REFORMED WORLD VOLUME 66.1 World Communion of Reformed Churches World Communion The Catholic Presbyterian (1879-1883), The Quarterly of Reformed Churches Register (1886-1936), The Presbyterian Register (1937-1948), The Presbyterian World (1949-1955), The Reformed and Presbyterian World (1956-1970), Reformed World (1971-) Volume 66 (1) • ISSN 0034-3056 CONTENTS: Introduction P.1 Sola Scriptura: Then and Now by Anna Case-Winters P. 2 Revelation – Holy Scripture – Hermeneutics by Matthias Zeindler P. 24 Hermeneutics of the Meeting of Worlds and the Principle of Sola Scriptura P. 38 by Yolanda Dreyer Biblical Multiplicity and the Unity of the Church by Michael Weinrich P. 55 An apology and official retraction - The article “Presbyterians, Sexuality and Membership Transition in the United States” by Timothy T. N. Lim was mistakenly included in Reformed World, Volume 65 (2 & 3). While it had been submitted for consideration, it was not formally accepted; nor was Dr. Lim notified that it would be published. We wholeheartedly apologize to Dr. Lim for printing an essay that was not yet ready for publication. We also apologize to anyone who found fault with this essay. We issue a formal retraction of this essay. REFORMED WORLD is published by the World Communion of Reformed Churches, www.wcrc.ch. President: Jerry Pillay General Secretary: Chris Ferguson Officers: Helis Barraza Diaz, Yvette Noble-Bloomfield, Bas Plaisier, Yueh Wen-Lu, Johann WeusmannStaff : Dora Arce- Valentín, Aruna Gnanadason, Werner Joecker, Anna Krüger, Hanns Lessing, Katrina Mertz, Emelda Ndipewah, Paul Oppenheim, Philip Tanis, Douwe Visser Editorial Advisory Board: Anna Case-Winters (professor, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago); Paul Haidostian (president, Haigazian University, Beirut); James Haire (professor emeritus, Charles Sturt University, Canberra); Volker Kuester (professor, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz); Puleng LenkaBula (senior lecturer, University of South Africa, Pretoria); Yvette Noble- Bloomfield (Cayman Islands); Iain Torrance (president emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary) © Copyright 2016 by the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Except where otherwise stated, the writers of articles are alone responsible for the opinions expressed. No article may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. WORLD An introduction to this issue REFORMED The five solas (or solae)—Christus, Deo gloria, fide, gratia and scriptura—were foundational concepts of the Reformation and have played an important part in our religious tradition ever since. While they were initially used to differentiate the Reformers’ beliefs from those of the Roman Catholic Church they have come to be integral components of who we understand ourselves to be as Reformed Christians. At the same time, however, the specific understanding of what each sola means has changed over the centuries—and misunderstandings have also arisen. Perhaps sola scriptura—by Scripture alone—has been one of the more contentious, especially within our tradition. A subgroup of the WCRC’s Network of Theologians, especially dedicated to exploring the ideas of sola scriptura, have taken a fresh look at this topic, and this issue of Reformed World contains their efforts. Anna Case-Winters charts the concept of sola scriptura from its origins during the Reformation through to today, noting that the “affirmation of sola scriptura is often misunderstood as an exclusion of all other sources of knowledge.” Matthias Zeindler takes this concept a step further as he explores how “the fundamental act of God’s communication is not found in the biblical writings themselves, but in a communicative divine act to be differentiated from the text." Yolanda Dreyer asks whether theology can "bring the Reformed world together,” especially through the “Reformed idea of the clarity and transparency of Scripture.” She explores this idea through the “hermeneutics of being human." Michael Weinrich sketches “a map of aspects that foster the ecclesiological relevance of an appropriate treating of the biblical diversity in the framework of its canonical acceptance." We trust that you will find these essays rich, insightful and thought-provoking. We welcome your responses to any of the ideas put forth in them. Please send comments to: [email protected]. 