Why we need Bible story tellers

God’s ultimate revelation is Jesus Christ, not the written record of His words and actions. Jesus Himself is greater than the writings about Him. And which is the Christian more like, this human Jesus? or sheets of tree fibre spattered with ink? The New Testament writers teach that Christians are incarnations of Jesus, that is, that Christ lives in, with and through us. The NT writers also say that the Holy Spirit lives in, with and through us, and yet again they say this of God the Father. (In other words it is the Trinity who indwells us, lives with and through us. (John 14:17,18,20,23; 15:4-7; 17:21-23,26)). The apostle Paul as well says we are God’s revelation.

How the Bible relates to the Christian might be loosely compared to how software relates to the robot for which it is written. The software is unrealized or only potential until it is installed in the robot and the robot’s actions fulfill the purpose of the software. (the analogy breaks down of course in that we have free will. We are not robots, not slaves to God’s will). So the written Bible as revelation is however unrealized, still only potential, until it is applied in the Christian’s life and the Christian incarnates Christ to the world in the Christian’s attitudes, actions and words. While it is undeniable that there are a few exceptional cases where some rare individual entered into an initial knowledge of God in Christ through the Spirit by reading written Scripture alone, yet the overwhelming pattern for coming to know God and growing in intimacy with and likeness to Him, is through face to face relationships with living Christians. This fact, that living Christians who realize the ideals of Scripture in their daily lives are a more complete and clear revelation than writings on paper, should have implications for the translation and implementation of Scripture.

Now just to be absolutely clear, I believe that every living, viable language needs the complete written Scriptures. I also believe that there needs to be enough literacy amongst active lay Christians (perhaps minimally 10%?) so they can study and correctly understand the complete counsel of God, and help to keep their faith communities faithful to the records and revelation of God’s words and actions through His servants as understood and recorded by the Biblical authors. Every living, viable language needs the entire written and printed Bible in that language.

However, to fully reveal God’s will, the written Scriptures also need to be embodied in living Christians. It is not either or, not an exclusive choice between the two modes, but it is a matter of needing both. That is why translating oral Bible stories to be used immediately by Christian story tellers dovetails so nicely with written Scripture. Where the written Bible already exists in a less-loved and less understood language of wider communication in a bilingual community, this needs to be augmented by story tellers proclaiming and enacting a collection of oral Bible stories in that community’s unwritten indigenous heart language.