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Page 16
The Bible is thus _a standard of religious experience_. If there is any
question as to what man's life with God ought to be, it can be referred
to the life recorded in these books. But men have often made the Bible
much more; confusing experience with its interpretation in some
particular epoch, they used the Bible as a treasury of proof texts for
doctrines, or of laws for conduct, or of specific provisos for Church
government and worship. They forgot that the writers of the early
chapters of _Genesis_, in describing their faith in God's relationship
to His world and to man and to history, had to express that faith in
terms of the existing traditions concerning the creation, the fall, the
deluge, the patriarchs. Their faith in God is one thing; the scientific
and historic accuracy of the stories in which they utter it is quite
another thing. They did not distinguish between Paul's life with God in
Christ, and the philosophy he had learned in Gamaliel's classroom, or
picked up in the thought of the Roman world of his day. Paul's religious
life is one thing, his theology in which he tries to explain and state
it is another thing. They read the plans that were made for the
organization of the first churches, and hastily concluded that these
were intended to govern churches in all ages. The chief divisions of the
Church claim for their form of government--papal, episcopal,
presbyterian, congregational--a Biblical authority. The religious life
of the early churches is one thing; their faith and hope and love ought
to abide in the Church throughout all generations; the method of their
organization may have been admirable for their circumstances, but there
is no reason we should consider it binding upon us in the totally
different circumstances of our day. Latterly social reformers have been
attempting to show that the Bible teaches some form of economic theory,
like socialism or communism. It lays down fundamental principles of
brotherhood, of justice, of peaceableness, but the economic or political
systems in which these shall be embodied, we must discover for ourselves
in each age. It is the norm of our life with God; but it is not a
standard fixing our scientific views, our theological opinions, our
ecclesiastical polity, our economic or political theories. It shows
forth the spirit we should manifest towards God and towards one another
as individuals, and families, and nations; "and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty."
This brings us to the question of the _authority_ of the Bible. There
are two views of its authority; one that it contains mysteries beyond
our reason, which are revealed to us, and guaranteed to us as true,
either by marvellous signs such as miracles and fulfilled prophecies, or
by the infallible pronouncement of the official Church; the other is
that the Bible is the revelation of self-evidencing truth. The test of a
revelation is simply that it reveals. The evidence of daylight lies in
the fact that it enables us to see, and as we live in the light we are
more and more assured that we really do see. Advocates of the former
position say: "If anything is in the Bible, it must not be questioned;
it must simply be accepted and obeyed." Advocates of the latter view
say: "If it is in the Bible, it has been tried and found valuable by a
great many people; question it as searchingly as you can, and try it for
yourself, and see whether it proves itself true or not."
These two views came into collision in the struggle for a larger faith
which we call the Reformation. Augustine had stated the position which
became traditional when he wrote, "I would not believe in the Gospel
without the authority of the Church." But Luther insisted on the
contrary: "Thou must not place thy decision on the Pope, or any other;
thou must thyself be so skilful that thou can'st say, 'God says this,
not that.' Thou must bring conscience into play, that thou may'st boldly
and defiantly say, 'That is God's word; on that will I risk body and
life, and a hundred thousand necks if I had them.' Therefore no one
shall turn me from the word which God teaches me, and that must I know
as certainly as that two and three make five, that an ell is longer than
a half. That is certain, and though all the world speak to the contrary,
still I know that it is not otherwise. Who decides me there? No man, but
only _the Truth_ which is so perfectly certain that nobody can deny it."
And Calvin took the same ground: "As to their question, How are we to
know that the Scriptures came from God, if we cannot refer to the decree
of the Church, we might as well ask, How are we to distinguish light
from darkness, white from black, bitter from sweet."
The truth of the religious experiences recorded in the Bible is
self-evidencing to him who shares these experiences, and to no one else.
The Bible has, in a sense, to create or evoke the capacities by which
it is appreciated and verified. It is inspired only to those who are
themselves willing to be controlled by similar inspirations; it is the
word of God only to those who have ears for God's voice. There is a
difference between the phrases: "It is certain," and "I am certain." In
other matters we appeal to the collective opinion of sane people; but
such knowledge does not suffice in religion. Our fellowship with God
must be our own response to our highest inspirations. The Bible is
authoritative for us only in so far as we can say: "I have entered into
the friendship of the God, whose earlier friendship with men it records,
and know Him, who speaks as personally to my conscience through its
pages, as He spake to its writers. The Spirit that ruled them, the
Spirit of trust and service, controls me." This is John Calvin's
position. "It is acting a preposterous part," he writes in his
_Institutes_, "to endeavor to produce sound faith in the Scriptures by
disputations. Religion appearing to profane men to consist wholly in
opinion, in order that they may not believe anything on foolish or
slight grounds, they wish and expect it to be proved that Moses and the
prophets spake by divine inspiration; but as God alone is a sufficient
witness of Himself in His own word, so also the word will never gain
credit in the hearts of men, till it is confirmed by the testimony of
the Spirit."
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