Bible = Instruction Manual?

I am reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell at the moment, this is the same guy who made the Nooma DVD's I have talked about in a previous post. I am finding this book to be real challenging, he asks the same questions that I have never publiclly aired. Questions about how we take the bible literaly word for word, yet the 'translations' we read are exactly that, they are a group of scholars interpetation of the origional texts.

At one point Rob talks about the differing views of the bible and the attitudes we have towards it, I love how he sums up one of the attitudes out there...

And while I'm at it, lets make a group decision to drop once and for all the Bible-as-owner's-manual metaphor. It's terrible. It really is.

When was the last time you read the owner's manual for your toaster? Do you find it remotely inspiring or meaningful?

You only refer to it when something's wrong with your toaster. You use it to fix the problem, and then you put it away.

I find that this has a lot to say regarding how we treat the Bible.
The question I ask is how do I treat the Bible myself? Is it an instruction manual pulled out when there is trouble and then left in storage gathering dust until another problem comes up?

Something to ponder...