Pause to Ponder

I have written much these last days, perhaps too much to take in. So I offer a break to ponder some things. Tomorrow is my sermon, then back to the heavier reading.... Peace

We ended with this question yesterday: Inspiration: a person or a book?

I asked us to ponder this question yesterday, and I think it is a fairly important question. I have already alluded to Christology as the best model for understanding the Bible. Perhaps some fear that I seem to be leaning toward the idea that God lets human run free and just chose the writings of some and said, "That is my word!" However, such a take on Scripture would be the equivalent of "adoptionism" in Christology (the belief that Jesus was a man and 'became divine' because He was faithful). Adoptionism is heresy. I think God would have had to be more active than that.

However, the nervousness that this discussion generates leads me to ponder what is going on inside me-and-you? Some questions to think about:

 

What motivates us in our discussion of inspiration? Are we defenders of the faith or seekers of truth?

What fears lurk in our minds and hearts?

What do we need to be the case to keep us feeling secure?

 

What is the function of the Bible from God’s perspective? Does He speak to us through it now, or did He speak to someone else long ago and now we are invited to read and try to figure out what it means to us. (if both what is primary?) 

Is revelation primarily an historical documentation or a living word today? Is the Spirit of God active in the word (does 'God-breathed' mean the animation of human words like 'God-breathed' meant the animation of clay in Genesis to make a man?) Could 'God-breathed mean God’s Spirit takes what a human has written and transformed it (sort of like redemption)?

Is the Bible different from any other book? Is that difference obvious and observable? If one were handed a series of pages from various sources would the Biblical ones be so different that one could pick them out?

Could Biblical inspiration be sacramental: baptism still just looks like water and oil, eucharist still looks like bread and wine, yet by the work of the Spirit they become rebirth and the body and blood of Christ.

What do you WANT the truth to be? Why?