Reading the Bible with Scot McKnight (6)

Scot’s book, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible is an essential book for our times and well worth reading. Highly recommended.

In chapter 6 one of the key points Scot makes is that we are to have a relationship to God, not just the text. The authoritative approach to the Bible often creates an unnecessary distance. There is more to reading the Bible than submitting to its authority – there is to be a personal relationship between us and God. Scot prefers to focus on a relational approach where God and the Bible are kept distinct. God is more, far more, than the book.

This approach asserts that the Bible is God’s written communication. We are not only to love God, but to listen to his words. These words are interconnected with each other and invite us to enter into the God’s big story. God wants us to know him, not just the Bible.