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JustaServant
Guest
Saw this on fundamentalist church sign.
True or no?
True or no?
"The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible"
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I think its stated rather poorly, but in a way, yes. Faith comes by hearing, and, sin, repeated and unrepented, can drive faith from us.
Jon
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JustaServant
Guest
But look at it on the surface Jon, they’re not saying that. They are saying the Bible, a physical book keeps me from sin.
Yeah, that’s why I said it was poorly worded. I guess one would have to ask the pastor of that particular church. If his claim is that he’s talking about the physical book, that would be a strange (to me) understanding of the role of scripture. It isn’t like garlic and a vampire, lol.
Jon
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JustaServant
Guest
I’ve heard what was written on that sign before (see Book of Fundamentalist Cliches
), and many of them see the Bible as a kind of “magic book”.I guess I was curious if any evangelicals here wanted to explain it.
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johnnyjones
Guest
I’ve heard what was written on that sign before (see Book of Fundamentalist Cliches
I guess I was curious if any evangelicals here wanted to explain it.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
I am a former evangelical and to me it means that if you read and do what you read in scripture that will keep you from sin. Conversely if you engage in sin long enough you won’t want to read scripture because it will judge you on account of your sin and you won’t want to be judged so you will avoid scripture reading.I’ve heard what was written on that sign before (see Book of Fundamentalist Cliches
I guess I was curious if any evangelicals here wanted to explain it.
Unfortunately some evangelicals do seem to regard the Bible (specially certain translations of it) to be somehow “Magic” Just as some Catholics seem to regard burying a statue of some saint in their yard will magically help them to sell their house or some other unwanted property.
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AbideWithMe
Guest
Yes…I’ve seen this saying a few times from fundamentalists or conservative Evangelicals, and LegoGE explains it well here.I am a former evangelical and to me it means that if you read and do what you read in scripture that will keep you from sin. Conversely if you engage in sin long enough you won’t want to read scripture because it will judge you on account of your sin and you won’t want to be judged so you will avoid scripture reading.
I’ve never personally seen it explained as if the Bible is some sort of amulet.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
Although I know some evangelicals or fundamentalists who will not allow any other object to be stacked on top of their Bible, whether it be a notepad, a pencil or whatever, as if you are disrespecting God’s Word by doing so.
po18guy
Well-known member
There has been an increasing amount of anthropomorphizing of the bible. Power has been ascribed to it. As you say, almost magical qualities. It is their “supreme authority” even though it seems to speak to each one differently and causes many to disagree with one another. IMO, it has replaced the Eucharist as a form of physical presence of Christ among them.I’ve heard what was written on that sign before (see Book of Fundamentalist Cliches
I guess I was curious if any evangelicals here wanted to explain it.
The Catholic and Orthodox actually do have a physical presence of Christ among them in the Holy Eucharist - and that supreme authority leads to unity rather than division.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
I do remember when I was an evangelical once I was walking home from the Public Library. I was carrying my Bible and I was approached by a man who was obviously “gay” He pursed his lips as if he wanted to “hit” on me but I raised my Bible so he could see it and he suddenly decided he had other things to do and other places to be!
So at least to him that Bible symbolized something or Someone he didn’t want to mess with!
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AbideWithMe
Guest
I had to laugh when I read this. I’m not the most conservative sort of Evangelical, and definitely not a fundamentalist, but I just noticed the other day that I’m a little bit like this when it comes to feeling weird about placing some things on top of a Bible. I often have my Bible on a very small table with my computer (actually it’s a tablet), and I put a notebook with passwords on top of the Bible a few days ago. I pretty quickly removed the notebook…just because I’m an artist and a jewelry maker, and those passwords were for silver/gold/gemstones dealers; and I struggle a bit with hunting after pretty gemstones more than God sometimes. So, in placing that notebook on top of the Bible, it symbolized to me my sometimes disordered priorities.
po18guy
Well-known member
As a crucifix to ward off the werewolf of London?I do remember when I was an evangelical once I was walking home from the Public Library. I was carrying my Bible and I was approached by a man who was obviously “gay” He pursed his lips as if he wanted to “hit” on me but I raised my Bible so he could see it and he suddenly decided he had other things to do and other places to be!
po18guy
Well-known member
Oh, crud! Guilty!
Do I have fundamentalist zeal? It’s still nowhere near the Eucharist, but it is the scriptures after all.
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BrianGular
Guest
I don’t know what the sign-poster had in mind, but I can tell you what those words mean to me. The Bible, as the inspired word of God, is the story of God’s revelation to mankind and the redemption bought for us by Jesus Christ. Through reading its words I am reminded of who God is, who I am, and about the amazing inheritance that is waiting for me. When I don’t read my Bible, I tend to slip back into self-sufficient mode. As I start to think I can handle it myself, sin creeps in. In self-sufficient mode, I convince myself that I don’t need to read.I’ve heard what was written on that sign before (see Book of Fundamentalist Cliches
I guess I was curious if any evangelicals here wanted to explain it.
This paradigm is not limited to the Bible. Going to church, praying, spending time with other Christians all serve a similar purpose.
I have known a few superstitious “Christians” who have treated their Bibles like magic books, but far and away most of my fellow evangelicals have a much more reasonable view. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” It’s not the book…
By the way, have you ever thought about the word in creation? Genesis says God spoke–but the world did not yet exist. There was no air for sound waves and no people to hear. Couple the fact that God spoke the universe into existence before there was what you and I would call “speech” with John calling Jesus Christ The Word and we have a testimony to the importance and power of his word.
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buzzoff1031
Guest
As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, I grew up in an ultra fundie baptist church. My preacher once said that if were ever going to commit idolatry it would be bibliolatry. He meant to say, as he explained, that he loved the Bible. He read it constantly because he knew that’s where Christ was. And you have to remember that evangelical Christians do not have the Eucharist, so the Bible really is the only place that Jesus can be found for them. The same statement, IMHO, that you saw on that church sign can be compared to St. Ignatius, I think it was, that said “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” It could also be compared to the saying I’ve heard (and seen on this board as a matter of fact) that if your Bible is in good condition, your soul is likely not.
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buzzoff1031
Guest
po18guy
Well-known member
Once you realize that you can have both the bible and Christ in the Eucharist - there is no turning back. Numerous converts have noted this here at CAF.
Taking a look back at the big picture, we see the advent of the commonly available bible (relatively speaking) with the Gutenberg press to have roughly coincided with the protestant revolt. Thus, many souls have been lead away from Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist and toward His presence only in print. That, and the self-satisfaction of private interpretation of scripture.
I am not saying that God caused this - only that He allowed it to occur.
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LegoGE1947
Guest
That almost seemed to be that way!
He looked kind of like the one character on MASH who faked being gay to try to get out of the Army. This guy had makeup and lipstick and the whole 9 yards. I suppose if St Clare would have been on the scene she might have held up a crucifix or monstrance.
J
JustaServant
Guest
And how did people accomplish this before there was a Bible and most of society could not read?
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