April 17, 2020

Today is Friday. Believe it or not, I have have been blogging through the pandemic for one month. The purpose is to feed the souls of those who will listen and take the message to heart.

Let me back up and explain the basis of my theological understanding. I am a dissenter, theologically. I do not hold to the majority of Christian beliefs in the matter of Scripture. I think everything hangs on what authority you give to the Bible.  “Nothing has more impact on spiritual growth than reflection on Scripture.” [Hawkings and Parkinson “Move” p. 19]

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” [2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 NLT]

My first deviation from majority Christianity is the premise of “Scripture only.” This means the Bible is the only source for correct belief and behavior. Anything outside of the Bible (scripture) is not binding for either belief or behavior. In fact, stray from the Bible and the door is open for distraction, dissipation, and disaster. The Bible is practical; intended to be read, understood, and applied.  The Bible has sole authority over all human life.

My second deviation is; I believe The Bible “has been faithfully preserved and proves itself true in human experience.” Oddly enough few in the Protestant tradition believe the Bible has been faithfully preserved. Don’t believe me? Check your church’s “statement of faith.” Many will say the Bible is inerrant “as originally given.” That is a back-handed admission to doubting the faithful preservation of Scripture. It gives “wiggle room” to “hedge” and drift away from orthodoxy (right belief and behavior based on Biblical truth); as some churches have done. However, in practice, if you pin most theologically “conservative” Pastors down they will admit to some shade of faithful preservation. Without faithful preservation there can be no absolute trustworthiness in the Bible. Thus, the confusion and wars over translations begin.

Have you noticed this month, I used multiple translations? Some translations try to give the meaning of the Greek; while others try to give the meaning in English. The result is; most translations have a reasonable degree of faithful accuracy unless they are published to defend a specific theological strain. Having read most of the major translations and a few “branded” ones; I feel I’m on solid ground comparing them with the Greek. Don’t know Greek? Put several texts side by side (an idea from the KJV translators).

For instance: the NLT and CEB say, “All Scripture is inspired by God.” “Inspired” is a theological word conveying the sense of “breathed in.” The ESV states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” While the NIV reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” The CEV takes a natural tone explaining, “Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word.” All of the above are faithful to the message Paul was impressing on Timothy.

Because of this, I can arrive at five presuppositions about the Bible:

1.         The Bible is inspired. [God’s word to us.]
2.          The Bible is inerrant. [Without mistake, faithfully preserved.]
3.         The Bible is infallible. [Trustworthy in message... always effective in life]
4.         The Bible is internally consistent.   [Contradictions are created by constructs not Scripture.]
5.         The Holy Spirit illumines the meaning. [God speaks to us, personally, for real.]