5. The Holy Scriptures
One powerful cause of the creation of new liturgies from the 1960s onwards was the presence of new versions or translations of the Bible, The New English Bible and the New International Version, for example. As the decades have gone by, the number of versions has much increased and with this increase there is a greater commitment to the principle of dynamic equivalency in translation. This in turn has allowed for the entry into the translated texts that which are truly modern ideas and principles – e.g. of feminism. Nevertheless, whatever the version, the Bible is still read within the Liturgy, be the church progressive liberal or traditional conservative in its estimate of the Bible.
So it is wholly to be expected that in the Outline there is a section on “The Holy Scriptures.” We are told what are the Holy Scriptures (the books of the Old and New Testaments); what is the Old Testament (books written by the people of the Old Covenant as they were inspired by God); and what is the New Testament (books written by people of the New Covenant as they were inspired by God), In answer to the question why we call the Scriptures the “Word of God” it is stated: “ We call them the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.”
So it is taught that all the books of the Bible are inspired in the sense that their authors/editors were “inspired by the Holy Spirit.” And that they are the Word of God now because of this inspiration and because we find in experience that God still speaks to us through them.
It is not clear as to the extent of the inspiration. Was it of such a kind that what they wrote is truly and really God’s Word written? Or was it minimal and basic, guaranteeing at least that what they wrote is a generally true account of the religious experience and doctrine of people in the Old and New Covenants?
It is not clear also how God speaks to us through the Bible today. Are sentences therein taken as real statements by God to us today? Or is the way God speaks more indirect, a kind of conviction that arises after reflecting upon a passage or book?
And it is not clear what kind of authority the Bible has in the Church in terms of defining the Faith and establishing Morality, for example. We are told that “we understand the meaning of the Bible by the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Scriptures.” Does this mean that the local Church (the ECUSA?) meeting in a national synod or General Convention can decide what is the true interpretation of Scripture in terms of Faith and Morals? Or does the local Church have to wait for the “mind” of the universal Church?
Turning to the Articles we enter a very different atmosphere and approach with regard to Holy Scripture. Article VI is given the title: “Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.” It is asserted that the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is to be required of any man as an article of faith or be thought necessary for salvation. So, as Article XX makes very clear, the Church itself, with all its clergy and members, is clearly and necessarily under the authority of the Scriptures and may not impose anything that is contrary to the Word of God written. And even though the Church is in the divine providence “a witness and keeper” of Holy Scripture, it ought not to decree or require anything contrary to the clear teaching of the same.
In terms of interpretation, one part of Scripture is not to be explained and expounded so that it is contrary to another, for there is a basic harmony to the mind and will of God. And in interpretation, there is the basic dogma of the Church in terms of the Trinity and the Person of Christ, which is used as a kind of paradigm and means of understanding the content of the revelation in the Bible (see Articles I-V).
In summary, it may be said that the passionate concern of the Articles is to claim that the Scriptures are above the Church in authority for they are God’s Word, that the Scriptures are clear in their central message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and that the Church, which is to preserve the Bible intact through space and time, is not to require anything that is clearly contrary to the Scriptures. In contrast, the Outline does not mention the matter of salvation and seems to suggest that the Church is actually above the Scriptures in her ability to state what they mean.
October 11, 2005
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