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Hanging on the Law and the Prophets: Jesus Restored Sanctity to the Scriptures

© Arthur C. Ruger

The centuries-old controversy over the role of scripture, the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law, were clarified by Jesus in one bold and powerful response in which he brought forth the context in which scriptures are applied.

"Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?"

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

"This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it :

You must love your neighbor as yourself

"On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too."

Many an argument between one who believes the Bible to be inerrant, absolute and literally true and one who disagrees runs aground when those of the absolutist view "prove" inerrancy by quoting the book in question.

It has been my view that the Bible is the Word of God but not the literal words of God. In this I'd like to quote another book, Reading the Bible for the First Time, by Dr. Marcus J. Borg, Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University:

"The sacramental function of scripture leads to a final point about the relationship between God and the Bible: the Bible as the 'Word of God.' ...speaking of the Bible as 'the Word of God' has often led Christians to see the Bible as coming from God.

... It is important to emphasize that the Christian tradition throughout its history has spoken of the Bible as the Word of God (capital W and singular), not as the words of God. If it had used the latter phrase, then one might reasonably claim that believing the words of the Bible to be God's words is intrinsic to being Christian.

But the use of a capital W and the singular suggests a different meaning. Namely, 'Word' is being used in a metaphorical and nonliteral sense. As with metaphors generally, this one resonates with more than one nuance of meaning. A word is a means of communication, involving both speaking and hearing. A word is a means of disclosure; we disclose or reveal ourselves through words. Words bridge the distance between ourselves and others: we commune and become intimate through words.

To call the Bible the Word of God is to see it in all of these ways, and no doubt more. The Bible is a means of divine self-disclosure. The traditional theological phrase for this is 'the Bible as the revelation of God.' In the Bible, as the foundation of the Christian cultural-linguistic world, Christians find the disclosure of God - not because the Bible is the words of God but because the Bible contains the primary stories and traditions that disclose the character and will of God. ... calling the Bible the Word of God refers not to its origin but to its status and function."