This text is part of a longer article with the same title, and some sections have been deleted with permission from the author. Father Jack Sparks is Dean of the Saint Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology and Chairman of the Orthodox Committee for Translation of the Bible in America... Quoted from Orthodox Heritage Magazine
Why does the Orthodox Church care so much about the Bible? Why do we preserve it so carefully? Why do we revere it and consider it sacred? Why do we read it so much in services? First and foremost, the Bible is central to God's revelation to humankind. Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes: “The book inspired by God, as the Apostle calls it, is the writing of the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to benefit human beings. He writes: All Scripture is inspired by God and is beneficial (2 Timothy 3:16).”
I believe that these few simple words give us a less frank picture of the Orthodox Church's view of the Bible than the truth requires. In fact, the importance of this reverential view of the Bible and its use cannot be overstated, but it helps us understand why biblical interpretation is such a sensitive matter.
Today we have philosophers, historians, and others who call themselves theologians who criticize the Holy Bible and interpret it without taking into account the doctrines that the Church has preserved for generations. Indeed, they neglect and disdain these doctrines. These theologians are often not members of the church. Regardless of whether they are in or outside the church, they operate with preconceived assumptions and ways that are foreign to the church. The result is certainly contrary to Christian doctrine.
Should we drop the tradition and believe these people instead? It seems that what is expected of us is to accept their new scenarios and their rejection of the Church’s doctrines and teachings because they are supposed to reach much of what the Church Fathers did not reach. Being modern means being better.
In contrast to them, the Church Fathers display a humble and positive attitude toward the Bible, accepting it as the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. They adhered steadfastly to the interpretations that the Church had accepted from the beginning. Saint Theophilus of Antioch writes: “Moreover, with regard to the righteousness commanded by the law, we find the prophets and the Gospels in harmony with each other, because they all spoke as inspired by the same Holy Spirit.” Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, writes: “If, for some reason, we are unable to explain all these passages that we are investigating, we must not seek, by this argument, another God. This would be the greatest obstacle. We must leave matters of this kind to God who created us, knowing full well that the Bible is complete because whoever spoke it is the Word of God and by His Spirit.”
The understanding of the Christian faith, its foundation and the source of all its doctrines, is the revelation that is the gift of God. The Apostle Paul says: “So God revealed it to us by His Spirit, because the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of man except the spirit of man that is in him? Even so also the things of God are known only by the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). And also: “And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
Scientific criticism cannot prove or disprove the sanctifying value of the Bible. Divine revelation is something that science cannot determine nor investigate as a scientific statement. This does not mean, of course, that faith and science cannot be joined, nor even that reason cannot comprehend religious truth. Nor am I saying the opposite way, that is, that religious truth, the truth of revelation, is neither necessary nor convincing in matters of reason. But in order for these two to work together, reason and faith, reason must be manifested.
If we want to discover the truth about the breath of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Bible, we must devote ourselves to seeking the Holy Spirit in order to gain spiritual intuition and insight. We must learn to differentiate between what is sacred and what is secular and worldly. We must know and feel what is sacred versus what is unholy. Contrary to what many people think in our day, we just have to acknowledge that there is something sacred that is truly separate from what is worldly. This manifestation of our conscience can only be achieved in the Church, that is, in its spiritual and gifted perfection. Revelation was given to the church, not to individuals.
In order to experience the fullness of revelation, we must be in and from the church. In the Old Testament also, although God spoke to individuals, directly and indirectly, those entrusted with God's Word were God's people, not individuals (Romans 3:2). Revelation was given only to the Church and we can receive it only in the Church: this body is where the fullness of spiritual life can be found.
Revelation becomes unclear and unconvincing to those outside the church. This lack of clarity is the other side of human lack of attention and our unwillingness to hear or see what the Gospel conveys to us, which leads to our loss of spiritual awareness. As the Apostle Paul says: “They are always learning and can never come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:17).
At this point we look at historical criticism and so-called higher criticism and the theories that follow them. For the most part, the theories on which these views are based were created by people outside the church who were unwilling to learn from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes their opinions are held by some academics and even professors of institutes in the church. But whatever their direction, they remain contrary to God's revelation.
This is why higher criticism and its followers are useless in understanding God's revelation. In their understanding of history alone, critics place themselves outside the scope of advertising. It is ironic that some argue that Moses and Abraham did not exist and that the Twelve Tribes of Israel are historical fiction. These ideas make their proponents purveyors of heresy and illogical because the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul directly referred to Moses and Abraham as historical figures. Certainly this was the position of the Church later on.
