It took me some time to realize that I was expecting the Bible to be what it was never designed to be. But like many things we inherit from our formative years, to keep holding on to everything would hold us back (or at least clutters our closets), preventing further spiritual growth and delaying maturity. Inheriting a faith tradition that placed a heavy emphasis on the centrality and authority of the Bible was an invaluable experience growing up. Sunday school classes taught us how “real science” conforms to a literalist reading of the Bible or how archeologists are godless scholars undermining God’s Word. ![]() We had to be sure we knew how to defend it against antagonistic scholars, science teachers, or our unbelieving friends. It was not enough to read and study the Bible for ourselves. But there were few sermons in my church where the reliability and authority of the Bible were not mentioned. To be sure, personal devotional time and reflection upon the meaning of Scripture for my life was highly encouraged. I grew up in a tradition where defending the Bible was a major element to reading it. Individual Christians often talk about being on a journey where God is doing the remodeling of their heart, so old beliefs are replaced with new ones with more solid material. Other traditions make efforts to freshen their home a bit every generation or so. Some traditions have well-established theological “houses” that are untouchable, such that even mild efforts to “freshen the paint” or “reorder the furniture” are met with resistance and disdain from loyal adherents. ![]() I will never forget my Bible college professor’s comment a month before I graduated: “Don’t forget: reading the Bible can really ruin your theology.” He intended to remind me that our theology is subservient to the Bible, not the other way around.Ĭhristians have been doing theology ever since there have been Christians.
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