The Crisis of Scripture

English: Bible in candlelight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Crisis of Scripture...Growing up in traditional Christian Reformed churches and attending Christian schools all of my life, the Bible holds a special place for me.  Before this starts to sound like I'm holier than all of you, let me be clear that I have never really been great with daily personal devotions and even struggle at times now.  That being said, there have been very few days in my life where the Bible has not been opened whether in personal or family devotions, in class, or at church.  I've grown up hearing the language of the Bible as "God's Word," "inspired by God," and "God-breathed." The circles I've been in recognize human authorship, but for myself (and I'm guessing for the majority of my brothers and sisters) "God-breathed" means that God spoke words to men to be written down.  That being said, I recognize that the canon (which books are held as Holy Scripture) was organized by humans as well as not all translations can be perfect; I do however believe that God acted in the forming of the canon and that God works through translators who are faithful in continuing his truth.

Some of you I'm guessing are probably wondering at this point, "What's your crisis?"  Others of you (I'm looking at you, pastors, theologians, and students) probably know where this is heading.  New ideas, particularly in the veins of biblical scholarship and criticisms, do not fit with the way I've been taught all of my life.  Up until the last 200 years or so, biblical authorship was rarely addressed and God's Word was taken as is (for both good uses and abuses); however, recent scholars have critiqued who wrote certain books, how the books were written, and a variety of other details.  I feel that this type of "scholarship" tends to make Scripture into a history book, a puzzle, a text to be criticized for the way arguments are presented, and leads into products like this article coming from Christianity Today, in which a professor from Messiah College says, "At times the Bible endorses values we should reject, praises acts we condemn, and portrays God in ways we cannot accept."

Truth: It can be hard to swallow a lot of the Old Testament destruction called for by God, we wonder why slavery isn't completely condemned in Paul's letters, and yes, the creation and flood accounts do share similarities to foreign myths.  Amidst these types of "problems" and concerns, modern scholars tend to point to the human authors, but I'm not ready to concede that God spoke all these things to who wrote the text of the Bible.  I know it's not neat, the books of the Bible were not written down in a book that was leather-bound and had "Holy Bible" written in gold paint on the front that got passed from author to author.  There are stories and accounts that seem to contradict and others that seem to be added on later, but do we really have the right to skip those parts, cross them out, or even physically tear them out as Thomas Jefferson did?  My crisis is why or how have Christians, theologians, and scholars lost the focus on God as the Speaker.  I know this probably isn't the norm in all denominations and traditions, but what authority does Scripture have if left up to the humans who wrote it and have translated it?  I'm not saying that God can't work through broken, crooked sticks and transform everything they say for his glory and purpose, but the Bible is so much more than just some feel good talks and experiences that someone wrote in their journal.  It's God's love story for us!  It belongs to him and it comes from him.  Things aren't always going to make sense (we should be used to that by now, our salvation doesn't make sense), but what if?  What if God really gave the words recorded in Scripture?  What if those events really happened?  What if God's perfect will includes using Israel to destroy foreign nations and their citizens, and at the same time "evil" nations are used to destroy his people for their punishment and rehabilitation?  What if God is truly the author of the Bible and his writers were pawns who got blessed immensely to do his will?  

There is a lot that can be learned from Scripture when we know the context these books come out of, who they originally addressed, and then to see them in the light of different populations.  At the same time however, I feel that there is a reason why the exact words of the original text were written, and we can't just say that because we live in a different time and culture that we should adapt it.  If Scripture is central, as it is proclaimed in the Reformed tradition, then isn't there something more sacred in what is contained and what the Church has passed down throughout the centuries than just the human experience. 

I hope this post generates some discussion, especially if anyone has advice for journeying through this "crisis of Scripture," the battle of a pastor who studies commentaries.  Maybe I'm wrong and this is the door that God is opening that I might be graciously corrected.  My arguments probably aren't all logical, but hopefully they make you think and reflect on "What if?" because I think this has big implications for how we use and study the Bible.  Please, respond! :)  

If you get a chance, check out How to Read the Bible, an article written by Dr. J. Todd Billings, a professor from Western Seminary on how all Christians can read the Bible theologically.