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The
Bible: Relic or Record? I
have noticed the reverence some hold for certain icons and relics.
I am curious and respectful, but I do not establish my theology
or state my faith on reverence for relics. With the latest amendments
to the Baptist Faith and Message, the leaders of the Southern
Baptist Convention have succeeded in placing the Bible on the
level of a revered relic. The
believer approaches a sacred relic with a magical expectancy that
it is the repository of spiritual insight and miraculous powers.
Reminds me of Indiana Jones's encounter with the Hebrew Ark of
the Covenant or the Holy Grail of Christ. Such a magical reverence
for relics makes for exciting entertainment but very poor theology. The
Convention chose to remove from the BF&M statement on the
Scriptures the words "the record of" and the sentence
"The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is
Jesus Christ." That action moved the Bible from an authoritative
record to a revered relic. Any
shift from interpreting and applying the content and meaning of
scripture to a dependence on an attitudinal correctness before
any content is explored borders on a litmus test of theological
word magic. In my youth we heard a lot of talk about the Bible,
but very little from the Bible. The phrase heard most often was
"scripture cannot be set against scripture." It was
an appeal to attitudinal correctness toward a revered relic-not
an open discussion of content and meaning. Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary defines criterion as "...a rule or
test by which anything is tried in forming a correct judgment
respecting it..." Jesus exercised that role many times. When
the Scribes jumped him because his disciples plucked grain to
eat on the Sabbath, Jesus said the Sabbath was made for us, not
the other way around. I suppose he set scripture against scripture? Nothing,
not even scripture can pass judgment on him. Jesus said, "This
is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent."
(Lk 6:29) His was the work of God in the flesh. The
living Logos may be identified by the written Word but it is not
equal to Him. (Jn 1:14) Jesus said, "Before Abraham was,
I am." (Jn 8:58) As the eternal Son he predated creation,
the covenant, circumcision, and the Law. On the mount of transfiguration
Moses and Elijah paid homage to Jesus. (Mk 9:2-8) There are many
references establishing Jesus' authority over the Law and the
Prophets. Jesus
used the formula "It has been said-but I say unto you..."
to acclaim his authority over human tradition and the interpretation
of scripture. Paul wrote "For God has done what the Law,
weakened by the flesh, could not do." (Rom 8:3) The
written word has never saved anyone. The Bible points unmistakably
toward Jesus as the Lord of creation and the only Savior of men.
Jesus said, "It is the spirit that give life; the flesh is
useless. The words that I have spoken to you are SPIRIT and LIFE."
(Jn 6:63) Any
effort to endow the words themselves as the means of grace rather
than Jesus himself and his authority to forgive sins is to fall
into the same kind of trap as baptismal regeneration and endow
the elements of the Supper as transferring saving grace. To
the pair on the road to Emmaus Jesus did not say they would be
saved if they believed what the prophets had written. He interpreted
to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. (Lk 24:27) Jesus
did not bear witness to the scriptures. He showed where the scriptures
bore witness to him. And that is not setting scripture against
scripture. It is an open presentation of content and meaning.
Attitudinal correctness will lead to creedal conformity and surrender
to the supremacy of human theological systems. Informed judgment
of the content of the Bible leads to Christ. We
can move beyond the failure of attitudinal correctness and the
innumerable problems associated with the magical relic of inerrancy
without sacrificing our dependency on the Bible as singularly
authoritative. Let
us readily agree that "the criterion by which the Bible is
to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." May God bless us with
right judgment in the years ahead. July 2000 |