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Between Breaths: the Dialogic Shape of Christian Authority Meghan Larissa Good [email protected]

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Between Breaths: the Dialogic Shape of Christian Authority Meghan Larissa Good Mgood15@Georgefox.Edu Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2018 Between Breaths: the Dialogic Shape of Christian Authority Meghan Larissa Good [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Good, Meghan Larissa, "Between Breaths: the Dialogic Shape of Christian Authority" (2018). Doctor of Ministry. 272. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/272 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY BETWEEN BREATHS: THE DIALOGIC SHAPE OF CHRISTIAN AUTHORITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF PORTLAND SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY MEGHAN LARISSA GOOD PORTLAND, OREGON FEBRUARY 2018 Portland Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Meghan L. Good has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on February 13, 2018 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Preaching as Story. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Dottie Escobedo-Frank, DMin Secondary Advisor: Jamie Noling-Auth, DMin Lead Mentor: Leonard I. Sweet, PhD Expert Advisor: Nijay Gupta, PhD Copyright © 2018 by Meghan Larissa Good All rights reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A project of this scope would not be conceivable without the years spent studying under many fine scholars and teachers of the Bible. I am grateful for every one of these professors, who somehow kept the Word always fresh and new for me. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to a few whose distinctive passions and insights continue to shape how I myself read and teach sacred scripture: Michael Gorman, Douglas Campbell, James Crenshaw, Paul Borgman, and Marvin Wilson. Thank you. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. III ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. VII SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 AUTHORITY IN THE EARLY CHURCH ........................................................................................ 3 AUTHORITY IN THE LATE MEDIEVAL CONTEXT .......................................................................... 7 AUTHORITY IN THE REFORMATION PERIOD ............................................................................ 11 AUTHORITY IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT .................................................................................... 15 AUTHORITY FOLLOWING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ............................................................ 20 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CONTEXT ...................................................... 22 SECTION 2: OTHER PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ................................................................ 25 THE AUTHORITY OF TRADITION ........................................................................................... 25 Perspectives ............................................................................................................. 25 Contributions ........................................................................................................... 29 Challenges ................................................................................................................ 30 THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE ‘ALONE’ ............................................................................... 31 Perspectives ............................................................................................................. 31 Contributions ........................................................................................................... 34 Challenges ................................................................................................................ 35 THE AUTHORITY OF THE SPIRIT ............................................................................................ 38 Perspectives ............................................................................................................. 38 Contributions ........................................................................................................... 41 iv Challenges ................................................................................................................ 42 THE AUTHORITY OF REASON AND EXPERIENCE ....................................................................... 43 Perspectives ............................................................................................................. 43 Contributions ........................................................................................................... 46 Challenges ................................................................................................................ 47 SECTION 3: THE THESIS .............................................................................................. 49 AUTHORITY AS DIALOGIC ................................................................................................... 49 PARTNERS IN DIALOGUE .................................................................................................... 56 The Bible .................................................................................................................. 56 The Spirit .................................................................................................................. 59 Community .............................................................................................................. 62 Tradition .................................................................................................................. 65 Experience and Reason ............................................................................................ 67 CASE STUDY: HUMAN SEXUALITY ........................................................................................ 69 MAINTAINING THE DIALOGUE ............................................................................................. 75 SECTION 4: ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................... 79 SECTION 5: ARTIFACT SPECIFICATION ........................................................................ 81 BOOK PROPOSAL .............................................................................................................. 81 Title .......................................................................................................................... 81 Hook ......................................................................................................................... 81 Description ............................................................................................................... 81 Author Bio ................................................................................................................ 84 Chapter Synopsis ...................................................................................................... 85 v Marketing ................................................................................................................ 93 APPENDIX A: ARTIFACT ............................................................................................. 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 192 vi ABSTRACT Five hundred years ago, a group of Christians challenged the authority of church and tradition, provoking a Reformation that changed the face of the world. But the fractured history of Protestantism suggests the question of Christian authority is more complex than the potent rallying cry of “sola scriptura” might have first suggested. Scripture requires interpretation, and interpretation opens the door to substantial influence by church, tradition, Spirit, reason, and even individual experience. Branches of Protestantism have distinguished themselves in part by the authoritative priority they attribute to these sources. But Christian authority cannot be possessed as a static and absolute quality of any single entity. Its shape is fundamentally relational, emerging from the dynamic interchange between ancient scripture and present context, inspired tradition and Spirit-endued community. In short, the authority of the Bible functions dialogically. Section one of this dissertation traces the ways Christian perspectives on authority have shifted over time as the church has encountered new challenges. Section two describes how branches of Christianity have attempted to solve the authority problem by anchoring it in different primary sources—tradition, scripture alone, Spirit, experience, and reason. Section three introduces a dialogical paradigm as a fresh way for conceiving how religious authority functions and points to the distinct contributions of various dialogue partners. It concludes with the
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