Bibliolatry

Have you ever heard someone say, "don't make the Bible your idol?"  Where exactly does this idea of bibliolatry come from?

I wouldn't say that the accusation of bibliolatry comes from having a high view of scripture or even "sola scriptura"; I'd say bibliolatry occurs when people hold reading the Bible and doing what it says over coming to Jesus Christ. 

That's what Jesus accuses the Pharisees of doing in John 5:39 (You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

John 17:3 says, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

There are going to be a lot of people who know their Bible really well and even followed it really well, except for the coming to Jesus part, who don't make it in the end; I mean even Satan knows the scriptures. And vice versa, there will be many who make it who never picked up the book like the thief on the cross or those who come to Jesus on their death bed, not to mention all the patriarchs that predate Moses who had no scriptures whatsoever. The key is knowing God not necessarily the Bible.

I do believe the Bible is 100% authoritative for instruction and correction but only because of who the Author is, but in order to know the Author's intent, we need to know the Author, otherwise we end up with all kinds of wild interpretations. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 1 Peter 1:20-21

And it's the Holy Spirit that teaches us what the scriptures mean: "when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. (John 16:13-14)

Private interpretations without the Holy Spirit's input lead to bibliolatry because they lead people to serve a god of their own invention rather than the one true God, which we can label as whatever -olatry we want, but ultimately it is what all idolatry is. 

Whether it's done with the Bible, a translation, a theology, some other religion's scriptures, or a block of wood, I don't see any difference. No one comes to the Father except through Christ Jesus. And if studying the Bible doesn't bring us to Him, and through Him the Father, daily in repentance and worship because of the Spirit's instruction, then we've elevated the Bible beyond it's intention.

This article was written in discussion with Aaron Armstrong's article My Bible . . . My Idol?  He has some great insight and questions that he raises on this issue, and I encourage you to read it as well.

Live To Give

Recently I’ve been meeting with a young man, and we’ve been talking about how God uses us, our gifts, and even our finances to help others for His glory.  I gave him a copy of the book the God Pocket by Bruce Wilkinson that has an extremely practical way that we can purposively live this out, which I wrote about here: The God Pocket.

And then I received a copy of Austin Gutwein’s Live to Give.  Wow! 

Gutwein is the exact same age as the young man I’ve been meeting with, 18, and the author has wisdom far beyond his years. It’s amazing that God chose this young man when he was only nine to change the lives of thousands in Africa through a ministry he formed called Hoops for Hope.  And he’s been building clinics, schools, and feeding the hungry there ever since. 

Live to Give is all about how God uses what we have to help others.  One of the biggest things I took away from the book was Gutwein’s illustration of the young boy who brought the loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed the five thousand.  The disciples went all through the crowd to see what food was available, and this was the only person who remembered to bring his lunch, and he gave it up to Jesus.

Likewise we might be the only person in the crowd who has what God wants to use to help the multitude.  Are we willing to give it up to Him? 

I’d highly recommend this book.  Be sure to check out the information below for your chance to win the book and some other neat prizes. I received a copy of this book free from the publisher for review.

Giveaway: 

About the Book: 

Want to do something for God but don’t know what? Want to help others but don’t know who? Want to know what it is you’re really good at doing? Your gifts may feel small and insignificant. But God can use them to work a miracle!

Inspired by the biblical story of the feeding of the 5,000, "Live to Give" delivers a message of hope that we all have something to give. Written in the down-to-earth, candid voice of the gifted young man who as a kid founded a relief ministry that has saved and improved countless lives in Africa, "Live to Give" is the message that every teen needs to hear: You are more special than you know, and you can do big things.

Jesus proved that no gift is too small when He used five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of thousands. And if no gift is too small, too ordinary, or too random, there is no limit to what the youth of today can accomplish!

A teenage philanthropist who has built a high school, two medical clinics, and a dormitory in Africa—all before the age of 16—Austin Gutwein shares how to take what may seem like the simplest of talents, gifts, and interests and use them for something Jesus can use to move mountains.


Meet Austin: 

As founder of Hoops of Hope, Austin started what is now known as the worlds largest Free-Throw marathon. Austin's Hoops of Hope has raised more than $2.5M to help orphan children in Africa. Austin also serves as Co-Chair of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's Youth Council. As a highly sought after speaker, Austin has spoken and shared his heart in venues around the world. In 2009, Austin was selected into the Caring Hall of Fame as one of the top 10 most caring Americans.

Austin's first book, "Take Your Best Shot" shared stories that captured readers hearts and won a Moonbeam Award. For information on booking Austin or general inquiries, please visit austingutwein.com.


Read Other Reviews

Faith and Other Flat Tires

Andrea Palpant’s Faith and Other Flat Tires is a personal memoir about the doubts about God she developed as a missionary child in Africa.  There were a lot of things I liked about this book.  For example the writing was incredible.  Being a writing instructor myself, I always get a little giddy when I come across a Christian book that actually shows some knowledge of the craft.  Palpant’s background in Communications definitely shines in this book and makes it an enjoyable read.

Her story is also fairly typical of God’s grandchildren, a.k.a. kids who grew up with true believing parents that wanted nothing more than to serve God with all their heart.  These kids usually don’t really get their parents or the God they serve but have a hard time finding any contentment in the world.  Until they really give their lives to God and have their own relationship with them, they also can’t find contentment in the church, so they end up thrown all over the place in their beliefs. 

Been there, done that.

The major drawback of the book is that she structures it around John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and the journey that Christian takes, but she definitely focuses more on Christian’s pratfalls, then on some of the elements of Bunyan’s metaphor that exemplify God’s part in our walk like Help, Goodwill, Faithful, Hopeful, The Shining Ones, the Lord of the Hill, etc.

The lack of these characters’ traits shows through in Palpant’s memoir as well.  Even in the grand climax where she returns to church, she doesn’t necessarily do it because she finds much hope there, but just because it’s better than the other options.  There’s no relationship with Jesus, no revelation of God in her life, just a meandering fall back into church community.  It’s a lot like Ignorance stumbling up to the City on the Hill in Pilgrim’s Progress.  It doesn’t go well for him.

So I’m torn.  I really liked the book, but in the end I’m not sure where Palpant stands when it comes to faith.  Did she decide to follow Jesus or not?  I hope that I’m just missing something and the answer to that question is “yes”.  But I certainly wouldn’t recommend the book to anyone struggling with their faith.  It’s just as likely to turn them away from God, as turn them back to Him.  On the other hand, she paints a really good picture of the struggle of faith that every child who grows up in it will undoubtedly walk. 

And it’s well-written. Let’s not forget that.

Ultimately, I’m on the fence with this one.  I liked it, and I didn’t like it.  I’d recommend it, but I’d also not recommend it.  I guess you could say that Palpant’s confusion about how she feels about faith has left me feeling confused about how I feel about her book, which I’m sure leaves the reader confused about this review.  And if you’re wondering if this is the book for you, all I can say is ‘maybe’.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.