Setting Boundaries or Finding Life? Reading the Bible in the Covenant Church JOHN E. PHELAN JR.

he Evangelical Covenant arrive at such a position? How has it educator David Nyvall. They were Church occupies an unusual sustained its evangelical stance with� themselves the heirs of the earlier space in the American out the rigid boundaries of confes� spiritual genius of the German Pietists church. Although the church sions or statements of faith? Will the Philipp Jakob Spener and August has a high view of Scripture, it does church be able to sustain its convic� Hermann Francke. Waldenström and Tnot use the terms “inerrant” or “infal� tions into the future? Nyvall were Pietist readers of the lible” to describe its view of the Bible Answers to these questions may Bible. Their assumptions about the in the resource paper “The Covenant be located in our history. From its nature and function of the Scriptures Church and the Bible,” which explores heritage in Pietism, the Evangelical shaped their controversies—with the the Covenant view of Scripture. Covenant Church developed a “cen� Lutheran State Church in Sweden, in And although it values the historic tered set” as opposed to a “bounded Walendströ�������������������������������������������������m’s case, and with Ameri� creeds, its only formal statement of set” approach to biblical authority can fundamentalism in Nyvall’s. These faith is found in the preamble to the and the life of the church. Rather remote controversies have given shape Covenant Constitution and Bylaws: than set boundaries and defend them, to the unique position of the Evan� “The Evangelical Covenant Church... the Covenant Church has insisted gelical Covenant Church within the confesses that the Holy Scripture, the we move toward the center, the heart broader context of American evangeli� Old and New Testament, is the word of Christian faith as a lived reality. calism. of God and the only perfect rule for Rather than seeking ways to defend The seventeenth century was a faith, doctrine, and conduct.” and exclude, the church has sought to time of violent controversy in Europe. The Covenant Church has stead� assure many points of access to enable As the ecclesiastical divisions of the fastly refused to produce an elaborate even the most skeptical or broken to Reformation hardened, anathemas statement of faith such as is found move toward the heart of God. How were hurled not only between Prot� in many evangelical denominations. did this happen? estants and Roman Catholics, but Pastors being examined for ordination Two intellectual and spiritual also between the various bodies of are expected to defend their views and giants tower over the Covenant the fragmenting Protestant communi� practices from the Holy Scriptures Church’s early decades—the Swed� ties. The century was soaked with the rather than simply demonstrate their ish Bible scholar, church leader, blood of martyrs. Spener and Francke acceptance of the denomination’s dis� politician, and controversialist, Paul were distressed by both the physi� tinct theology or statement of faith. Peter Waldenström, and the brilliant cal violence of war and martyrdom How did the Covenant Church mercurial pioneer, Swedish American and the metaphorical violence of the

12 | The Covenant Companion theologians. For them the truth of 6) The Bible is a document of the mous, for his views on the atonement. the Scriptures was not in the particu� people, not just scholars, pastors, and In the summer of 1870 during a con� larities of interpretive schemes but in church leaders. versation with a number of pastors their capacity to give life. They read Both Waldenström and Nyvall someone exclaimed, “How glorious the Scriptures seriously, closely, and were profoundly impacted by the it is that God is reconciled.” Walden� lovingly. They did so not to determine Pietists. But they were also affected ström asked, “Where is that written?” how to best their rivals, but how best by the contemporary challenges to Everyone simply laughed at him. Of to love their God. their churches. Not only were they course, they thought, the notion that Their views may be summed as very different individuals, they had God was reconciled by the death of follows: very different fears. Both distrusted Christ was everywhere. But Walden� 1) The Bible must be studied as a creeds and confessions and rejected ström was not so sure. He began an text and not simply as a proof-text. It the formalism and orthodoxies of the intensive two-year study of the Bible must be allowed to speak for itself and Lutheran State Church of Sweden. that convinced him that this notion not used simply to support creedal Both were committed to the unique of the atonement was an imposition and confessional texts. and powerful authority of the Scrip� upon the biblical text. 2) The Bible is superior to creeds tures. Both looked to the empowering In a sermon published in 1872 and confessions. At best the creeds presence of the Spirit to give life. But Waldenström argued that “no change are only summaries of what the Bible Waldenström looked back with fear occurred in God’s heart because of the already teaches. to the rationalism of the seventeenth fall.” God’s wrath did not stand in the 3) The Bible is a lived text. Unless century that sapped the strength of way of human salvation; the change the Scriptures are practiced they are the church and robbed the Scriptures that occurred through the fall was a only ink on the page. of their authority. Nyvall looked with change in humans only. A reconcilia� 4) The Bible is empowered by the alarm on the emerging fundamental� tion was necessary—not a reconcilia� Spirit to enliven faith. The presence ism of the early twentieth century. He tion that appeased God and enabled of the Spirit gives the Scriptures the was particularly concerned with the God to be merciful, but one that power to give life. fundamentalists attempt to fix their John E. Phelan Jr. is professor of theological stud- 5) The Bible’s authority lies in lead� views of the Bible and science into ies at North Park Theological Seminary. This article ing individuals and the community to law, which he saw as an attempt to is adapted from a presentation at the symposium, salvation and a pious life, not in its produce a state church in America. The Augustana Synod and the Covenant Church: Contact, Conflict, and Confluence 1860-2010, held history, chronology, or science. Waldenström was famous, or infa� in November at North Park University in Chicago.

