What "the Bible says" wasn't the starting point for the Christian faith when Christianity first started because there was no Bible to say anything. The Jews had an Old Testament, which meant nothing to the Gentiles, and nobody had a New Testament. Despite not having The Bible, the church grew and flourished. The New Testament wasn't even put together until about 350 years or so after the events of Jesus' life on earth. But for the first 350 years of Christianity there were hundreds of thousands of people who became followers of Jesus...and without The Bible.
