Then there was the Bible.

This is the second in a chain of stories I’m writing about my personal faith journey. The first is here, and it’s about Hell.

Infallible.

Perfect.

Inspired.

Once I decided to give up on Hell, I began the painful process of scrutinizing each of my long-held beliefs. What else had I accepted at face value, without submitting it to critical thought?

This would be a great spot to let you know that I’m not a theologian. I’m barely a philosopher. Point in fact, I’m simply an armchair enthusiast trying to figure out his own value system and beliefs, probably much like you.

I don’t believe the Bible is the “Word of God”.

Most of you likely weren’t all that affected by what I just said, but I’m sure a few of you were filled with some visceral emotions when you read those words.

I should probably explain myself.

When fundamentalist Evangelicals say “Word of God”, they typically mean something along these lines:

The Bible is God’s primary way of speaking to us, and is the final authority on all things. “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”, it’s inspired by God, perfect in its execution. Historically accurate. The standard against which all truth is measured.

(Never mind that this doctrine is generally accepted as a heresy amongst the rest of Christendom, but I digress.)

There are varying degrees of literalism accepted amongst the different Evangelical sects, but you get the gist. The Bible’s not just a sacred text, it’s the sacred text, and everything in it is to be taken as fact.

You can easily find counters to each of my points below, but here are my problems with accepting the Evangelical narrative about the Bible:

• Hundreds of translations, different versions of canon, and innumerable “expert” interpretations of what it all even means.
• Indisputable contradictions and inconsistencies throughout the text.
• Considerable evidence that entire swaths of the Bible aren’t really all that historically or scientifically accurate.
• Rigorous study and careful interpretation of this very old, very confusing text is supposedly needed to understand what God’s even trying to say.
• Thousands of imperfect humans were involved in producing it.

That last statement was key for me. Think about the mental gymnastics you have to perform to accept the idea that imperfect people crafted a perfect sacred text.

Much of the Bible was written down after decades (centuries) of being passed down orally. Have you ever told a story perfectly, exactly as it happened?

How did each of the authors write down precisely what God wanted without making mistakes?

What about the translators? The Ecumenical Councils? Were they also able to do perfect work?

Hundreds upon hundreds of people have been involved in producing what we now call “The Bible”, and most modern Evangelicals believe that it’s infallible.

Once again, I love you, but I call bullshit.

The only reasonable way for these thousands of people to have made zero mistakes in producing “The Word of God” is direct, absolutely control by God Himself. Taking over the various humans and using them like puppets. Deity possession, basically.

And of course, as I pointed out above, it’s not perfect. It’s historically inaccurate and often contradicts itself, despite what apologists might tell you. Seriously. Click the links above for yourself.

As I was scrutinizing what I believed about the Bible, I came to the conclusion that whatever I believed it was, I definitely knew what I believed it wasn’t:

• The Bible isn’t a history book.
• The Bible isn’t a science book.
• The Bible isn’t an instruction book.
• The Bible isn’t meant to be taken literally.
• The Bible isn’t perfect.

So what is it, then?

The Bible is whatever you believe it is.

That’s really going to piss a few of you off. I’ll wait…

Belief is what makes it powerful. Belief is what gives it value. Belief is what assigns meaning to it.

I believe that the Bible is a beautiful collection of often metaphorical works–poetic, if flawed in its execution. A love story about God and mankind, written from the Judeo-Christian perspective.

I believe that it’s sacred. I respect it as such. I do not, however, grant it authority in my life. I am influenced by it, just as I am influenced by other works of literature. Perhaps more so, as I was raised in a Christian household and operate in a largely Judeo-Christian culture.

Letting go of the idea that The Bible is the infallible, inerrant “Word of God” was liberating for me. It opened up pathways of thought that I had previously closed.

More importantly, it enabled me to appreciate it again, with all of its flaws.