Reaffirming Biblical Authority

If we reject as unworkable a biblicism that is both literalist and uncritical, one that hangs itself on an unworkable doctrine of inerrancy, how do we reclaim and reaffirm biblical authority? As we consider this question, which is raised in Michael Kinnamon's and Jan Linn's Disciples: Reclaiming Our Identity, Reforming Our Practice, (Chalice Press, 2009), we must wrestle with the fact that we live 2000 years after the fact, that the world and world views have changed dramatically. So, how do we experience biblical authority, especially as a community of faith that is non-creedal and has no hierarchy to impose an interpretation on congregations or individuals.

Today we had in our pulpit the Associate General Minister and Vice President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Rev. Dr. Todd Adams. He can speak on behalf of the General Board of the denomination and on behalf of the General Minister, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins. He can encourage and even cajole us, but he can't impose anything on the congregation. Indeed, neither can I. So, as we reflect on our faith and on the texts that speak to us and our faith, how should we understand its influence.

Our two authors, Kinnamon and Linn, place Scripture in the context of the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral -- Scripture, reason, experience, and tradition. They note that this formulation has its origins not with John Wesley, but with Albert Outler (though Wesley and other 17th and 18th-century figures spoke in similar terms). For Wesley Scripture had primacy, with the other three dependent on it. Our authors suggest that we understand Scripture as first among equals.

They write:

The Bible is the authority to which we have always made an appeal in times of controversy or debate, but this trustworthiness of the authority of scripture depends on the interplay between tradition, reason, and experience as it is interpreted. Each in its own way enhances our understanding of the biblical message. This is as it should be, since each plays a decisive role in the way all humans interpret the world. (Disciples, p. 32).

If we receive the word of Scripture as our norm, and affirm its inspiration -- it's God breathedness -- that doesn't mean that it is without error, that we must read it flatly, as if its meaning and interpretation never changes.

But perhaps even more important is the question of obedience. Now, as they note, abuses of power have led many of us to see obedience in a rather negative light. But they note that the Latin root for obedience has the meaning of listening. Thus, they write:

Therefore, to call Disciples to obedience to the authority of the Bible in the context of tradition, reason, and experience means that as a community of faith we can "listen" to scripture as we are given minds and hearts to understand it. (p. 36).

They go on to say that this listening should be done in the context of community, and even more specifically in the context of covenant. Listening to Scripture doesn't mean, however, that we will all agree as its meaning or application!

Thus, we can hear this final word about Scripture:

What is most distinctive about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is that we look to scripture for guidance and embrace one another in covenant because we belong to Jesus Christ first. Covenant and scripture are the foundation for Disciples life, and will determine in the days ahead the kind of church we will become as we adapt to ever-changing circumstances and challenges. (Disciples, p. 38)