The Gospels are the pinnacle of advertising:
The climax of revelation is in the Gospels because Christ, the subject of the Gospels, is the fullness of revelation. We note that the New Testament, like the Old Testament, is first and foremost history. The basis of the New Testament is not only commandments and teachings, but also information and events. This foundation leads us to Christ and to his body, the Church, “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23). Yes, the Gospels are very clear and unadorned history. These simple, yet striking historical events are both the source and subject of Christian faith and hope.
The Gospels are records of the apostolic gospel, and the teaching of the apostles was not contained “in convincing words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power” (1 Corinthians 2:4), as the Apostle Paul declares. Thus, in the memories of the people of God, the image of Jesus Christ grows with living force, and every sensitive heart recognizes in the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth the Savior of the world and God incarnate, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Through faith, the plan of the Gospel is mysteriously revealed on earth, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, historical evidence becomes an instrument by which we can perceive divine truth.
It is true that not everyone sees it in our days just as not everyone saw it when it first happened. In absolute terms, it was not “flesh and blood” that revealed Jesus Christ to be the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16-17), but God Himself. In the secret union of his natures as God and man, he revealed his true image as God and man and it was known. We see this in the writings of the Evangelists.
In fact, the entire New Testament is an echo of historical achievement, what was foretold and is now fulfilled. Remember, we are not just talking about any course of natural events on Earth. We are talking about the true story of this meeting between heaven and earth and between God and man, about this meeting and union: “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).
However, “no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). This means that we hear the fullness of revelation clearly only in spiritual experience. For this reason, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, was sent to us: “to guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13), and “to bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). And across the generations to this day, “this same anointing will teach you about all things” (1 John 2:27). Yes, today we have the same Holy Spirit that was given from the beginning to every member of the Church to keep him in the truth.
Church book
The Gospels were written inside the church. They are the records of Jesus Christ's teaching and preaching. The power and ability of this evangelism built the Church as the Master predicted when he said to his disciples: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And teach them to observe everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The Gospels are records and experiences of the Church's faith, records of what we need to know about Jesus Christ and his disciples' experience with him. Only in the Church can this image of Christ be fully and completely obtained. The Holy Fathers often told us that the Church is the ever-advancing and living encounter between believers and Christ, whom all believers wear in the sacrament of Holy Baptism and with whom they are filled with the Spirit.
Divine revelation is preserved in the Church. The words of the Bible preserve and preserve the revelation, even though they do not include it completely. This means that the words of the book do not contain all the advertising. Even the Holy Books cannot contain all of the Christian experience and all of the Church's spiritual activity and memory. There is much more than can be seen and described because the Church's experience is broader and deeper than what is expressed in writing.
As the Apostle John writes: “And many other things that Jesus did, if they were written one by one, I do not think that the world itself would contain the books that are written.” Therefore, those who reside in the church, reassured in it and confident in the grace and peace of the Holy Spirit within it, know better than those outside it in an unlimited and very different way. The testimony of the Spirit brings clarity and fullness to the Bible for those who stay in the church and experience the enlightenment they gain there. Yes, and this testimony remains alive in their personal experience, that is, in what they know, see, and do.
For this very reason, it is not correct to talk about the self-sufficiency of the book as if it itself contains everything that God has given to the church, and as if it can be taken alone without the power of interpretation and teaching that the Holy Spirit gives to and in the church. Revelation is an inner spiritual experience for church members.
In fact, the Church itself is a revelation. There is an uninterrupted stream of revelation starting from the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit entered the church to reside in it, until today. At Pentecost, the Spirit brought fiery baptism to the created world and it appeared through the fiery tongues experienced by the twelve apostles and those who were with them as the first chosen fruits representing the created world.
Within the Church, the Bible calls out to be opened and explained. Any correct presentation and explanation will always stem from the facts in the book. The explanation should not be an external one given by those who have not experienced the Church, but rather an internal explanation that grows from the depths of the Church's spiritual experience. At this point we are not thinking much about the personal spiritual intuition of each person trying to interpret the Bible, but above all we are interested in the living fullness of the spiritual experience of the Church herself. Through this experience, the book is animated by the same spirit that inspired it. The Church bears witness to what the Book has written and told when she explains it, that is, she explains what the Holy Spirit formed in her midst.
Sometimes, some new words must be used to clarify the truth and convey it in a new time. For example, at the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, the Church needed a new phrase to convey the fact that the Son is of the same essence and equal to the Father. The phrase was “of one (homoousian) essence,” and this phrase confused the heretics. Originally, enlightenment is gained in the silence of faith, the silence of contemplation, for this is the first moment of receiving divinity. It is in this receptive serenity and responsive attitude that the fullness of the Godhead is given and accepted.
