Where does Scripture fit into our overall exploration of the existence of God?
1.) God exists
2.) God has entered into relationship with his creation
3.) The pinnacle of God's self-revelation is Jesus
4.) The authoritative witness to God's relationship with humans and his self-revelation in Jesus is the text of Scripture (the 66 canonical books of the Bible)
Evidences for Christians:
- Jesus accepts both Old Testament scripture and his own teachings as authoritative (Luke 10:25-28; Matt. 5:17-48)
- Scripture testifies to its own authority (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
What Does This Mean for How We Use the Bible?
We accept it as a great and gracious gift of God. But we need to read it as it was intended, and not merely as seems best to our own current whims. We believe that it is inspired in its originals, which means that we need to go to great lengths to understand the language and culture of the Bible's context. This includes gaining an understanding of the genres and literary styles in which various books of the Bible may be written. A so-called "literal" interpretation might actually end up misreading Scripture if the passage's genre was not intended to be read that way (i.e., mistaking proverbs as black-and-white promises or reading Jesus' parables as historical tales).