lieuwen@mycella.cs.wisc.edu (Dan Lieuwen) (08/06/90)
I believe that the Bible is the primary source of truth and that all that is contrary to Scripture must be rejected. However, I reject the doctrine that the Bible is sufficient as an interpreter of itself. The belief that the Bible is self-interpreting leads to terrible errors--and hands control of the church to the rootless and the ruthless. By rootless, I mean those like the Jehovah's Witnesses who fall into grave error because they ignore the clear teaching of the church through the ages and return to ancient heresies. By ruthless, I mean those who shove their agendas through church decision making bodies--agendas that conflict with scripture, tradition, and even the will of the layity. A good example is the recent decision of the Christian Reformed Church to ordain women ministers using a hermeneutic that has been used to argue for the ordination of homosexuals. The doctrice Sola Scriptura has a noble aim: to proclaim the wonder of God's Word and to refuse to allow the teachings of men to crowd it out. It was, however, based on a misunderstanding. Tradition's function is not to cancel out Scripture but to explain it and to supplement it. It gives us the eye glasses through which we may see Scripture correctly. It keeps us from errors old and new. It allows to wonder of God's Word to shine forth with full vigor, unclouded by error. Dan Lieuwen, a current member of the Christian Reformed Church headed who knows where -- --Dan