1 Sola Scriptura: Then and Now Anna Case-Winters Introduction How broad, deep and demanding are the texts of Scripture, and how utterly beyond us in their richness. Karl Barth wrote of “The Strange New World within the Bible.” It is a book which “always and inescapably outdistances our categories of understanding and explanation, of interpretation and control.”1 There is no question that these texts continue to surprise us and seize us. How do we account for that experience? How do we as contemporary Christians in the Reformed family think about Scripture? Do we still affirm, with our Reformed forebears “sola scriptura?” If so, what does that mean for us today? How are these texts authoritative for us? How do we go about interpreting them responsibly? Does affirming sola scriptura mean that there are no other sources to be consulted in matters of faith and life? This chapter will offer an exploration of these questions in three movements. The first will entail listening to Reformation era voices from the time when sola scriptura became a rallying cry. The second will highlight important developments between then and now. The third will inquire into what the church today may fruitfully bring forward from this historic affirmation. Listening to Reformation-era voices What did “sola scriptura” mean in the context of the Reformation? An historical exploration of what sola scriptura meant in its origin may help us toward greater clarity regarding whether and in what sense Reformed folk may still make this affirmation today. Sola scriptura has been called “the formal principle of the Reformation.”2 The Reformed have embraced this orientation wholeheartedly. A spotlight on John Calvin’s theology may help to illumine the particular Reformed appropriation. On the way it is well to look to Martin Luther, who Calvin took to be “the pathfinder.” Calvin appropriated key insights from Luther in this and other Reformation themes. There are, at the same time, some “differentiations” that are distinctive to Calvin. 1 Walter Brueggemann. “Biblical Authority: A Personal Reflection” (Covenant Network Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 3, 2000), 1. 2 Fred H. Klooster, “The Uniqueness of Reformed Theology: A Preliminary Attempt at Description,” Calvin Theological Journal (Vol. 14, No.1, April 1979), 39. 2 WORLD Luther came gradually to a clear and forceful articulation of sola scriptura. In July of 1519, he affirmed “scripture alone” in matters of faith.3 In 1520, in the REFORMED Babylonian Captivity of the Church he went on to say that, “Whatever is asserted without scriptural proofs or an accredited revelation may be held as an opinion, but it need not be believed.”4 Then, at the Diet of Worms (April 1521), when he refused to recant, he took the matter further, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God….”5 What is decisive here is his bold elevation of Scripture above popes and councils. For Luther “the content of Scripture is Christ…all Scripture turns about him as its true center.” His affirmation of the Old Testament is a function of its character as the “swaddling clothes and the manger in which Christ lies….” (Forward to the Old Testament). This christological turning point meant for Luther that there is, in fact, a canon within a canon. As he says, “John’s Gospel and St. Paul’s epistles, especially that to the Romans, and St. Peter’s first epistle are the true kernel and marrow of all the books” (Forward to the New Testament). He dismisses the book of James as “strawy”—fit for a fire starter.6 He says that it would be better if Esther was not in the canon and insists that Revelation is not an “apostolic” book. At this point, Calvin’s position on Scripture differentiates. For Calvin, it may be said that sola scriptura entails “tota scriptura.” “All” of Scripture and sometimes the very words themselves are seen by him as divinely inspired. Every part of Scripture carries the full weight of authority and validity for all times and places. Calvin, in fact writes commentaries on every book of the Bible excepting only two: Revelations and Song of Solomon. It was not that they were “strawy,” but, as he reported, he simply did not know what to do with them! Calvin concurs with Luther that Christ is the centre point of Scripture, but he has in view the larger story of God’s one covenant of grace through all times and places; a covenant mediated by Christ. From this differentiation (Calvin’s tota scriptura), much else follows. Both Old Testament and New Testament carry the full weight of authority for Calvin. 3 Brian Gerrish. “Tradition in the Modern World: The Reformed Habit of Mind.” Toward the Future of Reformed Theology, ed. David Willis and Michael Welker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 54. 4 W.A. 6508.19; L.W. 36.29. 5Ronald Bainton, trans. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, (Penguin: New York, NY, 1995), 185. 6 Gerrish, 55. 3 There is no contrasting of the Old Testament (as law) with New Testament (as gospel). The two together give an accounting of the one covenant of grace that spans these texts and their times. Because of this