I really don't want to spend a lot of time on this topic. Is scripture inerrant? Of course not. Is it the word of God? Of course it is.
The paradox is that to make Scripture inerrant is to take God out of it. The canon is fixed, nothing can be added or taken away. It is complete. The big advantage of this is that it allows us to interpret it for every age and every place. Whatever interpretation we make, the original is always there to return to.
It is easy for the Gospel to spread around the world because the scriptures can be translated into any language and interpreted in any culture.
To absolutise one interpretation is to deny the power of God's spirit to interpret scripture to us.
What is behind this? The desire to be right. A fear of discovering that treasured prejudices are not true, meaning the whole edifice of faith crumbles. But it is not faith, it is making an idol out of the Bible.
The difficulty for ecumenists is some traditions do not recognise the mainstream churches as genuine. We are nominal Christians, not really committed presumably to their interpretation. The problem for me is do I exclude them as they might exclude me? Do I reject some people who call themselves Christian who separate themselves from the Body of Christ?
We all surely draw a line somewhere. If it is not at fundamentalist Christians, what about sects such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists? Some would even exclude these groups from inter-faith dialogue, understanding them to be heretical sects rather than genuine faiths. It is problematic, where they claim to be Christians and the Christians present do not recognise them as such.
My purpose here is to identify the dilemma ecumenists face. The problem is that we are forced to look at this as one of belief because many sects and Christians see this as a matter of belief. The reality I know is one of lived faith, the Christian who gives all for the faith. Too often Christians seem more concerned about their good name than living the faith in a hostile world. I understand Lubna Hussein, the woman on trial in Sudan for wearing trousers, is a Christian. She has voluntarily resigned her job with the United Nations so that she can be tried. The penalty if found guilty is up to 40 lashes and an unlimited fine. Here we see a life lived for others, her exact beliefs seem quite unimportant.
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