The Camerado Chronicles -- Part One -- Ch I

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9 June 2004
Colton, Calif.

I do not believe in the Bible, but I believe in Christ.

Another way to say it: I do not believe in the words, but I believe in the Word.

(believe in = put one's faith in = commit one's life to)

This is not to say that I disbelieve the Bible or consider it a lie. It is of great
value to a believer in Christ by any name, and the Word of God is certainly to
be found in its words.

But Christianity deifies and idolizes the Bible, equates the Bible with Christ when using phrases like "the Word of God"
interchangeably for Biblical verses and Christ. I just don't do that. I don't hold the Bible out as an authority, the way I hold Christ
out as an authority. I don't believe they are the same.

Why does the church choose to do this as a matter of doctrine? My theory is that to believe in the Bible is to make it easier to
believe in Christ. Christ becomes more tangible (though also, limited) when the Gospels and Epistles are taken as the "infallible
Word of God" just as Jesus Christ is the sinless "Word" of His Father. It is easier to believe in their version of Christ when one
believes in the Bible as well.

But does that make your faith better, that it was obtained/developed more easily? One could argue it either way (and a member of a
"Bible-believing" church would certainly take the counterpoint here) but I would say no--it may initially make our faith stronger, less
shakable, built upon a firmer foundation; all desirable things indeed. But I would argue that, generally speaking (and that is to say,
not always, but often), it is shallower. We do not go as deeply into Christ when our faith is in the Bible-n-Christ, as we can
when it is in Christ and Christ alone. The latter option is riskier; it is a narrower, steeper path and the believer is more apt to fall,
dramatically at times, but it also leaves him/her free to explore beyond a comfort zone provided by a concurrent belief in the Bible. I
hold that it is more analogous to Paul's walking "by faith and not by sight"--super advice for anyone wishing to follow Christ.

A solid foundation is stronger than something that merely stands
loose upon on the ground, susceptible to any old breeze, yes. But
nothing is stronger than a deep, deep taproot that dives into the
earth and spreads its capillaries, usually intermingling with the
roots of other trees; naturally and organically anchored deeper
than any man-made foundation. This is a faith that shall not be
moved.

© 2004 by Hermit Crab
a Fish Out Of Water production

Next -- Chapter 2