Anglican Values 2: The Bible

ANGLICAN VALUES 2: The Bible
January 1996

Anglicans are people of the Bible. We read as much from the Bible in worship as any other Christian tradition, and more than some. The Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer, which is the basis of Anglican prayer life, is almost entirely readings from the Bible.

How do we read the Bible? That depends on what we think it is. Is the Bible a huge book which "has the answers", a talisman of security in a changing world? Anglicans believe it is more.

In Old Testament times Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets, and in New Testament times, Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, the disciples and apostles, and others, encountered God directly. Their experiences, and those of many others became the foundation of Israel and the Church, whose experiences were written down and collected in what we now call the Bible.

So when Anglicans read the Scriptures, we know we are reading the experiences of people like ourselves who lived in the faith tradition stretching from Abraham to our own day.

What is characteristic of Anglican Bible reading?

First, Anglicans encounter the Scriptures whole. We don't proof text - that is, search the scriptures for support for positions we already "know" are right. Rather, we stand in awe of the goodness of God revealed in Scripture, letting it guide us in its own directions.

Second, Anglicans let the Scriptures speak to us in their own voice. The Old and New Testament weren't written in English to twentieth century people, but in Hebrew and Greek to people whose cultures and understandings of life were different from our own. Our Anglican diversity helps us with Scripture reading. We experience in our own lives the different ways people encounter the world, and so we are prepared to hear familiar words with new ears!

Third, Anglicans trust the Word of God in all its complexity. There are different voices in the Scriptures; Deuteronomy is in vigorous dialogue with Job. Memory has preserved more than one account of many events, like David's rise to the throne of Israel, and there are of course 4 Gospels, with many different recollections of Our Lord's life. This complexity of Scripture is heartening to Anglicans, because it shows that God's Word and his world are related, in glorious complexity and variety.

Fourth, Anglicans find truth in a living relation to Scripture. St. Paul warns the Galatians not to fall back into a life governed by the letter only and not by a living relation to Christ, who sets us free. Anglicans believe that God has called us into freedom in Christ Jesus, and that we discover our new life in Christ at least in part in our encounter with Scripture. Our lived experience is in dialogue with the ancient writings. Our present lives come alive when they are held under the light of scripture. God continually surprises us in this dialogue - in insight, in direction, in showing us the deeper mysteries of our life in His life, and sometimes in judgment.

Anglicans care about the Bible. It shows us the path through Christ in the Spirit to the Father. It is central to our prayer and worship, and spurs us on to acts of compassion and justice in building the Kingdom of God. We are truly People of the Book!