Authority of the Bible: official views

Every now and then I do a post on this subject, as it's one that comes up regularly at University and also affects many contemporary debates, such as that going on in the Episcopal church of the USA at the moment at their General Convention.

I thought it might be interesting to look up the 'official' view of a number of churches to see what they actually said.

Church of England

Article VI of the 39 Articles of Religion of the Church of England

VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.

Methodist
following from a Methodist catechism

The Bible is the record of God's self revelation, supremely in Jesus Christ , and is a means through which he still reveals himself, by the Holy Spirit.

Methodist Church of Great Britain website

Baptist Union
taken from the "What is a Baptist?" area.

The Bible is described as the 'Word of God' because Baptists believe that its writers were inspired by God's Spirit. As such, it has authority to guide both what we believe and how we live our lives.

and
That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each Church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.

taken from Baptist Union Website

Evangelical Alliance

Interesting this one, as this is the umbrella organisation for Churches, missionary societies, etc which hold the Bible as their supreme authority. They have a basis of faith, which constituent organisations sign up to. Item 3 is:

The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.

I found it interesting that none of the above used the controversial words 'infallible' or 'inerrant' in their definitions. Increasingly people from the conservative wing of Christianity are talking about 'orthodox' and 'mainstream' using terms like these, when in fact they haven't been the normative Christian standpoint at all; in fact they are a relatively recent doctrinal development in the way they are understood in contemporary theology.

Belated Birthday Greetings to John Calvin

I didn't get round to blogging on the official anniversary of the highly influential reformer (10th July). Calvin is a theological hero to some; for others he was a disaster for theology and a cruel leader (notably the execution of Servetus, although plenty of other executions were perpetrated by both sides of the Reformation). What should we make of him?

My friend Steve put some very witty comments online about Calvin and Calvinists, which you can read here. Calvin remains significant as many Christians today draw their theology from a tradition you can trace back to him.

When I was at University, our CU leader happily described himself as a Calvinist Baptist. His attempts to explain the compatibility between pre-destination and freewill were lively discussions, and he was very much of the theological view of communion that has been parodied by Christians of other persuasions as "chew bread and think hard".

The irony is, however, that Calvin himself believed in infant baptism. I haven't studied him much, but even I know that!

If it is right that children should be brought to Christ, why should they not be admitted to baptism, the symbol of our communion and fellowship with Christ? If the kingdom of heaven is theirs, why should they be denied the sign by which access, as it were, is opened to the Church, that being admitted into it they may be enrolled among the heirs of the heavenly kingdom? (Institutes of Religion)

Likewise his theology of communion was much more profound than that often attributed to (or articulated by) his followers.

We must confess, then, that if the representation which God gives us in the Supper is true, the internal substance of the sacrament is conjoined with the visible signs; and as the bread is distributed to us by the hand, so the body of Christ is communicated to us in order that we may be made partakers of it (John Calvin, Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper Section 17).

Maybe it's another example of where those who are "-ists" take issues further than the founder of their movement. I'm no Calvin fan, but if you can get past the reputation, there's more to learn than you might think.

Journey Through the Past: 1

If you're a Neil Young fan (like me), and you just googled the title of this totally weird film and album, sorry - this is about something else altogether. I heard the album long ago; the film I have never seen. Anyway, back to the post...

As I'm starting to learn more about my future home town of Morecambe, it has made me think a lot about some of the places I have worked and lived in previously. My first ordained job was a curate at St Mary's, Greasley.



Greasley is both a church and a civil parish on the Notts/Derbys border, and includes part of Eastwood. The Church is in a lovely rural setting, although the parish had 14,000+ residents when I was there! It goes back to the Domesday book and has lots of associated history. Eastwood is famous for two things: 1) D.H.Lawrence was born there, and 2) the Midland Railway was formed at a meeting at the Sun Inn.

Greasley Church itself features in at least two novels - it's Minton Church in Lawrence's Sons and Lovers and Willey Green Church in Women in Love. When a tea-shop was proposed, I suggested they call it Minton's, which survives as a name to this day at the excellent tea rooms run by Judy and Roger. (Minton is also a make of china tea sets, of course) Greasley also inspired a Lawrence short story called A Fragment of Stained Glass which draws on the fact that glass from nearby Beauvale Priory depicting St Lucy and St Agatha was found in the farmhouse built on the site and transferred to Greasley. The conversation depicted was probabl imagined in the huge old vicarage, which still stands across the road from the church.

