Anyone read "Scripture and Authority of God" by NT Wright?

[Brian2589]

It has come to my attention that the protestant church I left when I became Catholic is going to have some classes based off of this book. I plan on attending these classes to make sure they are representing history correctly. There is 5 classes but I am interested in two of them. The one is on how they got the 66 book bible and the other is based off of chapter 4 and 5 of the book which they are covering bible interpretation from the persecution era, Catholicism, reformation and beyond. I am just interested in what kind of arguments to expect. I am well versed in the fathers so I don’t expect a problem but it would be nice if I knew a little of what to expect. Thanks.

 

[Fr_of_Jazz]

It has come to my attention that the protestant church I left when I became Catholic is going to have some classes based off of this book. I plan on attending these classes to make sure they are representing history correctly. There is 5 classes but I am interested in two of them. The one is on how they got the 66 book bible and the other is based off of chapter 4 and 5 of the book which they are covering bible interpretation from the persecution era, Catholicism, reformation and beyond. I am just interested in what kind of arguments to expect. I am well versed in the fathers so I don’t expect a problem but it would be nice if I knew a little of what to expect. Thanks.

You can access some of the book in Google Books. Perhaps that may help.

 

[Lincoln7]

Brian2589,

I am yet to read the aforementioned book, from what I’ve gleamed so far from google searches its rather engaging.

NT Wright’s article here on Scripture however I have read and found engaging and thought provoking, it may be of benefit to your discussion perhaps, im not sure how much it covers what he will undoubtedly cover in greater detail in his book. The lecture transcript here is 20+ years old now though, maybe his new book will see things in a different way or maybe not, interesting still.
ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm

Lincs.

 

[Fr_of_Jazz]

Brian2589,

I am yet to read the aforementioned book, from what I’ve gleamed so far from google searches its rather engaging.

NT Wright’s article here on Scripture however I have read and found engaging and thought provoking, it may be of benefit to your discussion perhaps, im not sure how much it covers what he will undoubtedly cover in greater detail in his book. The lecture transcript here is 20+ years old now though, maybe his new book will see things in a different way or maybe not, interesting still.
ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Bible_Authoritative.htm

Lincs.

Guys,

Wright presents a heart-felt, sincere, fair argument. The problems as I see them with his arguments are these:

(1) We all believe the Scripture is authoritative, the inspired, inerrant written word of God. That’s not the issue.

(2) While he presents a definition of sola scriptura and seeks to work out a coherent formulation of it, he ignores the question of fact: What is the method God has chosen to preserve and transmit the whole of His word (revealed truth) that He wished humanity to have authoritatively and normatively down through time?
Is it: (a) through Scripture and apostolic tradition in the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit or (b) sola scriptura?

(3) The statement that the Bible is the final and highest authority in matters of doctrine (or as Wright puts it “we are to give scripture the primary place and that everything else has to be lined up in relation to scripture”) however is incomplete, lacking in awareness of the nature of reading a text, and misleading.

The Bible, functionally speaking, is just another book on the shelf–paper with ink stains–until it is read and interpreted. Any text is actualized as communication only in reading and interpreting. So by the very nature of using a written text he is really saying (and cannot be saying other than) my interpretation of the Bible alone here in 2012 is the final and highest authority in matters of doctrine OR “we are to give my interpretation of scripture alone here in 2012 the primary place and that everything else has to be lined up in relation to it.”

I would argue that if you look at what is portrayed and ordered by the NT authors as a point of fact, it is that God’s word is handed on by Scripture and Tradition in the church. Ditto for the Fathers and early councils. It is not by sola scripture even as Wright defines and outlines it.