"Velvet Elvis"-DAY SIX

I'm finishing up Chapter 2 today.

When I continued reading this chapter, it became very clear to me that Rob Bell likes a "community" concept when it comes to reading and studying the Bible. He says the Bible was written in communities, and in the days before the printing press was invented, people read the Bible in groups (since it was rare for someone to be able to afford their own copy of The Bible).

The first thought that came to mind while reading this was one of the purposes found in Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life"...COMMUNITY. It's good for Christians to gather together in a community for fellowship and the studying of God's word. Small groups is a great way to do this. We stress the importance of small groups at my church, and there are many others out there that do the same.

In addition to the "community" concept that existed in the early days of "The Church", in today's society, people do a lot of reading and studying of the Bible on their own. It does work for some people, but that's not the only way to do it.

Bell seems to prefer community when it comes to studying the Bible. Read what he says:

"Perhaps this is why the Bible can be confusing for some the first time they read it. I don't think any of the writers of the Bible ever intended people to read their letters alone. I think they assumed that people who were hearing these words for the first time would be sitting next to someone who was further along on her spiritual journey, someone who was more in tune with what the writer was saying. If it didn't make sense, you could stop the person who was reading and say, 'Help me understand this."

Lord knows how many times I've done that. Whenever I've read something in the Bible I didn't understand, I would talk to my dad. He's been in the ministry for over 30 years now, and he has a terrific ability to explain something I didn't understand and have it make sense (thanks, dad...I'll probably be e-mailing you a lot more once you move away...be ready...hehe).

And now it's time for..."Rob Bell Was Taken Out of Context!!"

Read this quote from page 67 of the book:

"This is part of the problem with continually insisting that one of the absolutes of the Christian faith must be a belief that 'scripture alone' is our guide. It sounds nice, but it's not true."

As you may have figured out, critics of Bell take that quote and misinterpret it to make it sound like Bell denies the authority of the Bible. However, once again, they've completely ignored the footnote that goes along with that statement:

"I understand the need to ground all that we do and say in the Bible, which is my life's work. It is the belief that creeps in sometimes that this book dropped out of the sky that is dangerous. The Bible has come to us out of actual communities of people, journeying in real time and space. Guided by a real Spirit."

Think about it this way...ANY person can read the Bible, but that's not enough. We also need to LIVE IT OUT. We also need to have faith in God (Hebrews 11:6), and we need to trust in God to guide our lives and not try to control things ourselves (Proverbs 3:5-6).

One final quote from Bell from Chapter 2: "When we take the Bible seriously, we are taking God seriously. We believe that the same God who was at work then is at work now. The same God in the same kinds of ways. The goal is not to be a 'New Testament church.' That makes the New Testament church the authority. The authority is God who is acting in and through those people at that time and now these people at this time."

Next week: Chapter Three (Movement 3-True).

Thanks for reading.