Years ago, when things in the Episcopal Church were really controversial, I co-sponsored a resolution at Diocesan Convention that any decisions the Church made be based on the Bible. The resolution failed—the idea of our church making decisions founded on scripture was just too frightening.
Is that surprising? Episcopalians have a complicated relationship with the Bible. On the one hand we honor it as the first of our three authorities. But, as the crowd at that Convention assumed, the word “biblical” often seems to be a code word for being rigid and judgmental. One imagines Bible verses being used to justify out-of-date gender roles, discrimination, and other hateful positions. Biblical doesn’t seem like a compliment, or even Godly.
Perhaps out of fear, Episcopalians avoid engaging the Bible. Unlike those “Bible-based” churches, we can’t and don’t quote chapter and verse. Bible study isn’t something we do too often, although we claim we would like to.
Episcopalians do pride ourselves on our liturgical use of scripture. We will point out that over 70% of the Book of Common Prayer comes from the Bible. And that on a typical Sunday we read four passages of scripture, following the pattern set in the lectionary, giving us more scripture readings than many churches. Ironically, all those readings are part of the problem. The lectionary assumes an understanding on the part of the listeners that would provide the context and background to all those passages, a background most Episcopalians don’t have. The sermon can’t possibly tackle that much information in one presentation, so we remain disconnected from the source of our faith.
Surprisingly, many of our fears seem to be misplaced. A recent study indicates that those who regularly read the Bible become more concerned about social issues, including abolishing the death penalty, assisting the poor, and reducing consumerism. The Bible may not be what we think.
That’s why we at Trinity keep trying to study it. This year we will begin at the beginning and follow the story through. Our process will be one that uses various methods of Biblical criticism to imagine what scripture meant in the past to God’s people, and then what it might mean to us. First thing for us to know is that criticism is not a bad thing. It simply means to read closely, looking deeply.
To get started, take a look at what that criticism can be. Many articles can be found online, but why not just start with Wikipedia? Then join the Rector’s Forum at 9am or read more on here—more ideas on the way soon.