N. T. Wright’s Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today is a revision and expansion of a book previously published as The Last Word. Wright, the author of several award-winning books, calls readers to look afresh look at and renew their focus on the relationship between the authority of God and the Bible. In his estimation, this discussion is needed because older ways of thinking about the world and teaching the Bible are being increasingly discredited in the current, postmodern climate. Wright’s core message is a good one—the proper approach to understanding the message of Scripture requires the use of reason, respect for tradition, appreciation of context, and integration of science and scholarship, all while maintaining awareness of the entire biblical narrative and our special place in it.
The first four chapters explain Wright’s concept of “authority of Scripture.” In his estimation, the phrase refers to God’s authority as exercised through Scripture. Because the Bible is the story of God’s love for humanity manifested in creation and re-creation in Christ, it does not have the form readers readily associate with authority in the present culture. It is not predominantly a list of rules or a compilation of doctrines. The authoritative story is one in which God is revealing himself through Christ and re-creating fallen humanity to expand his sovereign rule in people's hearts. The Old Testament storyline climaxed in Christ, and apostolic preaching about Jesus is a furtherance of this narrative in that it chronicles the manner in which God’s kingdom expanded in the world among all people rather than with Jews only.
Chapters 5 through 8 address the changing dynamics involved in interpreting Scripture over a span of sixteen centuries. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there was a strong sense of the church being the community living within the scriptural narrative. Over time, however, a gradual detachment developed between the notions of scriptural authority and its narrative context. By the 16th century, tradition was regarded as authoritative alongside Scripture, and resistance to this emphasis on tradition as necessary for salvation characterized the Protestant Reformation. Much that has been written about the Bible in the last 200 years has been consistent with or reacting to the 18th century Enlightenment, a largely anti-Christian movement that emphasized human “reason” as a source of knowledge and authority separate and apart from the Bible.
According to Wright, contemporary notions that modern history or science has rendered the Bible untrustworthy or that it is properly marginalized because it was written during a vastly different time are misguided. He suggests that the integration of real history and real theology through genuine biblical scholarship is the right approach for discerning true authorial intent and addressing doctrinal disputes that plague communities of believers. Reason must not be abandoned; it should serve as a check on unrestrained interpretation and a help in integrating new scientific discoveries while respecting our current place within the biblical narrative.
Wright is correct that mis-readings of Scripture based on misunderstandings of Scripture and authority have plagued conservative and liberal groups alike. It is important to remember that the conclusions and practices of early Christians should be included in modern meditations on Scripture, but they should not be allowed to supplant—or even compete with—Scripture itself. It is also imperative that believers commit themselves to individual and group reading and contextual interpretation, particularly in liturgical environments. At the same time, biblical scholarship can and should be an asset to the church. While I question some of Wright’s argumentation, his premise that the ideal reading of Scripture is both reasoned and devotional is apropos and timely.