However, the truth must be expressed in terms that people understand, because the Church and her people are called not only to accept the truth with vigilance, but also to bear witness to it. In the Church, the receptive silence of ascetic openness and awareness does not completely exhaust the task of the theologian. The word of God must be conveyed in the concreteness of human expressions, moving human thought and reflecting the knowledge of God.
Move the ad
There are two basic ways in which the Church conveys God's revelation in her experience:
1. The first are images, models and symbols, poetry and hymns. We find this in the prophets of the Old Testament, in the preaching of the apostles, and in the writers of the Gospels, and it is still with us today, because the church still teaches in hymns and psalms, which are the movement and effectiveness of services. This is the language and tool for transmitting education, and testimony is one of the means of transmitting divine truth.
2. Describing the divine truth using rational concepts deduced from the study. This is the language of doctrine, i.e. dogmatic theology.
Teaching and doctrine are the two basic means used by the Church to transmit the truth, that is, the internal revelation that has always been present in the Church by the power of the Spirit residing in it. This revelation, that is, this deepening and growth in knowledge of the truth, is the life of the church, as the Apostle Paul says, “until we all come to the oneness of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Doctrine is everything that God has revealed to the church during its long experience and expressed in words in definitions and concepts. Thus, doctrine is an icon of divine truth in words and ideas. But it is also a definition and expression of truth and meaning. This is why both the internal meaning and the external choice of words are so important in doctrinal formulations and why we call the Nicene Creed “the symbol of faith” and “the definition of faith.” Within this law, the truth given to the Church is proclaimed and the choice of words to express it is carefully honed. Doctrine, like the Nicene Creed, is not revelation. It is a testimony to the divine revelation given, experienced and recognized as a revelation of the secrets of eternal life revealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit. The entire doctrine of the Orthodox Church is revealed through looking and listening to God in real contact with things “unseen” (Hebrews 1:11).
The immutable truth revealed and preserved from the beginning is the source of the doctrinal authority behind the Nicene Creed and other teachings received in the Orthodox Church. These teachings do not evolve or change, but rather are sacred and permanent, even in the external choice of their words. Is it paradoxical to say that beliefs can arise, be established, and expressed without them developing? Although this is true, when a belief is established, it becomes a standard of faith and a law of faith that is established forever.
It should be noted that when some new truths are proclaimed, the Church expresses them in words of truth preserved within the folds of her doctrinal testimony. The first goal of the Church's witness is to find and define the words needed to correctly express her experience. These words must carry an accurate definition of the truth because the truth of faith is also an intellectual truth, and the task of the theologian is to enter into the knowledge of the truth as the Apostle Paul defines it in his first letter to Timothy: “For this is good and acceptable to God our Savior.” Who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). In this process, the world of thought is revealed, sanctified, and renewed.
Divine truth
When divine truth uses human words, the words used become clear. The fact that the facts of the Declaration were identified with logical images and concepts is a testimony to the manifestation of the word and thought. Thus this combination of words becomes sacred. The words of doctrinal definitions, which are often taken from the familiar philosophical vocabulary, do not remain simple, incidental words that could, and are, be replaced, since in this usage they become eternal and irreplaceable words.
This tells us something very important and a bit surprising. In constructing an appropriate expression of a divine truth, some words, that is, specific concepts and ideas, become eternal while their meaning is fixed. These concepts and lines of thinking were chosen because they lead to eternal and absolute ideas. Therefore, it is useful for correctly expressing the truth of advertising. Many of these words and concepts are found in the Bible starting with simple words like baptism, apostle, and word.
We are talking here about the truth of the revelation that was given to the church absolutely, not as a suggestion, that is, as something possible and assumed, but as something given and taken for granted. No matter how partial our current knowledge is compared to the promised “face to face” knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:12), now, as always, it is the truth revealed by God. From the beginning, truth is revealed in the experience of the Church and made clear in doctrinal definitions.
The teachings of the Fathers repeat, with specific intellectual classifications, the fixed contents of the Apostolic teaching, expressing in words appropriate to the issues of that time the same doctrines that the fishermen of the past expressed in simple words, for they had received the wisdom to do so by the power of the Spirit.
It is necessary to pay attention to the phrase “by the power of the Spirit” when we read the canons of church councils and the words of the Fathers. Because once again we feel, in the Church’s doctrinal definitions, the life-giving power of the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Wisdom. Doctrines are not proclaimed because people decide they want them, but rather they are proclaimed by the inspiration of the Spirit. In the laws of the Ecumenical Councils, which are the source of a large part of our doctrinal definition, the declaration of the Holy Spirit is particularly well known.
