Has it ever taken you a really long time to read a book? Not due to the extended length of the book or complexity of the subject matter, just for some reason you start to read it but aren't able to find the time to continue. I've been "reading" Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell since September. I've really enjoyed it and been challenged by it and someday I'll finish it.
One of Rob's arguments really stood out to me this past week. He says that we should get rid of the 'Bible as an owners manual' analogy. The analogy is often used because a manual gives us instruction and guides our path. The problem is that we only use owner's manuals when something goes wrong.
Last week a projector stopped working in the church basement. I opened the owner's manual for the first time in the 3 years I've been using the projector. And not only was it the first time that it was used in three years, but it didn't even help with the issue I was facing. There were no problem shooting tips for the lamp inexplicably shutting off. The 50 (english) pages were not even remotely helpful and I'll probably never refer to it again.
The Bible is not a simplified set of unhelpful, vague schematics. It is the wild, uncensored, passionate account of people experiencing the loving God (Bell, 63). I like that.
1 comment:
Very clever title
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