God or the devil . . . who is found in the details?

In a conversation with Terry O’Casey over the weekend, we got to discussing the idea of Biblical inerrancy; more specifically the role of inerrancy within narrative vision of Scripture.

It could be argued that the doctrine of inerrancy as defined by the Chicago Statement (for instance) is a product of enlightenment, top-down thinking, striving to provide a unique “stand-alone” authoritative position on Scripture. The discussion of inerrancy since at least since the rise of Carl F. H. Henry et al. has concerned a mostly propositional reading of the Biblical text.

If God, who is in Godself “Truth” – who speaks and acts truth only – has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Godself to humanity through Jesus Christ as Creator, Lord, and reconciler then Holy Scripture one of God’s witnesses to humanity. Scripture is God’s witness of the God/humanity relationship; or the story of salvation history (as it is often called).

The dogma of Biblical inerrancy generally finds expression through a tight hermeneutic manifest through propositional, objective truth claims.

Question: What are some of the things that give a story its power and authority?

Think of any story: from Star Wars to a Simpson’s episode; from a Copeland novel, to the story of your own family . . . what might be some of the elements that give a story power?

Some possible responses:

· the characters; heroes, villains . . .

· the storyline, plot, crisis, the problem . . .

· the connections to the lives of the hearers of the story, the sense that “this story is my/our story” . . .

· the particularity of the story, the details, the minutia . . .

· hearing/listening/submitting to the story . . .

· the act of telling and re-telling the story . . .

· what else?

Could it be that a more faithful approach to the authority of Scripture might involve paying closer attention to the details in the retelling of the narrative? The point is not the point, the telling is.

Think about the way you tell the story of your family. If you speak in board general ways, with propositional phrases which seek to sum up the essence of your family something is lost; your family becomes a caricature. In the objectification of the narrative of one’s one family, the family no longer exists to be known as the living family of relationships, rather the family exists as an illustration in abstraction, and limited to a single vantage point.

It appears that something far more beautiful happens in telling detailed narratives of one’s family. The greater the detail in the story, as it is retold the more we enter into the narrative. Part of the shaping power of our stories is their radical particularity. In some ways the more specific the details of the narrative, the more power the story has.

Though I am not saying we should try to redefine “inerrancy” (both the word and the concept behind the word maybe wrought with problems), I am wondering aloud whether it might be wise for us to look at how we tell and retell the witness of Holy Scripture being mindful of the details of the narrative(s).

So, maybe, when we encounter a specific Biblical text it would be wise for us listen for the details of the narrative not simply the big idea.

. . . playing in the theological fields of our fathers & mothers.

peace, dwight