Scripture

"The Bible is a collection of fantastic legends without scientific support."-- The Communist Dictionary issued by the Soviet State Publishing

Well now that I've given the atheists their say, let's move on to a Christian understanding of Scripture (though I am open to conversation about the authenticity of Scripture this entry will come from a Christian understanding and will function as a conversation within Christianity so I will simply agree with Sir Isaac Newton when he says "There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history"). I've been thinking about what Scripture is and how we should take it for a little over a week now, and it seems to me that we all agree (within Christendom I speak) that it's the Word of God. But what does that mean. Allow me to set the stage so you can see where I come from. I was recently at an EMC New Leaders Orientation, as I've begun serving in an EMC church. As part of this retreat we had a session about Anabaptist theology, in which the centrality of Christ was focused on. In the explanation of the centrality of Christ biblical understand and hermeneutic was discussed. Several ways were mentioned, flat understanding, progressive, Paul strong, dispensationalism, and finally the words of Christ as standing primary. It is this last stance that the presenter favoured and on the surface it seems quite convincing, Christ is God incarnate, the words of Christ are therefore the very words of God, so of course we should put emphasis on them, or as was said we should interpret Scripture with the words of Christ. I couldn't help but be drawn to reformers' idea of Sacra Scriptura sui interpres, Sacred Scripture is its own interpreter. If Scripture is its own interpreter should that not include more then just Christ's words are Scripture's interpreter, I believe an early reformer would say yes.

So here's the real question I had... If Christ's words are separated as above the remainder of Scripture, what does that mean for our understanding of the inspiration of Scripture?

In most parts of the Bible, everything is implicitly or explicitly introduced with "Thus saith the Lord". --C.S. Lewis

Perhaps C.S. Lewis has it right, or perhaps not. If Scripture is the inspired, God breathed Word of the Lord, then I think Lewis is pretty close... let's just remove his "most parts of" and I think he's got it! If we truly believe as followers of Christ that the words written in the Bible are the very words of God, then I see no need to set apart the words of Christ as special or extra inspired. In fact I think in doing so we take away from the authority and inspiration of Scripture. I think by doing this we set out that there is something more authentically the Word of God then the remainder of Scripture. How can we on one hand say that all the Bible is the Word of God and on the other say only the words of Christ are the true words of God; how devastating is that for Scripture?

I am a creature of a day. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God. I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book.--John Wesley

Wesley seems to understand the power and capacity of Scripture to connect with God, but this falls short if we do not see every word of that Scripture as the inspired word of God. Should we think that God would inspire words but not to the fullness of His desire? Should we determine that God could not use humans other then the incarnate Christ to communicate? Maybe we should remember that even the words of Christ are recorded by purely human hands; they are not the writes of Christ himself. An inspired Word would be one that goes beyond the understanding of the writers themselves and holds truth that comes straight from the mouth of God.

Now let's not assume that I am making attempt to discount the divinity of Christ or degrade the fact that He is fully divine and fully human. Rather I am say yes, He is God incarnate, the words he speaks are those of God; what I am saying is that likewise the Holy Spirit is fully God. The words which the Spirit speaks true the inspiration of the biblical writers ought also be give that same credit.

Allow then to conclude with this, that Scripture, the God-breathed words written in their original are the inerrant words of the Lord our God, YHWH, the creator of the world. And as such we should seek to know them, as a revelation of God, from God. Their inspiration which of the Holy Spirit gives them all authority on earth as the words of Christ incarnate. Therefore as we grow in faith let us continue to be amazed by depths of breadth that they contain and seek to learn more of the God we serve with ever reading of them.

"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand." --Mark Twain