Editorial: Debate distills decades of divisions

June 19, 2000

EDITORIAL:
Debate distills decades of division
___Discussion of the new Baptist Faith & Message statement last week at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting distilled decades of denominational debate: Which is paramount, Jesus or the Bible?
___The SBC's current leadership affirmed the whole Bible as the normative guide for all faith and practice. Others, however, believe that while the Bible is indeed normative and authoritative for Christians, Jesus should stand over Scripture, providing the guide for how the Bible is read and followed.
___Among other changes, the study committee that proposed the new Baptist Faith & Message revised the 1963 statement's article on Scripture. The committee described the Bible as "God's revelation of himself to man," while the 1963 document--reaffirmed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas last fall--described the Bible as "the record of God's revelation of himself to man." The new SBC committee declared, "All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is himself the focus of divine revelation," while the 1963 document identified Jesus as "the criterion (or guiding principle) by which the Bible is to be interpreted."
___These differences are huge. If the Bible alone is our primary guide, then all parts of the Bible receive equal weight. It is a flat Bible. For example, the words of Moses, Jesus and the Apostle Paul are equally authoritative. If, however, Jesus is the guide to interpreting Scripture, then Jesus' words and clear actions take precedence over their apparent discrepancies with other Scripture passages, such as the Old Testament codes and some of Paul's admonitions.
___The two camps caricature the other.
___The Jesus-first folks imply the Bible-firsters do not hold to a high Christology, or view of Christ. This is not accurate. Time and again, they have declared Jesus's complete divinity and absolute necessity for salvation. They stress, however, they can't know anything of Jesus except that which is recorded in Scripture. They also strongly downplay the validity of individual experience of Jesus in regard to divine revelation, deferring to their interpretation of Scripture.
___The Bible-first people accuse the Jesus-firsters of denigrating the "clear word of God." They claim their adversaries say Jesus tells them to do things that violate Scripture, and this cannot be of Christ, because Christ would not contradict Scripture. This misses the point. Some Scriptures, especially portions of the Old Testament, clearly stand in paradox to Jesus' life and teachings, also recorded in Scripture. Other passages, such as Paul's writings, seem to be at odds with each other, and Jesus' words and actions clarify and separate the timeless and universal from the culturally specific.
___To illustrate, let's consider some of Paul's words cited today regarding the role of women in the family.
___Supporting the 1998 Baptist Faith & Message article on the family, which calls on the wife to "submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband," SBC leaders point to Ephesians 5:22-23, which says: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is head of the church."
___Yet others point to Paul's preceding words in Ephesians 5:21, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." They claim this admonition to mutual submission more closely follows Jesus' own respect for women and Paul's teaching in Galatians 3:28, "... there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." From this perspective, Paul sets gender distinctions in appropriate context. Jesus, who countered cultural trends that demeaned women and himself treated women with respect and dignity equal to men, presents a model for behavior clarifying Paul's admonition to submission. Jesus illuminates seeming paradoxes between Paul's own words. And being divine, Jesus settles the issue.
___During discussion on the Baptist Faith & Message last week, Bible-first committee members misconstrued the positions of the Jesus-first advocates. For instance, they cited occasions where Christians claimed Jesus "told" them to do things that seemed outside the apparent will of God. This argument seeks to overthrow a principle simply because some implement it poorly.
___Baptists who place Jesus over the Bible still affirm the full authority of the Bible upon their lives. They do not exalt personal experience over Scripture; rather, they base their decisions upon Scripture. But some passages are paradoxical; they say different things about the same subject. In those occasions, Jesus-first people look to Jesus for help in understanding what the biblical norm means, for help in applying the Scripture to their lives.
___Herschel Hobbs, chairman of the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message committee, wrote eloquently on this point: "... This does not mean that Baptists believe that one can believe just anything and be a Christian or a Baptist. The competency of the soul in religion entails the authority of the Scriptures and the lordship of Jesus Christ. The priesthood of believers grants to every Christian the right to read and interpret the Scriptures for himself as he is led by the Holy Spirit. But said interpretation must be in harmony with the overall teachings of the Bible. And it must adhere to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit neither contradicts himself nor denies God's revelation in his Son."
___But in 2000, current SBC leaders with a different understanding carried the day. An attempt to reinsert the 1963 language on Scripture, presented by Anthony Sizemore, pastor of First Baptist Church in Floydada, was dashed. A similar fate awated an attempt by BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade to reinsert 1963 language affirming the centrality of Christ to Scripture.
___So, the SBC leaders--who trumpeted "biblical inerrancy" as a battle cry to gain and implement control of the convention during the past 20 years--have a high view of Scripture, after all. In fact, it's higher than we thought. Rather than a Trinity, they worship a defacto Quartet: Father, Son, Holy Spirit and Holy Bible, with the Bible acting as the arbiter of the other three.
___This is dangerous, for several reasons.
___First, it refutes orthodoxy--which asserts the primacy of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit--by exalting the Bible to near-divinity and supplanting the influence of Jesus.
___Second, by elevating a thing, as precious and authoritative as the Bible is, to such lofty status, it at least implies idolatry, the worship of something other than God.
___Third, it denigrates the influence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to work in lives and guide them toward God's will.
___Fourth, it begs a vital question: Who then is to provide the authoritative interpretation of all Scripture?
___If Scripture stands over Jesus, then the teachings and actions of Jesus are inadequate. If the Jesus can be imitated (as one SBC leader indicated), then individuals can be led astray. So, who will provide authoritative interpretation? Some SBC leaders seem only too eager to step up to the chair of authority. Yet they are mere men, not apostles, and certainly not God.
___Fortunately, Texas Baptists reaffirmed the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message last fall. At the time, most people saw it as a reaction to the SBC's 1998 article on the family, which was important. But it was much more than that.
___By reaffirming the '63 version, Texas Baptists staked our claim for the doctrinal statement that holds a high, reverential view of Scripture. But it places Scripture in the appropriate context--at the feet of our Lord and Savior, God incarnate, Jesus Christ.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

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