Evangelical Realism

While we’re on the subject of Bible-based Christianity, I thought I’d offer one closing thought: Bible-based Christianity is itself a testimony to God’s continuous and universal absence from the real world. If God were as involved in real life as the Gospel portrays Him as wanting to be, Christianity would be God-based, not Bible-based. The Bible is a collection of ancient texts that were written by men, branded as “inspired” by men, selected by men (out of a much larger body of “inspired” texts), canonized by men (more than once, with results that still do not agree), transmitted by men, translated by men, interpreted by men, and applied by men. From beginning to end, it is a work of men, and the only reason why Christians base their religion on it is because God does not show up in real life to directly define the content of their faith.