5 Reasons we read Relevant Magazine more than the Bible

I’ll be the first to say that I like Relevant Magazine. I’m a late twenty-something Christian and
everything about the Relevant culture is marketed towards me. I subscribe to the magazine, follow the Facebook and Twitter feeds, read the articles they post, and recently I have started listening to the podcast (really great stuff). I also write, and Relevant is a goldmine for inspirational thoughts.

They are so great at what they do I’m afraid some of us would rather read Relevant magazine than our Bibles. Here are 5 reasons why.

Relevant Magazine has bullet points and the Bible doesn't.

For the sheer irony of it I created this blog post so it is a list of items. This is a really popular format blogs and online articles right now. People are attracted to articles with list and bullet points because it means we can scan it quickly and look for bold print. Who wants to read a whole article when you digest the main points in under 20 seconds? If we took this approach with the bible we would just be confused.

Relevant Magazine is written to a postmodern audience.

The literature published by Relevant seems well...wait for it... relevant. I know Cameron Strang says the magazine is so named because “God is still relevant,” but seriously these guys discuss pop culture better than any other Christian outlet. The Bible on the other hand was written to a series of pre-modern audiences. There are no chapters titled “5 Questions to ask before posting to Social Media” or “Why is it so hard to make Friends afterCollege.”

Relevant Magazine is on Facebook.

Seriously, how am I not supposed to stop what I’m doing to read a Relevant article whenever a large image of N.T. Wright (one of my favorite theologians) pops up on screen.  Relevant goes where I go: Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs.  Sure I can get a daily scripture emailed to me, listen to YouVersion on my iPhone, or visit BibleGateway online to look up a reference quickly. But most of the time I have to make it a point to sit down and read the Bible at a level that significantly connects me to its story.

     Relevant Magazine can list 5 truths to make your life better.

Similar to my first point, Relevant just lays it out there for you. Each article has a thesis statement (or 5). Most times the Bible doesn’t provide propositional truth nuggets. We have to read something written to a culture we can hardly relate to and struggle to find the implications for our own lives. The Bible is a lot of work.

We have less at stake when we read Relevant.

If our interpretation of truth of differs from Relevant it is no big deal. Throw the magazine away. Unsubscribe from the Twitter feed. Move on with your life. If we don’t like what we read in the Bible we have to really work to make sense of it.

Of course some of what I just wrote was satirical by design. Relevant magazine does a wonderful job and points thousands of readers toward a relationship with God. I pick on them only because they are at the top of their field.

The Bible is important, really important. But we need to recognize that God works in ways beyond the scriptures to lead his people along his paths for us. The last thing I want to do is elevate the Bible above my relationship with its Maker.

So why make the comparison between Relevant and the Bible? Scripture is sacred. Relevant is not.  Something about scripture draws us closer to God in ways that other literature cannot. Scripture requires us to wrestle with God in a way that requires our surrender. Trying hard to make sense of the Bible helps us develop a relationship with Christ that demands our dependence on Him.

Are we actually relying on God for guidance in our life, or do we elevate something else above Him. Do we embrace struggle or look for the easy way out?  Are we relying on a magazine, friend, pastor, or priest as our primary engine for direction in life, or do you we lean into our relationship with the Holy Spirit.







Check out my upcoming writing project at www.adhogan.com