WHAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE BIBLE?
“Of course the Bible is important I just don’t have time for it that is why we pay preachers.” This is the type of statement that is frequently heard. Unfortunately it is both dangerous and misses many blessings. This is the type of attitude that leads to Jim Jones and Jim Baker experiences. Further it leads certain groups to deny women certain church leadership positions and further to demand the need for a wife to "submit herself graciously" to her husband's authority. A local theologian has gone further by indicating that Gods purpose in creating woman was that she should bear children and if she has not done so she is living in sin. These interpretations from scripture seem far-fetched to me. It highlights the need for some guidelines and values we need as we approach these sacred writings.
Rev. Martin B. Copenhaver, Senior Pastor, Wellesley Congregational Church UCC, Wellesley, Massachusetts, in an article titled “How We Read The Bible in the United Church of Christ” in the booklet The Bible and the United Church of Christ has outlined the values that will be used in this Bible study. They are:
1. We read the Bible as God’s word to us.
2. We read the Bible as a book with special authority.
3. We keep in mind what form of literature we are reading.
4. We do not always read the Bible literally.
5. We read the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
6. We consider what new things the still speaking God might be saying to us through the Bible.
7. We read the Bible in community.
“God is Still Speaking” and “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” are more than slick advertising phrases. Let us pray that as we read the scriptures during the coming year that God will indeed speak to and through us, Let’s not place period where God is still at work..