February 2011 | 13 removed human sin and presented Rather than seeking ways to rather points of access for people humans as righteous. This recon� defend and exclude, the church to find new life in Christ. We find ciliation was achieved in Christ in our living faith an occasion for Jesus. As the Apostle Paul put it, has sought to assure many points ecumenical conversations, what� “in Christ God was reconciling of access to enable even the ever our theological differences. the world to himself” (2 Corinthi� most skeptical or broken to move As members of the Evangelical ans 5:19). toward the heart of God. Covenant Church I would hope For Waldenström, Lutheran we would agree with our Pietist orthodoxy had imposed theological world are necessarily God’s thoughts.” forebears and with Waldenström and views on the church that were not The fundamentalists, in other words, Nyvall on the following: sustainable from the Holy Scriptures. were protecting not the word of God, 1) The Bible is the word of God The so-called penal substitutionary but their own words. Nyvall was and continues to speak with us by the view of the atonement found its ori� distressed by the so-called “Scopes power of the Spirit producing new life gin, he claimed, not in the New Testa� monkey trial” and the testimony of in Christ. ment, but in Anselm of Canterbury William Jennings Bryan. He feared 2) All the tools of historical, and John Calvin. In this he was quite that Bryan and his fundamentalist fol� grammatical, cultural, and theologi� right. But Waldenström’s “Bible only” lowers would create a de facto state cal research be brought to bear on views were later to give him difficul� church in the United States. In this he the text of the Bible—but that the ties. In the later decades of the nine� was perhaps prescient. methods themselves do not have the teenth century, higher criticism posed Nyvall’s principle objection to the last word. uncomfortable questions of Walden� fundamentalist view of the Bible was 3) We “give the dead a vote” by ström. Doubts were expressed about that it turned the Bible into an idol honoring the history and tradition of the historicity of certain key events in and not a word of life. In the Bible, the whole Christian community over the New Testament and the accu� believers found words of life, hope, time. racy of the reporting of the words of peace, and joy. These words were to 4) We engage in “communal Jesus. To Waldenström these attacks be lived, not argued over. They were discernment” reading the Scriptures were reminiscent of the rationalist to be lived with, not eliminated. It together and not as isolated individu� attacks on the Bible in the seventeenth was the heretics, like Marcion (a als. century. Rather than turning to creeds second-century Christian who rejected 5) We recognize the value of or confessions, Waldenström turned, the Old Testament and accepted only personal piety and the varieties of ironically, to the very historical schol� the letters of Paul and the Gospel of spiritual experiences, subjecting these arship that threatened the Scripture’s Luke), Nyvall argued, who tried to as well to communal discernment. authority. He studied textual criticism suppress the differences and difficul� 6) We speak with modesty and put to get as close to the words of the ties of the texts by excluding dis� our opinions forward with humility. original writings of the apostles as agreeable ones! Christians can have 7) We subject ourselves to one possible. Eventually he raised ques� differences over the interpretation of another out of love for Christ. tions about seven New Testament Scripture, said Nyvall, without any If we believe in the power and books he deemed not apostolic and damage to individual faith or the presence of the Spirit to lead to truth, thus lacking the necessary authority mission of the church. The Scriptures awaken to life, and move in mis� for Christian life and practice. were not a source of boundaries and sion we do not need to be defensive In the face of the threat of rational� dogmas, but the source of life. and frightened. Our confidence is in ism Waldenström turned away from As suggested earlier, we in the God, not in our pet theologies and his Pietist heritage in order to protect Evangelical Covenant Church read personal convictions. A centered set a text that David Nyvall insisted the Bible as a centered set rather than Pietism will honor the Scriptures as needed no protection. In his eager� a bounded set. We are concerned with the life-giving word, hear with respect ness to protect the Bible, Walden� the central message and affirmation the creeds and confessions of the ström seemed to forget the presence of the Bible. We are not interested in past without giving them veto power, and power of the Spirit awakening setting protective barriers around the listen carefully to the theologians life and giving rise to faith. Nyvall Bible. We do not seek to protect the and scholars who have thought hard rejected the attempts of American Scriptures with creeds, confessions, or about meanings and implications, join fundamentalism to protect the Bible rigid theologies. We seek more than charitably with other believers in the by declaring it inerrant. He critiqued truth in the Bible; we seek life. We process of communal discernment, “those proud people who believe that are “centered set Pietists.” We do not and finally—and most importantly— their thoughts on God and his great set up boundaries and borders but live out of the text. ■

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