What is bibliolatry?

The term bibliolatry (from the Greek biblion "book" + latreia "worship") is derived from the word idolatry, or the worship of idols. Thus, bibliolatry refers to the worship of the bible - taking it so seriously and so literally that it becomes the entire focus of religious devotion, even to the exclusion of everything else. Fundamentalism is often accused of engaging in bibliolatry. It is also often employed as an inflammatory and derogatory attack on believers who hold to “sola scriptura” and/or a literal interpretation of the Bible.

According to www.dictionary.reference.com, bibliolatry is excessive reverence for the Bible as literally interpreted. And according to www.thefreedictionary.com, bibliolatry is excessive adherence to a literal interpretation of the Bible. “Bibliolatry” is rarely used for people who mostly spend their time honoring the laws of the Bible with little thought on Christ, but it is usually used as a slanderous label for those who believe the Scriptures to be the word-for-word inspired and all-sufficient collection of writings for all Christian doctrines and practices.

It is important to note that the charge of bibliolatry does not claim some Christians literally bow down before a Bible and worship it, as if it were an idol. While there may be some strange cult out there that literally worships the Bible that is not what bibliolatry is referring to. The accusation of bibliolatry is that some Christians elevate the Bible to the point that it is equal with God, or to the point that studying the Bible is more important than developing a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Is the charge of bibliolatry accurate?

Southern Baptists in particular have in recent years been accused of practicing bibliolatry by numerous and well-respected evangelical leaders due to a wording change in the 2000 revision of the Baptist Faith and Message and the corollary purging of the ranks that removed any professors who believed that historical or archaeological findings might legitimately raise questions about a passage. During the late 1990s, hundreds of Southern Baptist seminarians and denominational officials were systematically removed from office for either claiming that cultural and archaeological findings could give a better understanding of the context of the Scriptures or (after the 2000 revision) for refusing to agree to the significant revision in the Baptist doctrine. One example of the vitriol this debate has produced is Southern Baptist William Merrell's response to the charge of bibliolatry in 2000.

Historic Christianity has never endorsed worship of the Bible itself, as worship is explicitly reserved only for God. That is to say, Christians consider the Bible as a kind of signpost which points to God, rather than considering the Bible, as a book, itself as valuable as God himself. Some Christians believe that biblical authority is derived from God as the inspiration behind the text, not the text itself. So the term is not a reference to an actual belief, but is often used as a pejorative term to negatively label perceived practices of theological opponents. The groups to whom the term is most often applied are Protestants of a fundamentalist and evangelical background who hold to Biblical inerrancy and Scripture as the only divine authority. Disputes exist as to whether the King James Only movement is or is not a form of bibliolatry.

Do some believers emphasize the Bible to the point that other things of importance—such as tradition, nature, reason, and experience—are neglected? Yes. However, the Bible, based on what it says about itself, must be a higher authority than any of these and must, in fact, be the authority against which they are judged. God would never contradict Himself by revealing something in nature, reason, or experience that disagrees with what He revealed in His Word. The Bible is not to be worshipped, but the God of the Bible is to be worshipped. To ignore what God has revealed about Himself in His Word and instead elevate the subjective “revelations” of nature, reason, and experience is idolatry (Romans 1:18-25).

The Bible is not God. The Bible does not contain all of God’s knowledge. While the Bible gives principles that apply to every situation, it does not explicitly give us all the information we need to daily live our lives. Part of the problem is that some Christians take the saying “the Bible says it, that settles it, I believe it” to extremes. While the statement is absolutely true and should reflect how we view the Bible, God’s Word does not instruct us to abandon our brains or ignore our experiences. True reason is completely compatible with Scripture. Experience can help us in our understanding of Scripture. While the Bible must be our authority, we must also use it to confirm and verify the conclusions we reach with our God-given reason and God-directed experience (1 Peter 3:15). Believing what the Bible says about itself is not bibliolatry. Rather, accepting God’s Word for what it claims to be is in fact worshipping the God who breathed it.

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Reference and Reading:

Geisler, Norman L and Paul D. Feinberg. Introduction to philosophy: a Christian perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980.

www.dictionary.reference.com/bibliolatry

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bibliolatry

Bibliolatry — A Fraudulent Accusation.  http://www.baptist2baptist.net/b2barticle.asp?ID=54

Bibliolatry.  http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_bibliolatry.htm. (5/10/2013).

What is Bibliolatry? http://cruxchristi.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/what-is-bibliolatry/

Is Bibliolatry  Possible? http://wscal.edu/resource-center/resource/is-bibliolatry-possible. (5/10/2013).

Bibliolatry. http://www.gotquestions.org/bibliolatry.html. (5/10/2013).

Worshiping the Bible is Idolatry, “Bibliolatry”.  http://godsbreath.net/2007/06/29/bible-worship-bibliolatry. (5/10/2013).