The Book, The Icon, The Content, What is the Main Element?

I firmly believe that the more fragile the belief, the more the paper and ink are regarded as magically divine in and of themselves. It's sad.

Well, dealing with the end times, the destruction of this world and the judgment of mankind, Daniel and Revelations would be pretty scary books if you are not sure of your relationship with God. Unfortunately, many calling themselves Christians don't understand fully the significance of the cross and don't seek God or the relationship with Him that was restored on that fateful day. If they would, they would understand that no physical thing on this earth is holy, only God and His Word are. The ink and paper mean nothing. The buildings we worship in are just concrete, steel, wood and glass.

In the days of old, before the printing press, transcripts would be guarded and cared for reverently throughout their useful lives but only because they held the Word of God and were the record of it. Once those words were meticulously transfered, letter by letter, to a new document the old transcript was destroyed.

What happens when we try to organize the church, especially nationally or internationally, we lose that relationship turning it into a set of formalities. The church and its own doctrines can become more important than God's Spirit moving in each congregation or our personal relationship with Him; in some cases to the point where the leaders of the church become the voice of God on earth, thus becoming what is typically refered to as a cult. Objects become holy to try to give reverence to a church which does not have God's power active in it.

There is not a thing that God has given us that the enemy of God hasn't perverted through the selfishness of people. That is why it is so improtant to know what the Word of God says so that we are not deceived by false teachings.

The jews treat the torah similarly. In many faiths, the scriptures are themselves considered sacred. I suspect most christians feel this to some extent. If a bible gets old and tattered, how many christians would just chuck it in the trash?

People who believe in gods like to have some physical bit of their god where they can touch it. For some it is an idol, for some a relic, for some a book of scripture. It's just superstitious nonsense but it's pervasive superstitious nonsense.

Indians (from India) venerate all books. To us knowledge that books possess is almost sacred, though this is cultural not spiritual.

Every wonder why Asians are so smart?

The main 'element' of the Bible is Jesus. The main message is the Good News. The Good News is the redemptive story of Jesus and his forgiveness through faith.