1) I do think that the church and the bible can be separated and viewed as individual concepts and ideas. However, I think that it takes a certain willingness to be open minded and receptive to other forms of literature, thoughts and knowledge to differentiate between the two. I also think that it is a very hard thing to accomplish, even if said person is willing.
2) The bible to the church is like air to people. If there was no bible, church officials would have nothing to base their ideas of faith or morals upon. The Bible is a work that almost all christians have based their ideas of faith, love, hope and death from. Preachers use this work to validate their claims of "God said ______, so you should follow, no questions asked". To many, if there were no bible, there would be no church. I think that if the Bible was never written, somewhere along the way humanity would have written something that would be similar as far as morals. I also think that churches would still exist (or have been formed) they just would have a different premises and base way of thought.
These are my thoughts for answers to Joey's questions!
~Karen~
