What it really means when the Bible is non-negotiable

Yesterday there was a lot of talk going around about how the SCOTUS just changed the country forever. There were lots of Christians talking about how the Bible is a non-negotiable thing. We can't compromise on what the Bible says, on what God says. People keep saying this, and while I can say I agree, I also have to respond with " You keep using that word [phrase]. I do not think it means what you think it means." (Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride)

You see, I respect the Bible, and hold it in far higher regard than I do your opinion on what it says. And I know you think that you know exactly what it means and what it is trying to tell us. But quite frankly, that certainty tells me you have likely put God into your constructed box and ask him to play nicely with your beliefs. And this is far bigger than just the current hot topic of homosexuality, it's about everything you think God to be like.  Your certainty shows me that you either don't understand the limits of your own mind or don't appreciate just how incomprehensible God is. You are not open to wondering if maybe the Church has gotten it wrong, for a very long time. That maybe we misunderstood what God has asked of us, or how he asked it, because he asked a few millenniums ago in a culture extremely different from the one we find ourselves in. The bible is not as black and white as you think it is. Figuring out how to live this life in a way that truly glorifies God is a lifelong quest, and not a behavioral checklist. 

Stop and wonder at the God who is outside of time.

Surrender to him all that you think you know about him and what he says. 

See what happens. 

Make space for him to change you. Again and again. Everyday.