One of the ways I’ve gotten into religious arguments over the years has been based on how we view scripture… where’s the authority, what is true, what is history/context and what is Word. Generally, people fall in one of two camps and there seems little one can say to dislodge one from such a position. I find myself very much in the camp of truth mixed in with history, context and personality.
- Image by PinkMoose via Flickr
Care of Exploring Our Matrix I came across an excellent post discussing this issue at Journeying with those in Exile: “On So-Called ‘High’ and ‘Low’ Views of Scripture.”
When a person crosses ideological boundaries in order to engage in discussions about Jesus, Paul, or other any aspect of biblical theology, it seems as though the more seriously one takes the context of the biblical authors, the ‘lower’ one’s view of Scripture is said to be. Conversely, the more one favours a ‘plain reading’ of the texts at hand, the ‘higher’ one’s view of Scripture is said to be. Not surprisingly, it is usually those who favour this ‘plain reading’ who tend to make this sort of statement.
