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Reading Scripture with Wesleyan Eyes

I must admit: I’ve had a hard time containing my excitement. I’m pumped about “The Bible Tells Me So” conference next February, 2011!

I’ve long thought that a Christian’s view of the Bible strongly shapes his or her view of God, freedom, the Church, knowledge, salvation, purpose, and a host of other issues.

For a couple decades now, I’ve been convinced that a Wesleyan view of various biblical issues is the most satisfying view overall. A Wesleyan view of the Bible is one reason I’ve chosen to be ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, which is a Wesleyan-oriented denomination.

John Wesley said many things about Scripture.  Although he read widely, he claimed to be a man of one book: the Bible. I have chosen the following quotation to highlight what I think is his most fundamental conviction about sacred text:

"The Scriptures are a complete rule of faith and practice; and they are clear in all necessary points."

The idea that the Bible is clear on what is necessary for faith and practice distinguishes a Wesleyan view of the Bible from other views. Some think that the Bible must be inerrant in all ways in order to be trustworthy.  Most Wesleyans reject that view.  Others think that the Bible is entirely unclear, and it is trustworthy only insofar as it is an entirely human-inspired document. Most Wesleyans reject that view too.

My own denomination says that the Bible inerrantly reveals “the will of God concerning all things necessary to our salvation.” This emphasis upon salvation corresponds with Wesley’s emphasis upon clarity about what is necessary: the Bible’s primary purpose is that God uses it to provide salvation. I call this idea, “soteriological inerrancy.”

A few in my denomination, however, want to change the denomination's statement on Scripture. They want the official statement to affirm what I call “absolute inerrancy.” They apparently worry that admitting the Bible has any mistake, error, or inconsistency leads down a slippery slope to thinking the Bible is not trustworthy on anything. For absolute inerrantists, the Bible must speak correctly about science, history, culture, and geography. It must be entirely free from internal inconsistencies as well.

Given the inerrancy issue and others issues of importance, The Bible Tells Me So conference is timely and potentially highly significant. To help discuss central questions, the conference will focus on five questions:

How is scripture inspired?

In what way is the Bible trustworthy?

Is the Bible inerrant?

How might we interpret scripture rightly?

Does postmodernism challenge the Bible? 

These questions get at the heart of key issues. Of course, we should ask other questions too. But reaching a consensus about these questions could be extremely helpful.

I suspect that The Bible Tells Me So conference at Northwest Nazarene University will be a significant event in the Wesleyan tradition, in general, and for the Church of the Nazarene, in particular. For a long time, folks have been saying Wesleyans need a conference like this one.

When Bill Greathouse, a former General Superintendent and elder statesman in the Church of the Nazarene, heard about the upcoming conference, he wrote these words to me:

“I congratulate you [for choosing] to air this topic; it is the question, when fully discussed and agreed upon in principle that should bring unity of faith and practice within both the Church of the Nazarene and the wider Wesleyan Movement. I am now singing the Doxology!”

I think The Bible Tells Me So will be momentous, in part, because more than 40 Wesleyan professional biblical scholars and theologians will participate at the conference. The list of those attending is impressive (and you can see the names of some on the webpage linked below). Gathering this collection of Wesleyan scholars together to help answer the five questions I listed will undoubtedly generate heat and light!

Some invited scholars will be talking about biblical commentaries they are currently writing.  Others will talk about the Bible in relation to worship, preaching, and spiritual formation.  Still others will talk about difficult questions and hot issues in contemporary biblical studies. Participants can draw from some of the best Christian minds at work today.

In the coming months, I’ll be writing blog essays about biblical issues to stimulate my own thinking.  I’ve got a couple essays in mind on the issue of biblical inerrancy.  I’ll write a blog on Wesley’s own use of scripture. I’ll write about biblical inspiration. I’ve got some things to say about Bart Ehrman’s new book, Jesus Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible. And I want to talk about issues of biblical interpretation in a postmodern world.

It’s already possible to register for The Bible Tells Me So conference.  In fact, I’m giving away complimentary books to early registrants.  To register or just get more info, click this link: The Bible Tells Me So.

Now that the online registration page is up, I don’t have to contain my excited for this conference any longer. I hope you get excited too!  Please spread the news.  And consider joining us at Northwest Nazarene University next February 10-12, 2011, in Nampa, Idaho.

Posted in 2010 under John Wesley, Holiness, and the Church of the Nazarene

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