RE: Ramblings on a "High View" of Scripture

From: Shuan Rose (shuanr@boo.net)
Date: Mon Apr 08 2002 - 18:02:15 EDT

  • Next message: bivalve: "RE: Thoughts on the implications of evolution as a means of creation"

      Well, maybe it is overstating it. I should probably qualify the "many" and
    " most" with " in my experience". Time for me to leave my soapbox. The thin
    air up here is clouding my mind...

      I do think that for many evangelicals, especially prominent ones like
    Chuck Colson, it is fair comment.

      -----Original Message-----
      From: Jonathan Clarke [mailto:jdac@alphalink.com.au]
      Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 6:08 PM
      To: Shuan Rose
      Cc: PHSEELY@aol.com; Asa
      Subject: Re: Ramblings on a "High View" of Scripture

      Hi Shaun

      I don't think this comment is either accurate or fair for many
    evangelicals, it is a caricature.

      Jon

    > Shuan Rose wrote:
    >
    > Hi Phil. I agree 100 percent on your conclusion. However, many
    evangelical church leaders and members would affirm without resevation
    Article XII.
    > Frankly, I think most of these folks have not read their Bibles very
    carefully. Many Christians have a Bible that consists of the following:
    >
    > * parts of Genesis and Exodus
    > * snippets of Leviticus, Numbers, and Dueteronomy
    > * portions of Joshua, Judges, 1 &2 Kings
    > * snippets of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles
    > * Selections from Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes
    > * Isolated sections of the Prophets having to do with Messianic
    prophecies
    > * Most of the New Testament, interpreted from the viewpoint of Paul's
    Letter to the Romans
    >
    > What I have set out is pretty much the "Bible according to
    Evangelicals". Much of the Bible, e.g. 1 chronicles 1-9 is pretty much
    passed over, as if it does not exist. Even for the NT, Paul, John, the
    synoptic gospels, and the Catholic Epistles are all harmonised and
    interpreted as if they are saying pretty much the same thing- a view which
    no respected Biblical scholar would agree with.
    > This rose-colored, childish view of the Bible is propagated
    constantly from almost every evangelical pulpit in the land-which makes it
    difficult to engage in any fruitful discussion on the science-religion
    issue.
    >
    >
    > *
    > -----Original Message-----
    > From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu
    [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
    > Behalf Of PHSEELY@aol.com
    > Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2002 1:49 AM
    > To: jdac@alphalink.com.au; asa@calvin.edu
    > Subject: Re: Ramblings on a "High View" of Scripture
    >
    > << All these problems lead to most thought out statements of
    Biblical
    > inerrancy being convoluted and even contradictory. It s several
    years
    > since I have read them, but I recall that the shorter and longer
    versions
    > of the Chicago statement actually say quite different things. At
    that
    > time I could have signed off on one (the longer, I think, which is
    more
    > qualified), but not the other. >>
    >
    > I agree. The longer statement gives at least a little room for the
    kind of
    > nuancing that Terry mentions; but the actual articles adopted by
    the
    > International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, which were signed by
    just about
    > every evangelical group in the country, are something else. And, I
    think it
    > is these articles which are the "high view of Scripture" to most
    people and
    > especially Article XII:
    >
    > "We affirm that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free
    from
    > falsehood, fraud, or deceit. We deny that Biblical infallibility
    and
    > inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive
    themes,
    > exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We
    further deny
    > that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used
    to
    > overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood."
    >
    > Although some may affirm this article and then go to the
    interpretations of
    > concordism to avoid such contextual historical-grammatical meanings
    as the
    > sun being created on the fourth day and a universal Flood that
    killed every
    > human on earth except the eight on the ark, the most natural course
    of action
    > for a believer in this article would be to go directly to creation
    science.
    >
    > Either way, light is suppressed, so, I do not believe this is a
    view of
    > Scripture which Christians should hold.
    >
    > Paul



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Apr 08 2002 - 18:04:22 EDT