Terribly Poetic

I'll start with a definition from Wiktionary . . . "foundation: That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; groundwork; basis."

It makes me uncomfortable when we talk about building something without a foundation (the engineer in me I guess). You might remember that Jesus talks about solid foundations, ie, parable about a "sand" or a "rock" footing for building a house. I think He too saw the need for something solid upon which we need to "build". Back to the spider web, it too is built upon something, be it a tree branch, a wall, or even a blade of grass. The point is, all of these "foundations" are more solid than the web, and without them the web could not exist. It would fall or be blown away.

Perhaps we need to go back to what Jesus actually says He will actually build upon. In Matthew 16:13-18 Jesus is asking His disciples who people say He is, and the answer He is most satisfied with is given in verse 16 . . . "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God". In talking to Peter(the Rock in Greek), Jesus says that He will build his church upon this rock (the foundation). I believe that from the very little Greek study that I have done, that the Rock Jesus is referring to is the answer about who He is.

So yes, while I agree that the Bible is not our "foundation", it is definitely the one way we can learn about who that "foundation" is

I love what you said about the scriptures being a way to learn about who that foundation is. That is awesome. This is exactly what I am talking about. I guess what I am saying is that I see to many organizations and people placing more emphasis on the scriptures than they should.

Also, back to the spider web. Maybe its more about the "foundation" running throughout the entire web. Intertwined in each part of the web. And without it being intertwined the web would fall apart.

Interesting thoughts, Daryl. Clearly, we don't want to have a relationship with "the bible" or "scripture." In that sense, perhaps scripture can be over-emphasized.

We obviously want to understand God and his ways better. We want to understand Jesus and his character better. We want to learn to better listen to the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. The scripture helps us in this regard.

So the challenge is to properly apply the intent and lessons of scripture in our lives and relationships.

To me, the higher risk is to place too little emphasis on scripture, as opposed to placing too much emphasis on scripture. With these thoughts, the question is: What is the right amount of emphasis?

So when you say, "I guess what I am saying is that I see to many organizations and people placing more emphasis on the scriptures than they should", can you give specific example(s) you are thinking about to illustrate your reasoning, and what you see the negative consequence to be in that case?

Derek, let me field this one. I believe that it is possible to "place too much emphasis" on Scripture, even though that wording could be a little better. As you were kinda getting at, we shouldn't worship the Bible. I believe that some people place so much emphasis on Scripture that they miss the point of Scripture, that is, to draw nearer to God. A result would be someone studying the Rapture but not loving their neighbor because they're too wrapped up in study.
Another over-emphasis is rejecting truth that, at face value, is not referred to in the Bible. This is why many people feel that God and Science don't mix.
Finally, and maybe this is more misuse, but some people over-emphasize parts of Scripture. Last year, I met a man who believed that true Christians own nothing and share freely. The only references he gave me were from 1John, which does refer to this an awful lot.
Really, the Church in all its denominations has abused or "over-emphasized" Scripture in these ways at one point, at least that's my opinion.