A Respectful Response to Thin Theology

This week I had the opportunity to hear a presentation entitled "Who Wrote the Bible? The Surprising Findings of Modern Scholarship" by renown scholar Dr. Bert Ehrman, the Distinguished Chair of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. I have to acknowledge that even though I have two masters degrees and have been an ordained minister for over 22 years, I certainly do not have the academic background that Dr. Ehrman has accumalated nor do I think at this stage in my life that I will. While there is no doubt that Dr. Ehrman's studies and work is the culmination of a lifelong process, attempts to discredit the Bible has been going on for centuries. I could get all huffy about comments made and start arguing points as well as questioning motives of why scholars such as Dr. Ehrman would take such a stance. Okay, I need to rephrase that because I did get all huffy, found many points to argue, and I have questioned his motives, but I did not stay that way long. Why? It is simple. The Word of God quickly responds to these attacks because the Spirit of God immediately reminds me that throughout scripture there are many instances of scripture interpreting scripture and passages supporting other passages. I am also reminded that through Hebrews 4:12 that "the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (NIV). The Word of God was preached in verbal form, lived out through the person of Jesus, and then given to us in a written form. In any of these forms, it is more powerful than any human tool. The Word of God is dynamic. It is always at work. It is capable of going where no other written word is capable of going. It reveals God's will and His ways. Therefore, I will not get upset about a scholar from Carolina or anywhere else that takes exception to what I have studied and what I believe nor will I take exception to what he has studied and what he believes. I believe it to be real. I believe it to be true. I believe it to be reliable and the foundation for my walk with Christ. It has changed me and continues to change me as I allow more of it in me. I am certain that it will change me in the future as well. It is my counsel, my lamp, my light, my fortress, my peace, and my choice to follow. I have learned that if challenges come up against the Bible as I have heard from many in the past, those challenges are short lived and once again the Word of God prevails. My response has to be based on the truth of the word as I have come to know it and how that truth has been proven over and over and over again. When I am told for example, that Peter could not have written the letters attributed to him in the New Testament because he was ignorant and could not read or write, my immediate response is that just shows me that God can use someone ordinary to do something extraordinary! The point is that the God of the Bible I love is a really big God and He is capable of turning ignorance into bliss. And I must add, that if ignorance is bliss, then I am a blister! Some folks think that just because this speaker is from Carolina, that he must speak truth because God did make the sky Carolina Blue. Being the NC State fan I have been all my life, my response is that while the sky may be Carolina Blue, the blood that was shed on Calvary for my sins is Wolfpack Red! It does not matter if Jesus is a Wolfpack fan, a Tarheel or even a Lees-McRae Bobcat. What does matter is that every book in the Bible as we have it points to His redeeming action for my sins, Dr. Ehrman's sins, your sins, and the sins of all. For me, that is all that matters. So I will continue to trust the Word of God and depend on it for my daily walk for the truths I have learned and I will rely on the truths I have yet to learn. I will also choose not to skate on thin theology but I will strive to live on the principles of grace that has been given to me and through love strive not to judge, condemn nor condone the beliefs of those with whom I do not agree. That is what I am going to do and how I am going to respond. What about you?