There is a surprising debate in the CoTN around the import of Holy Scripture. I honestly am both saddened and amazed at the number of Naz clergy who have a felt need to say the Bible is without error, period—accurate with respect to all that it asserts.
That is not our faith tradition’s position, holding instead that The Word is “inerrant in all things related to our salvation.” In other words we hold that persons spoke as God inspired and within the context of their ancient world-view. As a result there may be factual errors in historical events or math or science as we in the 21st century would understand it. Yet The Word is a reliable, accurate witness of God’s Saving Acts (salvation history) as experienced and remembered by the People of God.
One of the distortions inside the sideshow about inerrancy is made clear when the only question of real import is asked. Is the Bible a faithful witness of God’s concern with humanity, offering an accurate narrative of God acting to restore human well-being on earth and beyond?
Here’s one of the responses in a debate over the import of The Word from a friend I respect for his love of God and commitment to one of the spiritual streams that make up the CoTN—revivalism. Quoting from what he describes as a “Wesleyan Revivalist, Bible Commentator and NT Translator who was powerfully used by God… in the US from 1880 till his death in 1920.“
“The Bible is the only authority, and this divine agape the whole sum and substance of the Christian religion. The sectarian creeds (the Creeds) were made during the Dark Ages, when not one man in a thousand could read. At that time an effort to focalize Bible truth into a small compass and thereby facilitate instruction, was perhaps apologetical (meaning ‘what we believe’).
Now all the people can read, hence the credistic ages, to say the least, have come and gone, leaving the blessed Bible sole victor of the field.
If you believe your creed to be true, of course you find it in the Bible. So preach the truth from the Bible, saying nothing about your creed, and you will glorify God, remembering that your creed will not be mentioned when you stand before the great White Throne, while you will certainly be judged by the whole Bible.
“As of the strength which God supplieth in order that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ...” Here is the criterion of all soul-saving work. We are to preach nothing but the Word of God; not by the power of our intellect and learning, but by the “strength” which God supplies, i. e., with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Oh, the counterfeit preaching passed off for gospel.”
My friend concludes: “I believe eternity will prove him right.”
My Response:
My friend, the essence of what the writer is saying; priority of Scripture and more than that a love of Scripture is correct in time and eternity. “Heaven and earth May pass away but my word shall never pass away,” being the best example—though ofcourse Jesus was speaking specifically of his own words and he as the Living Word. Even so..
But I’m sorry…his statement is factually wrong—at least the inferences drawn from it are wrong.
We are not Mormans—no tablets of gold, singular author of our Bible, etc. Creeds matter because they make real in our cultures and times who Jesus is and what The Trinity of God is doing in the earth. It’s not all about us or even heaven.
Ofcourse the Written and Oral Word prior was handled by very few because neither the learning of, wide use of or printing of sacred text was widely available.
So much of the Protestant movement has read into Biblical texts our bias from modernity-enlightenment, resulting from mass communications and literacy. This righteous and powerfully used gentleman of which you quote is evidencing just that.
Corrections to his thesis:
1. The Written Word did not give birth to the Church. It was the People of God (Jewish/Christian) that at great care guarded the Oral Tradition, edited, copied, framed these traditions and liturgies in the form we have today. In short, it was the Church that gave us the Scriptures.
2. The main creeds were gathered in their final forms long before the dark ages, in the 300-450’s. From the time of Jesus first followers, his apostles to the second generation early church fathers, the Bishops debated among themselves both the Cannon and the Faith, with a lot of variation. Prior to Constantine, debate and disagreement were largely accepted. Finally, the main councils from which the faith was shaped and in which was determined the final selection of the Library of books we call The Bible, also gave direction as to how The Book was interpreted.
The point being: The Word is not the only Authority, never was, nor could or should have been. If it were treated as such then every woman or man of themselves is really the final authority and we’d end up splitting from each other with thousands of sects, denominations, etc. Oops… 😊🤷🏼♂️
3. It is humanly impossible to preach “nothing but the Word of God” because we’d never internalize The Word’s saving message into human society and culture.
The early fathers re-imagined the gospel in terms of Platonic and Greek worldviews. The very idea of Jesus as the Logos is John doing just that. Paul was always quoting and using pagan ways of thinking to describe The Christ way beyond his early roots. A simple example is in Philippians where he says we, like Christ, are to be an offering poured out just as happened in every Roman/Grecian home before meals—as they poured an offering to the gods. His understanding of Christ as The One who literally holds the universe together is the result of applying Grecian philosophy. Speaking of Jesus, he said, “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:28).
The point is, The Word is a Person. Incarnation—making human—is at the very center of God’s revelation and the Written Word is the memory of the People of God about God’s saving acts in various times and places all pointing toward the Salvation narrative’s final Word given in The One to come—Jesus.
So, as a matter of actual history, purpose and how God has guided the Church, the Written Word is the Witness to God’s Salvation Story, not its Lord; only Christ is that and God has allowed both very smart and not so smart persons the joy and gifting to “rightly Devine the Word of Truth” in each culture and under very different world views—the current one being Post-modern.
The beauty of Post modern is its emphasis upon communal salvation and narrative and acts as a kind of corrective to the overly individualized salvation emerging from modernity-enlightenment.
4. As to intellect… “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.” This incredible gift of Jesus can only be lived, preached, taught by humans. That means the Church remains a center of authority, alongside community experience, reason, tradition and the Written Word.
We should not preach anything that the Word does not enjoin to be sure, but determining even that is the Work of the Spirit in the Church. Otherwise arrogance might get the better of us.
Relax my friend. God is not as afraid of humanity as we are. There has never been one means of grace like revivalism. The way persons come into the knowledge and following of Christ has varied by time, culture and the rituals of meaning that grows from them. The key is Christ. Always has been. Ever will be!
Blessings! Terry :)
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