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Scripture First: Biblical Interpretation that Fosters Christian Unity
How does Scripture read Scripture, and can the church follow that lead?Scripture or tradition? The things of God or the things of men? It’s easy, especially in the long shadow of the Reformation, to pit Scripture against tradition as enemies. After all, the goal of orienting one’s faith to the Bible alone can be so alluring.But the Bible itself suggests there is a fundamental unity between Scripture and the tradition it embodies. Rightly appreciating this unity can set the stage for more faithful and robust engagement with Scripture. Today’s polarized world needs thoughtful Christians who can reasonably consider their faith in light of what the Bible actually says.Scripture First examines where tradition comes from and how you can avoid trivial proof texting. Discover how the Old and New Testament can serve as a living and active resource for Christian life, and how God continues to leads his people as they engage his Word.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 22, 2020
Should we tolerate the smell of heresy for the sake of not offending others? Think about it. There is an underlying assumption to that question that presupposes a lot. You see, heretic and heresy are often used interchangeably but they do not have the same contaminating influence. Usually, when someone is espousing a heretical view, they’re not doing so with full knowledge that what they believe is heresy. On the other hand, we have to decide, who gets to pick and choose what is heresy and what is not? I’m sure no matter what you believe about the Bible or Christianity, you’ve been called a heretic by someone. What you should learn from that is not every accusation of heresy has merit and heresy hunting isn’t supposed to be someone’s life mission.
Denominations themselves have shown this ugly attitude against unity in a sense, where minor issues are turned to reasons not to fellowship with one another. In Scripture First, the authors give us a clever analogy that I’ve never seen applied to a theological topic before. You know how in political discussions someone might say that their particular political plan has not been tried before, just people who thought they were trying under the guise of the same name. In that same manner, the authors argue that sola scriptura has never really been sufficiently tried, despite many claiming it as a key tenet of their faith. Scripture First operates as a selection of essays by various people surrounding the topics of confessionalism, church tradition, and sola scriptura, as with most collections of essays, there is a varying quality, as some writers tend to outshine others. Daniel Oden talks about creedal expressions in the Hebrew Bible for example and I think that was a high point for this work. He utilizes a lot of Hebrew but don’t let that steer you away, as he does so in an accessible manner.
Unity is the overarching theme of this book and a point that Keith Stanglin makes resonated with me heavily. He says that Pandora’s box was opened and it became normalized to start new churches based on doctrinal disagreements varying in severity over time. Stephen Lawson also has a very interesting essay regarding Primitivism, which he defines loosely as the desire to go back to teachings in the past that predated moral collapse in the church. In addition to this, I enjoyed Lauren Smelser White’s contribution on Sola Scriptura, in which she states that we need to expand upon this broader textual inspiration conversation. She does an excellent job of evaluating the sources and following the historical line from Luther on and how the early reformers understood sola scriptura.
As a side note, she explains the differences between Karl Barth and Luther’s views on the inspiration of scripture in such a clear manner that I felt like I just learned something new that had been in front of my face the whole time! Her contribution would have to be my favorite of the book.
I came away with some nuggets of historical wisdom, hermeneutics in proper context, and a true call to love your neighbor as yourself. Because of this, I recommend this book.
Denominations themselves have shown this ugly attitude against unity in a sense, where minor issues are turned to reasons not to fellowship with one another. In Scripture First, the authors give us a clever analogy that I’ve never seen applied to a theological topic before. You know how in political discussions someone might say that their particular political plan has not been tried before, just people who thought they were trying under the guise of the same name. In that same manner, the authors argue that sola scriptura has never really been sufficiently tried, despite many claiming it as a key tenet of their faith. Scripture First operates as a selection of essays by various people surrounding the topics of confessionalism, church tradition, and sola scriptura, as with most collections of essays, there is a varying quality, as some writers tend to outshine others. Daniel Oden talks about creedal expressions in the Hebrew Bible for example and I think that was a high point for this work. He utilizes a lot of Hebrew but don’t let that steer you away, as he does so in an accessible manner.
Unity is the overarching theme of this book and a point that Keith Stanglin makes resonated with me heavily. He says that Pandora’s box was opened and it became normalized to start new churches based on doctrinal disagreements varying in severity over time. Stephen Lawson also has a very interesting essay regarding Primitivism, which he defines loosely as the desire to go back to teachings in the past that predated moral collapse in the church. In addition to this, I enjoyed Lauren Smelser White’s contribution on Sola Scriptura, in which she states that we need to expand upon this broader textual inspiration conversation. She does an excellent job of evaluating the sources and following the historical line from Luther on and how the early reformers understood sola scriptura.
As a side note, she explains the differences between Karl Barth and Luther’s views on the inspiration of scripture in such a clear manner that I felt like I just learned something new that had been in front of my face the whole time! Her contribution would have to be my favorite of the book.
I came away with some nuggets of historical wisdom, hermeneutics in proper context, and a true call to love your neighbor as yourself. Because of this, I recommend this book.
December 5, 2020
As the churches of Christ wrestle with its inability to adapt to postmodernism, this collection of essays begins a conversation of the failure of Stone Campbell movement churches to unify the church through their back to the Bible as source of authority for the church and how opening eyes to a new interpretative lens can enhance the communal aspects of the faith. Tradition versus sola scriptura is examined in a credible academic environment.
My only worry is that this highly academic examination will be difficult for the average layperson to decifer. We need a follow up book oriented towards non academics.
thank you to Abilene Christian University Press for the ARC to read and review.
My only worry is that this highly academic examination will be difficult for the average layperson to decifer. We need a follow up book oriented towards non academics.
thank you to Abilene Christian University Press for the ARC to read and review.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews