A Healthy Approach to the Bible

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

For the sake of argument, what authority can the New Testament documents have without the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration? This doctrine states that every word in the entire biblical text was inspired by the Holy Spirit so that there are no errors in the original Scriptures.

But what of discrepancies? When we consider the Gospel accounts of Jesus' birth, ministry, death and resurrection we find discrepancies that result from different perspectives. In fact, if the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John agreed in every minute detail, we would have evidence of collusion among the witnesses. We would have reason to be suspicious. Such discrepancies on minor details are actually evidence of authenticity.

Even to speak of "errors" is misleading. Are contextual incongruities errors? A contextual incongruity is evident in Genesis 6:4 which poses the Nephilim as fallen angels (a Rabbinic notion) while also presenting them as historical “heroes of days gone by, men of renown.” The term Nephilim is derived from the same root as the Aramaic npyl which means giant, as in great. This is equivalent to the Arabic nfy, meaning hunter. Noah’s great grandson Nimrod is described as a “mighty hunter” or a “mighty man” before the Lord. Nimrod was a Kushite kingdom builder who married a Sumerian princess. He was among the "First Lords of the Earth."

Some portions of the New Testament include Jewish Midrash which contradict other portions of the canonical Scripture. Hebrews 12:16 describes Esau as an immoral and godless person, yet Hebrews 11:20 describes Esau as blessed. Which is the inspired word? It cannot be the midrash which contradicts the picture of Esau in Genesis as one who forgave his brother Jacob for trying to steal his inheritance birthright and his father's priestly blessing. 

In Hebrew 7:20-28, the author states that the former priests did not take oaths. However, there are historical documents that attest to oaths among the Hebrew priests. These include oaths of office, of loyalty, and of truth telling. The priest took an oath that declared loyalty to the high king who he served, and the oath was declared before the appointed royal official or high priest under whom the priest served.

The author of Hebrews is honest about his lack of information. He admits that many of the religious practices of the period of the Exodus are not familiar to him. Of the Ark of the Covenant, the mysterious manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, he explains in Hebrew 9:5 – “Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” 

The Bible is indeed a miraculous codex. It contains all things necessary for salvation. It should be read as objectively as possible, apart from denominational interpretations, dispensationalism, or concerns about errors. The reader has a responsibility to apply reason. Today the amount of information available to help people understand the Bible is enormous. 

To those steeped in the mindset of "the plain meaning of Scripture" this might sound a strange teaching. There is nothing "plain" about the canonical Scriptures. They are dense, multi-layered, tightly woven, and provocative. They require intense study and close reading with great attention to details. This should be especially true for those who claim Scripture as their first authority (prima scriptura).

We are heirs to the empiricism of the twentieth century and we can legitimately draw on that heritage when investigating the Scriptures as objectively as possible. We may approach the Bible less polemically than past generations. We can understand difficult passages because of the work of learned Bible scholars, textual criticism, biblical archaeology, biblical anthropology, and the study of biblical languages and biblical populations. Today the available “ordinary means” of understanding the Bible are vastly greater and more diverse than in the past.

Related reading: Formed and Informed by the Bible; The Talmud's Influence on the New Testament Writers; The Roots of the Gospel are in Africa; The Bible on Trial; A Disciple's Guide to Bible Study; Distinguishing Midrash from Historical Realities; Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in the Bible

The Church at Prayer

 

"Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of Him that we are capable of in this life." - Archbishop William Law

The Church is a great mystery, the nature of which is known only to God. The divisions among Christians reflect cultural and historical realities about which countless volumes have been written. 

It can be safely said that where the Church is there is prayer that aligns with divine revelation in Scripture and Tradition. The Holy Spirit inspires prayer and sometimes moves us to prayer in times of urgency. 

The single prayer upon which all Christians agree is the "Our Father" or "The Lord's Prayer". The authority for this prayer comes from Jesus Christ himself who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses (debts) as we forgive those who trespass against us (our debtors); and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Types of prayer range from personal prayer in daily devotions; extemporaneous prayers in public services of worship, and formal liturgical prayers. Christians believe that prayer is offered to glorify God, to render praise and thanksgiving, to intercede for others, to confess sins, and to consecrate, sanctify, and ordain.

The following prayers come from different Christian traditions, but all express what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

This "General Thanksgiving" is found in The Book of Common Prayer (Anglican).

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all they goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men; We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord,, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end.

This prayer comes from the Ethiopic Liturgy.

Truly the heavens and earth are full of the holiness of thy glory, in our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, thy holy Son. He came, and was born of the Virgin, that he might fulfill thy will and make a people for thee. He stretched out his hands to the passion, suffering to save the sufferers that trust in thee; and was delivered of his own will to the Cross, that he might abolish death and burst the bond of Satan, trample on Hades, lead forth the Saints, establish a covenant, and make known his resurrection! 

These two prayers come from the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church:

Illumine our hearts, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of thy Gospel teachings. Put us in fear also of thy blessed commandments, that we, trampling down all earthly passions, may follow after the life of the spirit; both thinking and doing always such things as shall be well pleasing to thee. For thou art the light of our souls and of our bodies, O Christ our God. (Attributed to St. John Chrysostom.)

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name's sake.

This memorial prayer comes from the Liturgy of the Apostolic Constitutions.

He who fashioneth all that are born into this world was himself fashioned in the Virgin’s womb; he who was without flesh became flesh; he who was begotten from eternity was born in time. He was holy in his conversation and taught in accordance with law, and he drove away all manner of disease and sickness from among men, and wrought signs and wonders among the people. He who feedeth the hungry and filleth all things living with plenteousness partook of food and drink and sleep. He manifested thy name to those who knew it not; he put ignorance to flight, rekindled piety, fulfilled thy will, and did finish the work which thou gavest him to do. And when he had duly accomplished all these things, betrayed by one diseased with wickedness he was seized by the hands of lawless people, priests and High Priests, falsely so called, and a rebellious mob; and having suffered many things at their hands, and having endured all kinds of indignity by thy permission, was delivered to Pilate the Governor. The Judge was judged, the Saviour was condemned, he who is impassible was nailed to the Cross, and he who is by nature immortal died.

Prayer for the Church (attributed to William Law).

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior.

This prayer comes from the Liturgy of the Coptic Jacobites.

O Longsuffering, of great mercy and truth, receive our prayer and supplication’ receive our petition, our penitence, our confession upon thy pure and holy altar in heaven. May we be accounted worthy to hear thy holy Gospel, and to keep thy precepts and commandments, and to bear fruit therein an hundredfold, and sixtyfold, in Christ Jesus our Lord, O thou who art blessed with him and the holy and lifegiving Spirit.

Anglican Prayer of Humble Access before reception of Holy Communion.

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.

Related: Prayer for the New Year; Prayer for the Nation; The Prayers of Peter Marshall; Prayer as Our Spiritual Lifeline; A Life Grounded in Prayer; The Dimensions of Prayer