The bible was written by people like us who recorded their search for God’s intentions for their times and communities. That can help us in our own search.

They used the culture, myths and values of their time to seek to understand what God is about in their own age. We must do the same.

To go beyond that, however, and treat the bible as the Word of God, is as deceitful as it is dangerous.

Deceitful because we know that it was compiled from different documents and different versions of those documents. Many of the books were not written at the time they claim, and some not by the authors nominated. The gospels, for example, originally had no names; the names of the apostles were added later. And clearly Paul didn’t write all the letters attributed to him.

 
Dangerous because it encourages people to believe they can find out who God is and what God wants by studying a book. Jesus didn’t write anything down.
In the bible God is ever active but always beyond knowledge. He is not described but reckoned with.

 
The useful themes of the bible are:

 

God is supreme and wholly other.

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God has intentions for the world and mankind 

...but man is flawed and the world and society are not what they should be.

 

In spite of our waywardness and obstinacy, God is still prepared to treat with us.

 

We must cultivate a steady dependence on God.
...and have an active and practical concern for other people.

We must show a careful disregard for our own interests
...and whilst enjoying what the world has to offer, we must not indulge ourselves.

Living in this way produces love, joy and peace.    
...and is essentially different from the life that is accepted and encouraged by current values and ambitions