the Bible, sola scriptura, and agnostic idolaters

I had a couple of conversations with two of my in-laws this week--the spouse of my wife's older brother, and the husband of my wife's twin sister. It's kinda fun being the token pastor in a family of church goers. It's kinda like "ask the pastor things that other pastors won't give you a straight answer on" at times, and I enjoy it.

The conversation that I had with my wife's sister's husband (does that make him my brother-in-law?) was about baptism. He was sprinkled as an infant in a Lutheran church, now attends a mainstream evangelical/Baptist church, and is looking to become a member. Of course, at his current church, they require baptism by immersion in order to become a member. So, he's been doing some researching about it, and I was one of his subjects of inquiry.

I had done some work last year or so on the history and theology of the practice of baptism as kind of a preemptive strike, per se, as my church is confronting some of the same issues. As you grow larger, and as more people from different backgrounds and traditions enter your church, you tend to become a little more centrist--clinging to the things that really do matter, and letting go of things that are just more peripheral.

Anyways, as I was sharing with him what I had written, I was reminded of why baptism is such a hot button, especially in a lot of evangelical circles. It's because of this thing called sola scriptura.

Sola scriptura is Latin for "Only Scripture." It was one of the tenets that led Martin Luther to separate himself from the Roman Catholic Church a few hundred years back, sparking the Protestant Reformation from which evangelicals today trace their roots. Sola scriptura states that the authority of the Bible and personal interaction with it should be held on the same level as the authority of the institutional church and church tradition.

Some evangelical circles (and Baptists in particular) take this principle to heart and, searching the Scriptures, find more evidence for practicing baptism by immersion on adult converts than they find evidence for sprinkling infants.

And that was significant for my brother-in-law. What he needed to know was this: he wasn't just brushing up against a different interpretation of a historical church practice; he was brushing up against a value that evangelicals cling to and hold dear: personally interacting and interpreting the Bible.

And, believe it or not, that story is just a set-up to what I really want to say.

There's something that is so beautiful, so valuable, so life-giving about searching the Scriptures freely and passionately, with the right tools, in a good community, with learned and mature believers, by the Spirit, and then submitting oneself to the chosen interpretation.

But: more and more of us dismiss that. Some of us even trample on that.

That makes me sound self-righteous, holier-than-thou, and maybe even insulated. I know. And I hate that perhaps that tone makes you dismiss what I am saying. But see for yourselves if it isn't true. See if what I'm describing doesn't accurately depict you, or those with whom you live life.

Here's what I see:

I see a growing generation of agnostic idolaters.

Yep. That sounds really harsh. But it gets even worse.

We are agnostic because we cry mystery too much--or, perhaps, we cry mystery where the Bible does not. Yes, that's more like it. When we are confronted with a clear biblical claim that goes against our own personal preference or a cultural value, we seem to shrug our shoulders and go our own way, bow to culture, or remain in some sort of nebulous grayness that is neither here nor there... and even consider ourselves pious for doing so.

We are idolaters because we sometimes put spiritual claims to our agnosticism, and in doing so, make God into our own image of him. For example: the Bible defines love, and gives many examples of what it is, and what it is not. But we--we use the phrase "my God is a loving God" to justify whatever behavior we choose. "My God is a loving God, so... (fill in the blank)." And yet, the Bible also states that God hates sin, and is very clear on what sin is as well.

And yet--and yet--we don't wrestle with those things. We don't go to the Scripture and search like we should. And if we do, and we see what the Scripture says, we don't sumbit ourselves to it. We worm our way around it, or make it say something the authors didn't intend, or say things like "Who's to say that your interpretation is right, and mine's wrong?" And agnosticism rears its ugly head once again, trumping sola scriptura and the beautiful life that God offers as we embrace and submit ourselves to it.

Some things are mysterious--like the depths of God's love, how all of God's attributes and perfections fit together and work together perfectly, or how God can prompt and move without cancelling the free and authentic choices of human beings. But other things are not.

There is a God, he can be known, and there is a devastating price to pay for crafting him in your own image.

But thank God that he is very skilled at breaking down the images that we create.

And I am no different. He's broken mine down before, and I pray that he continues to do it.

Please, God: break the image of my generation, so that we can see You for You, and not who we have created You to be.