THE BIBLE AND OUR FAITH

In the opening section of his book Christian Doctrine, Shirley Guthrie writes of the place the Bible holds in our faith journey:

In the Bible we come to know the Person who stands at the center of the Christian faith. The whole of the Old Testament looks forward to him and is fulfilled in him. The whole of the New Testament is an expression of the faith that in him is hid the secret of the past, present, and future of not only Christian individuals but of the whole world. Christian theology is different from theology in general in that of all books this particular book is the source and norm of its attempt to understand the truth about God, human beings, and the world. The fact of the Bible means that we are not left alone to talk about a God who is only the projection of our own desires and fears, a humanity that is only the result of our wishful thinking about ourselves, or a world that is only the reflection of our own pessimistic or optimistic view of life. If we want to know what Christians believe, we cannot look only to our own minds and hearts and personal experiences; we have to go to the Bible ….[And] we must listen to the total witness of scripture, not just to selected passages that support what we already think and want to hear. When anyone agues that “the Bible says” this or that, it is always important to ask. “Is that all that the Bible says, or have you picked only passages that support your own ideas and preferences? What other passages might give us a better and fuller understanding of the biblical message? ~Christina Doctrine, Part I, Chapter 1

Prayer

Thank you, God, for showing me in the pages of the Bible who I am and how to live as your child. Make me an eager follower of Jesus as I read Your Word daily. Amen.