As Christopher Bryan listened to the sometimes bitter debates at a recent council of church leaders, he began asking questions: How can well-intentioned and intelligent persons come to such opposite conclusions about the same documents? Are the scriptures simply not clear? Are the parties to the debate interpreting the scriptures in different ways? And if so, what is the right way? Is there a "right way"? And what of "authority", a notoriously slippery term? Is there a particular way in which the scriptures can or ought to be authoritative for the church's discourse, and if so, what is it? His reflections on some of the ways we might answer these questions in the church today became the twelve short chapters of this book. Here scripture scholar and Anglican priest Christopher Bryan looks at the nature of the Bible s authority and inspiration and how the Bible can inform our decision-making today. He explores common questions about scripture, such as What do we mean when we say that the scriptures are revelatory, that they are inspired, that they are the Word of God? How do we define the Bible s authority for the past and the future?
What does a church that takes the Bible s authority seriously actually look like? How does it read, study, and pray with the Bible?