The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God\u2013Getting Beyond the Bible Wars<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\nScot posted on this book when both the book and his blog were new (about 3 1\/2 years ago), but it is worth a revisit in the context of our current discussion of the nature of the Bible as the Word of God. As we discuss an understanding of Scripture using terms such as \u201cstory\u201d or \u201clight\u201d or \u201cincarnation\u201d or \u201caccommodation\u201d\u00a0 we would do well to consider yet another feature of Scripture \u2013 the Authority of Scripture \u2013 and the purpose of Scripture. Wright\u2019s book deals specifically with purpose of Scripture and the nature of Scripture as authority by asking the following questions (among others):<\/p>\n
1. In what sense is the Bible authoritative?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n2. How can the Bible be appropriately understood and interpreted?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The central claim of Wright\u2019s book is that all authority belongs to God \u2013 and thus scripture is authoritative only in the sense that the authority of the triune God is exercised through scripture. In fact, Wright goes so far as to say that scripture itself points \u2014 authoritatively, if it does indeed possess authority! \u2014 away from itself and to the fact that final and true authority belongs to God, now delegated to Jesus Christ.<\/em>(p. 24)<\/p>\nAnd a great line \u2014 When John declares that \u201cin the beginning was the word,\u201d he does not reach a climax with \u201cand the word was written down\u201d but \u201cand the word became flesh.\u201d <\/em>(p. 23).<\/p>\nThe Bible is story.<\/strong><\/em> According to Wright the bible is not a list of rules \u2013 although it contains commandments. The bible is not a compendium of true doctrines \u2013 although it declares great truths. And the bible transcends revelation \u2013 it doesn\u2019t convey information from or about a mostly absent God, rather it is self-revelation for and about relationship \u2013 the relationship of God with his creation for his mission. Scripture is best described first and foremost as Story<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\u00a0\u2026the shorthand phrase \u201cthe authority of scripture\u201d when unpacked, offers a picture of God\u2019s sovereign and saving plan for the entire cosmos, dramatically inaugurated by Jesus himself, and now implemented through the Spirit-led life of the church precisely as the scripture-reading community<\/em>. \u2026 We read scripture in order to be refreshed in our memory and understanding of the story within which we ourselves are actors, to be reminded where it has come from and where it is going to, and hence what our own part within it ought to be. (p. 114)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWe are to read scripture with tradition in communion with the saints, and with reason attentive to context, to sense and to wider knowledge of all sorts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cReason\u201d will mean giving attention to, and celebrating, the many and massive discoveries in biology, archaeology, physics, astronomy, and so on, which shed great light on God\u2019s world and the human condition. This does not, of course, mean giving into the pressure which comes from atheistic or rationalistic science. \u2026 \u201cReason\u201d is more like the laws of harmony and counterpoint: it does not write tunes itself, but it forms the language within which tunes make powerful sense.<\/p>\n
In all this, \u201creason\u201d will not constitute an alternative, or independent, source to scripture and tradition. It is the necessary adjunct, the vital tool, for making sure that we are truly listening to scripture and tradition rather than to echoes of our own voices. (p. 120)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Wright also makes the point that our relationship to the New Testament is not the same as our relationship to the Old Testament. The Old Testament is a crucial part of scripture, but it is the New Testament that is the \u201cfoundation charter of the fifth act;\u201d the act within which we, ourselves, are actors.<\/p>\n
We honor the authority of scripture when we read it properly.<\/strong><\/em> We should read scripture in a totally contextual manner. \u201cAll scripture is \u201cculturally conditioned.\u201d It is naive to pretend that some parts are not, and can therefore be treated as in some sense \u201cprimary\u201d or \u201cuniversal,\u201d while other parts are, and can therefore be set aside.\u201d<\/em> (p. 128)\u00a0 According to Wright even the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus and the doctrine of justification by faith are culturally conditioned and must be understood in their biblical and cultural contexts.<\/p>\n\nSuch a contextual reading is in fact an incarnational<\/em> reading of scripture, paying attention to the full humanity both of the text and of its readers. This must be undertaken in the prayer that the \u201cdivinity\u201d \u2014 the \u201cinspiration\u201d of scripture, and the Spirit\u2019s power at work within the Bible-reading church \u2014 will thereby be discovered afresh. \u2026 Genuine orthodoxy needs both, and in proper mutual relationship. (p. 129-130)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWe should also read scripture liturgically, privately, refreshed by scholarship, and as taught by church leaders (through studied, biblical sermons and teachings).<\/p>\n
This is a great little book \u2013 well worth reading and discussing.<\/strong><\/em> We err when we make scripture the foundation of our faith.\u00a0 Our foundation is God alone, the rock on which we stand is God alone \u2013 and his work in this world, including the atoning work of Christ. The authority of scripture is a shorthand for the authority of God \u2013 revealed by the Spirit. Scripture illuminates God, his nature and his interaction with his creation \u2013 it tells his story, and it does so reliably. But it does so in a fashion that may tell important theological truths in mythic form.\u00a0 The humanity of the authors and their points of view and cultural contexts played a role in the nature of the text we inherit. Reading scripture with a hermeneutic of trust and faith in the light of scholarship, biblical, scientific, and more will, through the power of the Spirit reveal God in our context today.<\/p>\nWhat do you think? Is the \u201cAuthority of Scripture\u201d an important concept? Do you think this authority is undermined if Genesis appropriates ANE myth, Exodus is an embellished history, Job is story, John rearranged events in his Gospel to make theological points?<\/strong><\/em>
\n<\/em><\/p>\nWhat elements are necessary to faithfully and reliably tell God\u2019s story?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nIf you wish to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail [at] att.net.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few years ago NT Wright published a short book on the authority of scripture: The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God\u2013Getting Beyond the Bible Wars. Scot posted on this book when both the book and his blog were new (about 3 1\/2 years ago), but it is worth a revisit in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[456,480],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-science-and-faith"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/span><\/p>\n