Sarah Kelchner
According to Southern Baptists, the Bible is the ultimate authority on matters of spiritual truth. The Bible is the definitive Word of God: perfect, divinely inspired, and “unconditioned by time or cultural circumstances” (Balmer 11). Southern Baptists believe in the doctrine of biblical literalism because since the Bible is divinely inspired and inerrant, biblical statements must be accepted as unconditionally and literally true; in conjunction with the doctrine of sola scriptura, this means that Scripture therefore holds ultimate authority and should be believers’ only source of spiritual truth (Rogers). Since biblical messages are evident and literally true, the Bible is deemed to be easily accessible and understandable by all (Farnsley 40). Therefore, Southern Baptists uphold the autonomy of each individual in interpreting Scriptures; this idea that each believer has the authority to interpret the Scriptures for himself/herself is known as the “priesthood of the believer” (Farnsley 41). Accordingly, the Southern Baptist Church is characterized by a democratic polity, which is a governance structure which relies upon “the competency of a…believer to interpret the Scriptures rightly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” rather than on Church authorities to establish acceptable explanations of the Scriptures (Farnsley 42). The Southern Baptist Church acknowledges that remaining committed to the ultimate authority of the Scriptures and to the resultant freedom of individuals to interpret them personally can lead to a degree of subjectivity and even inaccuracies amongst various interpretations. However, the Church roots itself in the conviction that it is even more dangerous to place the authority to interpret Scriptures in the hands of a select few; rather, each “believer-priest” should receive whatever individual message God seeks to convey through the Scriptures and the guidance of both the Holy Spirit and the pastors and ministers available to guide believers to accurate and applicable spiritual truths (Pinson).
Catholics believe that the Bible is absolutely true, but that since it is a compilation of human-made documents, interpretation and guidance from the Church are necessary to accurately determine the meanings of the Scriptures (“Catholics and the Bible”). The Catholic Church points out that while the Bible was divinely inspired and therefore is imbued with some degree of authority from God, the very formation of the scriptural canon was coordinated by the Church when the scriptural canon was established in the late third century (Flinn, “Inerrancy of Scripture;” Matthews 289-290). Therefore, the authority of the Bible depends on the authority of the Church (“Catholics and the Bible”). Since, according to Pope Leo XIII’s statements in the Providentissimus Deus, the sacred writers sought not to provide factual accounts of science or history through the Scriptures, the Bible cannot be assumed to be literally true on all accounts; however, this does not discount the credibility of the Bible in any way on topics of spiritual truths (“Catholics and the Bible”). Rather, this simply means that Church experts use exegesis to disentangle potentially misleading statements from fundamental spiritual truths by examining the cultural and historical context of the Scriptures (“Catholics and the Bible”). In this way, the Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of recognizing both the divine and human aspects of the Bible (Flinn, “Inerrancy of Scripture”). While individuals are encouraged to read the Bible and learn from God’s Word, they must also rely upon the Church’s authority to interpret Scripture and utilize the tools provided by the Church for guidance in reaching complete and accurate conclusions about spiritual truths (“Catholics and the Bible”). Specifically, Catholics are encouraged to follow the missal, which contains readings and responses, during each mass and then listen to the homily, or the priest’s interpretations and explanations of the Scriptures based on Church doctrine (Flinn, “Roman Missal”). There are also commentaries available from theological experts who create detailed explanations for Bible passages to help readers understand the meaning and appreciate the richness of the Scriptures.
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Works Cited
Balmer, Randall. “Why Southern Baptists Insist on Biblical Literacy.” The Lakeland Ledger 22 Jun. 1991: 11. Print.
“Catholics and the Bible.” Catholic Education Resource Center, Catholic Evidence Guild, 1921, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/catholics-and-the-bible.html. 7 Dec. 2017.
Farnsley, Arthur Emery. “Ambiguity without Consensus: The Development of Procedural Polity.” Southern Baptist Politics: Authority and Power in the Restructuring of an American Denomination, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994, pp. 40–43.
Flinn, Frank K. “Inerrancy of Scripture.” Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2016. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/263443?q=catholic scripture. 7 Dec. 2017.
Flinn, Frank K. “Roman Missal.” Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2016. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/263187?q=missal. 7 Dec. 2017.
Matthews, Warren. “Christianity.” World Religions. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 289-290. Print.
Pinson, William M. “The Authority of the Bible.” Baptist Distinctives, 20 Jan. 2015, http://www.baptistdistinctives.org/resources/articles/the-authority-of-the-bible/. 7 Dec. 2017.
Rogers, Adrian. “The Baptist Faith and Message.” Southern Baptist Convention, 2017, http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/bfm2000.asp. 7 Dec. 2017.
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