A High View of Scripture?

The worst propaganda fundamentalists use is to claim “a high view of Scripture.” In a recent newspaper article a pastor justifies prejudice because he takes such a view. The untruth is that his opponents take “a low view of Scripture.” Honestly, I take a dim view of his prejudice. I am not sure what bothers me the most. Is it because Jesus was opposed by people with similar ideas about the Scriptures? Or is it because appeals to the authority of the Bible are used to justify every unjustifiable prejudice? Or could it be that we use Holy Books to limit God? Whichever bothers me the most, they are serious charges with unforeseen results.

A High View of the Bible

The Pharisees and the Sadducees held a high view of Scripture. The Sadducee argument against the Resurrection can be traced to the fact no such doctrine is mentioned in the books of Moses. Pharisees believed a final Resurrection would come. But this was a view based in an expanded view of the Scripture. Yes, the laws of Moses were of primary concern. But God spoke to prophets other than Moses too.

Sadducees could say they did not add nor take away from the words of God (see Deuteronomy 4:2). In this they shared a view similar to that of the Samaritans. Pharisees viewed the Scriptures as being authoritative for every aspect of life. But there were many teachers and schools of thought within the movement. It is difficult to say which Pharisees Jesus argues against or agrees with in the gospels. The writers lump all Pharisees into the same category.

And A Low View of Christ

The objections and arguments put forward by the Sadducees and Pharisees are tests as well as invitations to participate in the controversies. The gospel writers depict them as opponents who eventually seek to trap Jesus and plot his arrest. They depict Jesus as one who is beyond the arguments.

Putting forward the claim that fundamentalists take a low view of Christ is, as they say, fighting words. Yet, what else can we say if people claims to give their lives to Jesus as both Savior and Lord while doing the same things his opponents said and did. Jesus is considered the perfect sinless sacrifice to satisfy the demands of the Scriptures. The view has the effect of placing Jesus including the post-Easter Jesus in a subordinate position to the Bible. This high view of Scripture results in placing the writings of St. Paul who identified himself as a follower of Jesus as more authoritative than Jesus.

Justifying Unjustifiable Prejudice

Holy books are used to justify the unjustifiable. The Bhagavad-Gita is a beautiful poem that holds the greatest evil is “caste-mixture” to cause universal destruction. The Bible upholds slavery, genocide, and other evils. It has been used to justify committing those evils again and again. Prohibitions given to Jewish men about marrying foreign women have been used to justify racial segregation. Race mixing is still considered a great evil by too many Americans today. After all, the Bible says so.

Jesus broke the taboos about dealing with foreign women. He asked the unclean Samaritan woman to give him a drink. Jesus does not bewail his corruption when syro-phoenician woman touches him. The gospels place Jesus’ authority above that of the books of Moses or any other figure in the Bible. Jesus is the rule rather than the exception to all the rules.

Capturing God With A High View of Scripture

It is common among recovery groups to discuss “the god of my own understanding.” This idea helps many people harmed by the churches to approach the deity. For me though, the last god I want is one of my own understanding. If I could define God, I would be God. But as pseudo-Dionysius understood there is no language that adequately defines deity. A divinity that cannot be held in a Temple, even one that commands its’ construction, cannot be held by a creed or a book. The gospel of John claims the world could not hold all the books describing the other things Jesus did (John 21:25)

A high view of Scripture is meaningless if we still get the scriptures wrong. It is why the Pharisees never fully settled their disputes. And controversies over interpretation are not settled by claiming the Bible as final authority. The Bible is not the object of Christian worship. It is not the center of Christian living. Yet, it is valuable in guiding how we live if, and only if, we are willing to leave our lives open to further exploration and discussion. God could have more to say.