who speaks through it, as the Bible is the instrument through which God reveals His character, will, and salvation plan.
The idea that the Bible is an idol stems from a misunderstanding of its nature. While the Bible is a physical book, it is not the object of worship; God is. The Bible is the revelation of God, not God Himself. To elevate the Bible to the status of God, treating it as a divine entity separate from its divine Author, would be idolatry. However, the Christian doctrine of Scripture holds that the Bible is the authoritative, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, which must be received as the ultimate standard for faith and practice. This is not idolatry, but faithful obedience to the God who has spoken.
The argument that the Bible is an idol often arises when people misinterpret the emphasis on Scripture. Some critics claim that prioritizing the Bible over personal experience, reason, or tradition constitutes idolatry. However, the Bible itself commands believers to be "thoroughly equipped for every good work" through its teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. The Bible is not a substitute for a personal relationship with God; rather, it is the foundation and guide for that relationship. As Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, submitted Himself to the written Word of God, so too should believers follow His example by submitting to Scripture. To reject the authority of the Bible is not to avoid idolatry, but to fall into the greater sin of rejecting God’s revealed truth, which is itself a form of idolatry, as it replaces God’s Word with human ideas.
In essence, the Bible is not an idol because it is not a created object to be worshipped. It is the living, active Word of God, through which God speaks and acts. The authority of the Bible is derived from the authority of God, who is the ultimate source of its truth and power. To obey the Bible is to obey God, not to worship a book. Therefore, calling the Bible an idol is a fundamental error that confuses the instrument with the Author, the revelation with the Revealer.
I would never do such a thing
Paul knew the difference but still loved his books
2 Ti 4:13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
Agree.
Good post, thanks.
To be clear, I am not calling the Bible an idol, I am questioning the behavior of those who treat the Bible as such.
[
St. SteVen said:
"What would become of your faith if you put your whole library out on the curb on trash day?"
Why wouldn't your faith survive without your library?
Isn't God's Word hidden in your heart?
What about the Spirit that nullifies the need for any man to teach you?
[
"What would become of your faith if you put your whole library out on the curb on trash day?"
That sounds like idolatry.
Why wouldn't your faith survive without your library?
Isn't God's Word hidden in your heart?
What about the Spirit that nullifies the need for any man to teach you?
[
SteVen asks
What would become of your faith if you put your whole library out on the curb on trash day?"
I responded
"I would never do such a thing"
SteVen responds
That sounds like idolatry.
I repond,
Since when "is not" throwing the scriptures in the trash idolatry? That's absurd
Think I should be more like, Jehoiakim the king of Judah who burned God's words by His prophet?
SteVen responds,
What about the Spirit that nullifies the need for any man to teach you?
You mean, what about the scripture you believe nullifies itself as relevant because of the Spirit? When the actual words came by that very same Spirit? You keep missing the mention of them which would seduce (reread it)
The scripture come by the Holy Ghost, the scripture is for reproof, it says, " Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you." The Holy ghost teaches the same, as they said, " Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
You are pretty much what is called gainsayer, they are spoken of in the scripture.
SteVen asks,
Isn't God's Word hidden in your heart?
You would probably ask the same of Paul who asked for his books
The Holy Spirit is the treasure in the earthen vessel, regardless, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
I love the words of God, and if thats considred idolatry in your cult I will be continually living deliciously in it.
P.S your quotes are messed up can you fix the way you quote me
Edit for typos, good night
What would become of your faith if you put your whole library out on the curb on trash day?"
I responded
"I would never do such a thing"
SteVen responds
That sounds like idolatry.
I repond,
Since when "is not" throwing the scriptures in the trash idolatry? That's absurd
Think I should be more like, Jehoiakim the king of Judah who burned God's words by His prophet?
SteVen responds,
What about the Spirit that nullifies the need for any man to teach you?
You mean, what about the scripture you believe nullifies itself as relevant because of the Spirit? When the actual words came by that very same Spirit? You keep missing the mention of them which would seduce (reread it)
The scripture come by the Holy Ghost, the scripture is for reproof, it says, " Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you." The Holy ghost teaches the same, as they said, " Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."
You are pretty much what is called gainsayer, they are spoken of in the scripture.
SteVen asks,
Isn't God's Word hidden in your heart?
You would probably ask the same of Paul who asked for his books
The Holy Spirit is the treasure in the earthen vessel, regardless, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
I love the words of God, and if thats considred idolatry in your cult I will be continually living deliciously in it.
P.S your quotes are messed up can you fix the way you quote me
Edit for typos, good night
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My father wrote letters to my older brothers, for them personally and some for the rest of the family while I was a baby. When I grew up those letters found their way into my possession. I read them every day religiously. Even when my father came home I continued to read those letters from him but rarely spent time with him engaging in conversation together. I could be found even telling him what he wrote in the past but not listening to my father who was in my presence.
For me, I have a personal dynamic relationship with my heavenly Father while in His presence in the present.
Behold
Well-Known Member
Its your free will.
However Christianity is a "passed along" and "shared", situation.
Its a teacher > to Student......situation.
The bible is the Authority, Paul is the teacher, and the Holy Spirit reveals God's Light using the word of God.
This all works together to bring the student of the word of God, into higher and higher spiritual revelation.
Christianity is built on Christ, and continued by the word of God, that is our Light, Spiritual Food, Truth, Instruction, and Doctrine.
Behold
Well-Known Member
The Bible is the Revelation of God, the Revelation of Jesus, the Revelation of the Covenants, The Church.......and so much more.
So, it definitely IS the final authority.
The Holy Spirit would teach you to have the bible as your final authority, and not your opinions.
The devil would have you avoid the avoid the bibile and trust in your own point of view.
Creation was not made to be worshipped. But over time people began worshipping it, making it an object of worship, be it a human, an animal in its created form or a fashioned object of worship. Gold moulded into an image of a calf, a woman, a man.
All the raw material that these idols are made of come from the Creator Himself. It's what we do with it, treat it, our attitude towards it is what can make it an idol and worshipped.
God's expressed thoughts be they oral or written are used for good and evil. Satan used them. Jesus used them.
For me the bible was turned into an idol, an object that came between the historical words in written form and the One Who actually spoke them.
I go straight to Him in the present, not His expressed thoughts communicated to people in the distant past. If as I interact with Him He refers to His historical truths then great. I don't refuse and reject any of the spiritual food He offers.
Be it fresh cabbage out of my garden that I've picked and put in a coleslaw or cabbage prepared and preserved by someone in the past as in sauerkraut as it were. Both are food and benefiting the one who eats it.
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