Authority of God in Scripture
A topic of hot debate within religious circles is in regards to the authority of Scripture. N.T. Wright wrote an insightful book on the topic, and this essay will serve to critically review The Authority of God in Scripture. In the prologue of his book, N.T. states that “taken as a whole, the church clearly can't live without the Bible, but it doesn't seem to have much idea of how to live with it." I agree with this statement, and believe it alludes to the importance of the study of the application of scripture. This is not an easy task, the Bible "tells a single overarching story which appears to be precisely the kind of thing people today have learned to resist." Culture plays a huge hindrance to the study of the Word. As Christians, we are "to hold in our minds and hearts what the Bible says about who we are, are to do our best to live by that, [but this] clashes head-on with our culture." We must seriously reflect on the matter of to whom we are granting authority of our lives: culture or scripture?
On Authority
Many people have questioned the nature of the word authority, and this must initially be discussed before we can proceed. N.T. states that the "'Authority of Scripture' is a shorthand for 'God's Authority exercised through Scripture'." Therefore, the authority of God himself is the larger context of which scripture is set within.
The debate continues, however, too much of it "has had the form of people hitting one another with locked suitcases. It is time to unpack our shorthand doctrines, to lay them out and inspect them." We must remember what we are debating for. The debate on the authority of the book is not where the conversation ends, but rather with the wonderful words which this book contains, taken to be authoritative in our lives. God "remains present and active within that world, and one of the many ways in which this is so is through his living and active word."
On Jesus and the church
Jesus is a key to understanding scripture, and a study of the early church shows how the early Christians understood in light of Jesus’s teaching. This is where N.T.’s attention turns.
"Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand what the scriptures had been about all along." Jesus explains how the story of Israel is now told as reaching its climax in himself. Certain continuities and discontinuities naturally will happen, as
"the law must be put aside...not because it was a bad thing but because it was a good thing whose task is now accomplished. But... the people of God renewed through Jesus and the Spirit can never and must never forget the road by which they had traveled."
N.T. studies the history of the church over the first sixteen centuries and the various ways in which they attempted to interpret the Scriptures. He reflects on these attempts as being failures, because "once you can make scripture stand on its hind legs and dance a jig, it becomes a tame pet rather than a roaring lion." We must remember that "the backbone of many traditional arguments for the authority of scripture has been those specific sayings of Jesus which stress that he himself regarded scripture as authoritative and criticized his opponents for not doing so."
Christianity was undermined during the period of the Enlightenment as historical and rational study was used as a weapon against the church. “Much of what has been written about the Bible in the last two hundred years has either been following through the Enlightenment's program or reacting to it, or negotiating some kind of halfway house in between." The act of God in Jesus Christ has been reduced to mere moral teaching. Or equally disappointing, Jesus’s death is now treated as simply “the mechanism whereby individual sinners can receive forgiveness and hope for an otherworldly future - leaving the politicians and economists... to take over the running, and as it turns out the ruining, of the world."
"Whenever people today talk about 'authority' within the church, a regular appeal is made on behalf of 'experience'." However, as Wright states, "'experience' is far too slippery for the concept to stand any chance of providing a stable basis sufficient to serve as an 'authority'." This idea is proved upon simple reflection, because when people's experiences differ, this would lead to a complete absence of authority. However, as Wright stresses, "it is vital that Christians should 'experience' the power and love of God in their own lives."
To conclude in the wise words of N.T. Wright, We need to
"highlight the role of the Spirit as the powerful, transformative agent... keep as its central focus the goal of God's Kingdom, inaugurated by Jesus on earth as in heaven and one day to be completed under the same rubric... envisage the church as characterized, at the very heart of its life, by prayerful listening to, strenuous wrestling with, humble obedience before, and powerful proclamation of scripture."
Review
N.T. Wright has an insightful way with words, engaging his readers and stressing the importance of the issue of authority in the bible. I agree with his claim that we need to move from scrutinizing the Bible to letting it be more authoritative in our lives. We must engage in a way that will be transforming rather than in a way that will simply set us up to win debates. We must study scripture privately and corporately, as we look to it for counsel, prayer, devotion, example, study, and worship, all the while remaining conscious we do not look at it to justify our own agendas.
I applaud N.T. for stressing the study of Jesus, a point which I think is not stressed enough in our churches today, though His life is at the center of the gospel. The gospels must be in must be read in context, that we might know what is prescriptive and what is simply descriptive of the early Church. We must view it through a lens that grants the inspiration of Holy Spirit, rather than simply another worldly historical/wise document. We must view it more than simply an object of study or a research tool. We must set aside time to reflect in an intimate way with the Lord and the guiding of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to the significance to our own lives.
N.T. does not expect his reader to have presupposed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but rather uses supporting evidence for his argument that this is the case. He used scripture throughout his book appropriately and effectively. Most of the claims in this book can be compared to the main objectives or elements of this course on Biblical Interpretation. The development of skills for the proper interpretation of scripture is a must. If we must initially study the scripture to see what it says before we can apply its authority to our lives, skills to determine a proper understanding is a necessary prerequisite. A properly weighted importance on this history of interpretation found in the book is also similar to that which has been stressed in class. False interpretations in the past have led to the compromise of the church and its message, and of this we should be wary. Context is key in any interpretive attempt, whether that be cultural or literary, that we might apply the text appropriately. We accept the teaching, both from the book and from class, that the importance of proper scripture interpretation is found in the fact that these truths form the foundation for our Faith.
Studying the scripture will require everything that goes against our culture: humility, discipline, endurance, patience, and a moldable spirit. A willing and humble spirit must embrace the task, recognizing that this task in so small one. Daily prayer must be a theme in any believer’s life, that God would provide strength, clarity of mind, and perseverance. To this N.T. makes clear.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Wright, NT. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. New York: HarperCollins, 2011.