Something I've just noticed is that the Beauvale Priory ruins may be open to the public soon, which will make a small tragic piece of Reformation history accessible. The last Prior was one of the first martyrs, and is commemorated by an annual pilgrimage by the Catholic Diocese.

Apparently Eastwood is an excellent example of the region's distinctive accent, although coming from Nottingham myself, it's all very familiar to me! They always get it wrong on films and TV dramatisations; everyone sounds Yorkshire. The challenge now is whether I ever manage a convincing Lancashire through living up here.

Neglect

Just noticed the date of my previous post. This week has flown by, full of travel, farewells, services and meals. Graduations next week and the final days at UoC beckon. Increasingly feels the right choice to have taken, but still strange to hear of plans for next term which I will have no part in. A good team in charge, so if you're coming to Cumbria next year, join in!!

Iconic Crimes

It's been strange to see recent mention two crimes that have featured in the media for over 40 years. The Moors murders still send a chill down the spine, and it was particularly sad to hear that the search for Keith Bennett's body - the last undiscovered victim of Brady and Hindley - is to cease. The police have exhausted all avenues of enquiry, including trying to identify the landscape from photos seemingly taken near a grave. Unless new evidence comes to light, or new technology opens up other possibilities, there are no further options.

Back in 1980s, information from Hindley and Brady enabled police to find Pauline Reade, but Keith's body remains undiscovered, despite extensive excavations on the moor. Hindley died in 2002, leaving Brady as the only living witness to the location. Keith's mother, Winnie Johnson, gave an emotional plea for more information from Ian Brady - the one person who might be able to help her. He has indicated that he can remember the place and could identify it, but won't cooperate with the police. At 76 Winnie Johnson just wants to bury her son before she dies. I hope she gets the chance.

The following day's news reported that the great train robbery of 1963 has surfaced with the question of parole for Ronnie Biggs. Biggs notoriously escaped from prison, escaping to Brazil, only returning to the UK as an elderly unwell man. He has just been denied parole by Jack Straw as he has been deemed "wholly unrepentant" (remarkably religious terminology for a legal decision). Although originally given a 30 year sentence, I think it is correct that Biggs has now served more time in prison than any of the other gang members, and he had a lesser role in the robbery than others. His escape, media profile and apparent enjoyment of his celebrity have obviously counted against him.

On the face of it, it's hard to see what damage an ill 79 year old is likely to do to society. Do we really need to spend money accommodating him in a cell that is in great demand? And what defines appropriate repentance? His is supposed to have expressed regret in a book published in the 1990s. On the other hand, justice needs to be done and needs to be seen to be done. A tricky calculation for the relevant authorities when it is appealed. Brady will certainly die in jail, but whether Biggs should seems to me a rather different question.

More Pigeons

We have another pigeon in the nest on top of the security light. That's what I call recycling!

Atheism, Hospitals and Prayer

Got a good response to the Atheist post which all took place over on facebook, which this blog feeds into. The conversation discussed what people mean when they self-describe as atheist. As I said earlier, I suspect that for many it just means "I don't do God" or even "can't be bothered to think about it", rather than the adoption of a clear ideology. There also seem to be passive and active atheists in the latter category - some who keep their views private, whereas others want to convert you as passionately as Christian evangelists.

Meanwhile, there is now a debate about prayer in hospitals, which follows on from a case where a nurse was disciplined for offering to pray for a patient. The BMA will be debating a motion about the right of health care professionals to offer to pray with patients.

