Special Relationship

"The Bible’s authority for Christians lies in the fact that they have a special relationship with it that can never be altered, like the relationship of parent and child. This does not deny relationships with other books which may be both deep and long-lasting, and it does not necessarily make the parental relationship easy or pleasant. It is simply of a different kind, and can never be abrogated. Once we see this, much modern neurosis about the authority of the Bible can be laid aside. Maybe the Bible can be taken seriously rather than literally."

—

Diarmaid MacCulloch, from Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

This echoes sentiments I have read from John Shelby Spong.  Our relationship, like that of the relationship we have with our parents, matures over time.  There comes a point when we can no longer see it as infallible, as the spotless book that is better than all of the other books.  BUT WE LOVE IT.  We love it deeply and messily.  It is never perfect, but it is a true, IN YOUR BONES love.  It is a connection I can’t deny or walk away from.  It is a connection I will honor for the rest of my life.  There is something about that book and its stories that is so different and meaningful to me in a way that nothing else is.  It is beyond my ability to describe or relate and THAT is why I am a Christian: because that book makes me want to talk forever about it and leaves me speechless.  I’m looking for the white fire.