My Coming to Grips with the Word of God

First let me say that I hold the written word of God in pretty high regard, but lately I have been struggling with all of the evangelical baggage that is currently associated with the Bible...concepts such as inerrant, verbally inspired, or complete (no further revelation necessary and containing all we need to live now and eternally). There is a plethora (I love that word) of radio personalities that make a living bringing us a word of encouragement, or teaching us great insights, or putting our lives back together all from this amazing book. But every time I hear someone say "God has promised..." and then they read a verse from the Bible I have to wonder, especially when it is Paul or Peter saying something under very particular circumstances to a very specific individual. And suddenly what was a record of God's miraculous work on behalf of the world throughout history becomes a promise that we can stand on. But was it ever meant to be that? Did Paul know he was being used as a scribe of the Holy Spirit to comment on church behavior or organization? To see what I mean, read Paul's letter to Philemon, or John's letter to Gaius (3rd John) and try to see these books as God-breathed encyclicals given for your edification, salvation, and growth in the circumstances you face today. These are obvious examples, but you can see the dilemma I am in.

I have always felt that the current evangelical church confuses the word of God with God Himself and makes no distinction between the two (because that is one of those written or unwritten premises upon which evangelical faith rests in this century). They worship the book rather than the Author. I don't feel like a heretic to say that they are not one and the same but that is the box that I am sometimes pushed towards in what I read and what I hear. I still read and reread the word of God, but I confess that I am less prone to hear "Thus sayeth the Lord God to you Russell..." and more apt to read because some things were written that I might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and believing find life in His name. And because some things were written for my example that I could avoid the pitfalls that others have fallen into. I don't have all the answers but do know that I have no other good place to turn in my journey towards answers. That is good enough for me today.