The Nature of Scripture (19-25)

Question 1

What are the 3 main positions in terms of defining the Bible as a normative witness.

Answer 1

1. The Bible is a collection of documents written by people at different times to describe their experience of God.
   - The experience gave them the inspiration to write, but it naturally varied from person to person. We can therefore recognize that there is a common tradition of faith contained within the covers of the Bible, but its internal consistency is subject to the realities of spiritual development.
2. The Bible is a record made by people who heard God speaking to them and who recorded what they understood.
   - The result is a text which, despite the errors and inaccuracies which it contains, remains a basically faithful record of a real experience which we are still called to enjoy today. In practical terms, this means that discrepancies in the passion narratives in the gospels, shout not force us to deny the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection.
3. The bible is a Word from God given through human agents.
   - God spoke to human beings in words which they could understand, but in directing them to write he often gave them messages which were mysterious. This is particularly true in the case of predictive prophecy.

Question 2

What are the strengths and weaknesses with the 3 different positions of the nature of the Bible. To whom are they often connected with?

Answer 2

1. Liberals. Strength: Open to new ideas, not bound by authority. Weakness: Subject to instability.
2. Bridge between conservatives and liberals. Held by Origen (in its conservative form). Strength: Can function as a bridge and cut of the polarities of both parties. Weakness: compartmentalization.
3. Ortodox Protestant (pan-christian). Strength: Closest to the spiritual perception of the church through the ages. The communion of saints is more significant than the criticism of scholars. Weakness: Its tendency towards a blind and dogmatic conservatism, which clings to the thought patterns of a bygone era and does not speak to the concerns of the present age.