The coverage has interested me. "Doctors are demanding the right..." was the BBC Sunday radio headline, and is echoed on the news website. In fact, the motion being put to the the BMA representative meeting is as follows:

Motion by THE AGENDA COMMITTEE: That this Meeting:
(i) recognises that the NHS is committed to providing spiritual care for patients;
(ii) notes the position on inappropriate discussion of faith matters in GMC Guidance on
Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice;
(iii) while welcoming the constructive and necessary advice in the document "Religion or
belief", is concerned that some paragraphs suggest that any discussion of spiritual matters
with patients or colleagues could lead to disciplinary action;
(iv) believes that offering to pray for a patient should not be grounds for suspension;
(v) calls on Health Departments to allow appropriate consensual discussion of spiritual matters
within the NHS, when done with respect for the views and sensitivities of individuals.
(Sheffield Division has been asked to propose this motion)

Full agenda available at http://www.bma.org.uk/images/ARMgenda2009_tcm41-187028.pdf

Hardly the mandate for aggressive and exploitative manipulation of vulnerable people, which the National Secular Society spokesman suggested. The Radio 4 debate descended into a rather odd conversation about whether it was inconsistent not to offer prayer to everyone, when he seemed to be suggesting that one could be a little more discerning than that. After all, not praying with a patient doesn't mean you don't pray for a patient.

Banning spiritual/religious issues from the practitioner-patient conversation would be a conscious decision to make health care atheistically secular. A democratic society is entitled to make that decision, but it isn't a decision to be taken by default. Even limiting that conversation to Chaplains represents a compartmentalising of spiritual matters. If the NHS is more than a mechanistic service, and seeks to offer person-centred care, then it would seem that every aspect of a person needs to be cared for.

Patient Concern, a (not Christian-based) patient advocacy organisation seemed to be the voice of reason in the midst of all of this.

But Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern said: "Most complaints from patients are about being on a conveyor belt of care. They don't rate with staff as real people.

"Offering to say a prayer is a warm and kind thought. Most patients will accept it as such. It is no more offensive than being offered a sleeping pill. You can say thanks but that sort of thing isn't my cup of tea.

"But if Christian doctors see this as an opportunity to promote their faith to people at a time when they are particularly vulnerable, that is totally unacceptable."

Quoted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8116497.stm

Glastonbury on TV

Looking forward to keeping up with the coverage this weekend. Saw the Specials doing Ghost Town - a Coventry inspired song by the city's most famous band. Fleet Foxes were an interesting discovery: beards, clapped out acoustic guitar and Crosby Stills & Nash harmony. Speaking of CSN they are on today so looking forward to that. Quo and the Boss still to go. It's like time travel.

-- Post From My iPod Touch

The Long Goodbye

Events to mark my leaving Uni of Cumbria seem to be extending over several weeks - CU event weeks ago, LU event on Saturday, InSpire barbecue was on Sunday, Leavers' Celebration will be on Wednesday, visits to campuses in early July, but I don't actually go until August. It's all about catching people before they disappear. It all feels a bit weird saying goodbye, and then popping up again the next day. And I'll still be just down the road!

I guess you just have to go with it, and trust everyone understands.

Equal and Diverse

We recently caught up with some telly viewing, which included a couple of episodes of George Gently, the police stories set in Tyneside in 1964. Great North East locations, a fantastic collection of classic cars and the rather shocking reminder that we still had the death penalty when Merseybeat was on the radio.

The last episode touched on issues of race and religion. People of Yemeni Arab descent, born in NE England with Geordie accents featured in the story, and terminology of the era to refer to people with 'non-white' skin regularly featured in the script. Some stereotypes were also included (in a sometimes slightly clunky way) such as 'they all look the same'.

I thought it was a very interesting way to hold a mirror up to society today. The language used in 1964 (or even the Life on Mars scenes from 1973) seems quite alien and shocking now, especially when it comes from the lips of characters who are otherwise the heroes of the piece. Gently himself refers in this episode to a time when his 'racialist' [note the terminology which is correct for 1964] language led to a sequence of events which may have criminalised a young man.

The question in my mind is whether our sanitisation of language has actually achieved as much for equality and diversity as we sometimes want to believe. Prejudice is no longer publicly articulated, except in certain notable cases such as the recent BNP success. However, E & D policies can lull us into thinking that prejudice is over, or (worse) that we no longer have any prejudices.

Personally, I think that we all have prejudices. It may be about certain ethnicity, nationality or religion; it may be about other human qualities. They often leak out very slowly, or get projected on to relatively safe issues - long 'a' or short 'a' in grass, football allegiances, etc. - but they continue to be present. An approach to E&D that implies otherwise hasn't properly taken human nature into account. Perhaps those of us concerned with these issues need to be a bit more humble and a bit more more understanding (as distinct from tolerant) of where people's prejudices come from and how the fears behind them can be addressed.