The Bible is Not My Textbook

So I was on this homeschooling website and happened to read the Statement of Beliefs. One of the "statements" went something like this, "The Bible is the inerrant word of God. It is God's only revelation and our textbook for living." I found this totally irritating. Here's why:

-A good case could be made for the Bible as literature, or poetry, or erotica, or history, or even prophesy, but the Bible is certainly not a textbook. It is not a book of "tips and tricks" for successful living and it wouldn't be found in the Self-Help section of Barnes and Noble. Its just not as tidy as that. I do believe that God reveals himself to people through the Bible, but sometimes I think that the Bible poses more questions than it provides answers. It causes us to search for Him.

Why did God choose Jacob and not Esau? Why does the Bible talk about Creation happening in 6 days? Did it really happen that way; is it literal or mythical? (and before you get your panties in a wad, please understand that I'm using the word "mythical" to mean "figurative" not "untrue". ) And why did God get Paul's attention by a blinding light, but apparently leave me in the dark about whether we should switch county agencies for adoption?

You get my point...

- The second reason I find that "Statement of Belief" totally annoying is that it's crazy to believe that God only ever speaks to us through the written word in the Bible. What about, "The heavens declaring His glory."? What about those sunsets, and mountain vistas? What about the song that comes on the radio while your driving to pick up the eggs you forgot to buy at the store when you went the first time? What about nursing my newborn babies?

In fact, the Bible is full of stories of God revealing himself to people in very personal ways. Remember Samuel, and Moses, and Noah (God even gave him the dimensions for making a big boat - a little weird actually) . And don't forget the girls, there's Mary, and Deborah and Esther. God speaks, and he is not limited to the canon.

So there. Take that - you, oh publishers of homeschool propaganda! God does not neatly package Christianity into a "textbook" for living. Faith is MESSY!