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Do I need a knowledge of the Bible if  I want to know God?

Let me put the question another way.  Does our loving, heavenly Father need the Bible to communicate with his human children?  

Consider this, our loving Father was communicating with human beings long before human beings invented writing.  (Let’s be clear on that, very important, point.  Human beings were not created with a knowledge of how to read and write.  We invented writing.) 

Writing, as it developed in Eastern Mediterranean cultures, did not reach the level of complexity which allowed humans to write down stories, histories, and laws until about 1500BC.  So, stories about events that happened before 1500BC were not written down at the time they happened.  These stories were handed down by oral tradition and written down later.  The book of Genesis deals with events that happened before humans invented writing.  Genesis was, obviously, written after writing was invented, but the events recorded there occurred before the invention of writing.  There is no mention of anyone writing or reading in Genesis.  Why is this important?  The stories in Genesis show God communicating very well with his human children before we invented writing.  Our loving Father spoke to humans and humans spoke to him.  Today, we call this prayer.

We must not forget that, even after humans invented writing, most people couldn’t read.  Even today there are many people who can’t read.  There are also many people who can read but don’t enjoy reading.  The poorer you are, the less likely it is that you will be able to read or will enjoy reading.  Is God only interested in those of his children who are wealthy and educated, who can read or who like to read?  Of course not.  It’s only been in the last couple of hundred years that large numbers of people have been taught to read.  Before that, only the priests and members of the wealthier classes were taught to read.  Do we find, in our Bible, accounts of Jesus only wanting to interact with priests and members of the wealthier classes?  No.  We find accounts of Jesus wanting to interact with the poor – the very people who would not be able to read.  

What did Jesus say about having a knowledge of Scripture?  He only mentioned the subject once and, on that occasion, he corrected the religious leaders of his day for trying to find eternal life in the scriptures rather than coming to him to find it.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

Jesus never instructed or encouraged his followers to study scripture.  He put his emphasis on the importance of prayer.  Before we invented writing we communicated with our loving Father through prayer and, of course, we still do today.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t read the Bible.  Our loving Father speaks to us through the words of the people who wrote the Bible and we must listen for his voice when we read it.  Most importantly, of course, the Bible contains the teachings of our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus.  We should certainly read his teachings and he puts emphasis on the importance of prayer.

So, the Bible is useful for knowing our loving heavenly Father, but not essential. 

 

May our loving Father bless us and keep us safe as we walk with him.

Jesus is Lord.

Peter O

 

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