What the bible says...

The last time that I heard a book speak, or say anything was when I watched a Harry Potter film a few weeks ago. And that book more or less roared and bit somebody. And also, it was in a film about magic and about a fictional book. So, the bible does not say anything because that would imply us hearing the words of the bible from the bible itself not from a person reading the bible. And this is far more than semantic wrangling and whining on my part. Usually I hear people, when speaking about something (especially a moral issue) that believe to be supported biblically, say:

"The bible says that..."

So here, that person has effectively eliminated debate, questioning, and the need for a defense on their part with that comment. Right?

I say wrong. I say that they have made the text of the bible into an idol. And I believe myriads of problems have been cause by a simple phrase.

So, what can we do instead? Refer to the bible as being written. If you believe and want to uphold the ideal that God had some hand in the text - add that in too - just do not confuse the text with God. Thus, I would pose that very little is "obvious" in the bible. Instead, interpretations are obvious - for as literal and objectivisitc we may think ourselves, everything we read is interpreted. Everything written must be interpreted. Words only have meaning in conjunction such as society has given them meaning. So the words in the bible, believe what you may about God's role in the whole thing, still have to be interpreted through the lens of life in 2007. Which is why we have english bibles. To read the biblical text in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic as an english speaker still typically requires you to interpret those languages into idiomatic English. For example, any verse in the Old Testament that contains the word "Let" followed by a subject ("Let the heavens rejoice...") stems from a usage of the Hebrew verb that cannot be brought into English - so translators chose "let" to be the idiomatic complement, thus interpreting the Hebrew text into English.

Go home and place your bible on your bed, table, floor, etc. and listen. If it says something, let me know. Otherwise stop making an idol out of it with your language. Anyways, remember, the bible says not to do that.