In the part of the world I live in (The Middle East) many people affectionately refer to Christian and Jewish believers as "People of the Book." Its a term that I have come to realize speaks of the common and familial heritage the three religions share. We all claim Abraham (and many of the other Biblical figures) as our spiritual ancestors and so the term reminds us and them that we are family - we are united in history and brother (or sister)hood.
So when someone uses the term with me I feel accepted, included and welcomed into something larger than myself. As Christians we are indeed people deeply effected and motivated by a collection of ancient writings known corporately as The Holy Bible.
The Bible has much to teach us, and like all Christians I still have so much more to learn from it. However unlike other faiths on the planet, I would argue that our scriptures are in fact not the central tenant of our faith. In fact I think I would be comfortable saying that the Bible is not in fact the Word of God. Blasphemy you might say?
In fact my argument comes solely and exclusively from the Bible itself. While they are the Holy Scriptures of Christianity they in fact do not represent fully God's Word. In fact that title is used quite differently by the Bible itself to refer to something (in this case someone) totally different.
John, one of the early followers of Jesus, writes in the introduction of his Gospel that the 'Word of God' did more than take the written form of a book, but in fact took on fleshly human form bearing the name 'Jesus.'
For Christians the Holy Scriptures are not the Word of God, but instead point us to the Word itself - which is Jesus. Jesus is the summation of God's word and law. He is God's voice and heart in human and relatable terms. Jesus is the religion of Christianity. He is The Word.
Which means that when we read the Scriptures and when we interpret the concerns and issues of our world we do it all through the lens of the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus of course being the one who accepted the outcast, healed the sick, loved the enemy, comforted the stranger, and ultimately gave his life for those who hated him…
If you are a Christian I challenge you to consider your use of the term 'Word of God,' have we in using this term unintentionally raised the importance of the Bible (as important as it is) above the very God it commends, depicts and chronicles?
We might be in many ways people in 'The Book,' but arguably we are ultimately people of 'The Word: Jesus.'
"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God…So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness." (John 1:1,14, NLT)
Peter Lublink is completing his masters in theological studies with a focus on the peace teachings of Jesus, while living and working in the Middle East with his wife Alison. They formerly led a church community with the Salvation Army in Victoria. Follow Peter on twitter: http://twitter.com/
You can read more posts from our multifaith blog, Spiritually Speaking HERE
