Biblical authority …

Christian Century, Sept 20, 2003 by John W. McNeil

IN THE EXCHANGE between Douglas Groothuis and Merold Westphal, Groothuis claims that "the death of the author implies the death of any authority of sacred scripture" ("Postmodern fallacies," July 26). While one might reply that the authors of scripture are in fact dead, or at least unavailable for consultation, Groothuis's claim begs the commonly overlooked question as to whether a text can be an authority.

An authority must be able to render judgments. Whatever else it may be, scripture is a linguistic artifact, and hence incapable of rendering any judgment. The yearning to establish scripture as an objective, impersonal authority betrays the Enlightenment-based suspicion of personal authority. No text can function as an impersonal authority, because any text depends for its life on interpreters, even if we agree that the author is chief among them. Our interpretation of any text is an ongoing conversation with other interpreters about the text, inseparable from our experience, reason and tradition. There is no available fixed point of reference.

Each Christian answers this question: What person or community of faith do I accept as an authority to help me interpret scripture? Perhaps one claims a direct straightforward conversation with God regarding the text, making God the authority. But most of us will accept the authority of different communities of faith in which we participate in ongoing conversations. To the extent that we have faith in the Holy Spirit, this state of affairs need not make us anxious.

John W. McNeill Fairport United Methodist Church. Fairport, N. Y