In addition, the Church's experience of seeing and hearing God is not limited only to its doctrines, nor is revelation limited to the words of the Holy Bible. In doctrinal definitions, truth is defined and preserved, but it is not completely covered. The experience and faith of the Church are more complete and comprehensive than what is expressed in dogmas. There is much to which the Church bears witness, even to this day, with images, symbols, and similes, that is, with symbolic theology. Most likely, these small aspects of the life of the Church will remain until the end of time, until the last crossing from this world to the next.
It is certain that the Church, as the body of Christ, was given the fullness of knowledge from the beginning. But this filling was not presented completely at once in the beginning, but was presented gradually. We have to admit that what we have is “some knowledge.” As for the final, absolute and complete filling, it will only be announced outside of time, that is, in the Second Coming, where the great and final meeting with our Lord will take place. As we know, the Church is always in the position and role of the pilgrim on the path of the Lord, who is in the world without being of it.
Therefore, we always have before our eyes, as members of the Body of Christ, the goals that have been from the beginning: knowing God and understanding revelation. There is so much left unfinished and we seem to know so little. In any case, we must not give in to doubting the truth of our knowledge due to its incompleteness. We must also not give in to the belief that it can be replaced. No, the doctrinal truth we have is actually correct and certain. Many secrets remain for us to contemplate within the limits of the Church’s experience. These are secrets for which doctrinal words do not yet exist. Within these walls there is much room for theological opinion and research. There is certainly freedom in helping people understand specific doctrines. But certainly in the Church there is no role for arbitrary and subjective choices and changes. Theology must remain alive, heard, and delivered from God, and not built by rational thinking, nor divided into separate, isolated concepts, as if each of them stood and collapsed due to its own merit. To repeat, the doctrines of faith are the truths of life with God experienced in the Church, seen and heard by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, these truths and mysteries cannot be separated and understood through any process of deductive thinking and analysis, but rather through spiritual life, that is, actually participating in the fullness of the life of the Church. No valid theological concept is arrived at by logical deduction but only by God seeing and hearing what could not be expected without the sanctity of life.
Theology is the property of the Church
Thus, true theology is specific to the church. Do we want and expect to gain correct theological knowledge? This is possible, but in only one way. Those who try to possess theological knowledge must experience a comprehensive transfiguration, that is, they must be enlightened by the Holy Spirit while they are in unity with the Church, past and present. Those who believe that they are able to “produce theology,” on their own and outside the Church, are mistaken in the catholicity of the Church.
These words are a warning to those who are trained to think that they are able, by using their rational powers, to approach the truth more closely than the teachings of the Church approach it. Collegiate combats all forms of personal bias and every assertion of self-exclusivity, and is against isolation and the claim of intellectual superiority. Those whom the Church considers to be true teachers of its experience and awareness are called fathers and teachers because their writings are not merely their personal beliefs but the testimony of the Church. They speak from the abundance of the Church from the beginning until today. That's why we feel the breath of the spirit in what they write.
We know that in the Church’s declaration of any doctrinal decision, it does not say what was not previously true, but it says what is necessary for a matter that in the past did not pose a challenge and was not necessary to clarify (for example, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity), and for a matter that had previously been declared, was fulfilled, and was witnessed to (the doctrine of the person of the Savior ).
Certificate in symbols and similes
Regarding other forms of matters, the Church prefers to bear witness through symbols and similes, not doctrinally but liturgically, as in the feasts of the Ascension and Transfiguration. In these two great feasts, and in similar cases, the Church presents a basic testimony about matters for which doctrinal expressions have not yet been allocated, as they are matters related to the sanctification and perfection of the world, but they are not complete. The mystery of the Lord’s ascension is revealed only at His second coming, when “He will come in such a way as you saw Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:1). Why? Because only then, with the resurrection of all, will the body be completely renewed and become incorruptible.
And closely related to this secret is the secret of the Lord’s manifestation. It is an advertisement that should not be passed without attention. In fact, we're only given so much in these ads. We must note, in any case, that this fact does not mean that we have the right to express our opinion regarding facts that are not defined as doctrines, and to reject the legitimacy of any previous opinion on these matters.
Centrality of the church
The absence of doctrinal statements and educational definitions on this and that issue does not blind us to the fact that nothing is known, nor does the absence of these definitions mean that we are free to say what we like on these issues. In the experience of the Church, as it is the source of all doctrinal definitions, we find teaching about what has not yet been given a doctrinal definition. We also find the truth given in the Holy Bible, which is the depth in which everything that was discovered in it was not expressed with doctrinal definitions, while it is full of secrets and prophecies. The Church does not declare doctrinally everything that has been taught and revealed, but everything is present in one way or another in the experience of the Church that is eternally linked to its head, Jesus Christ, and it is forever enlightened and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
God speaks to us through His Spirit and we understand His voice only insofar as we dwell in the Spirit because: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
All paths of spiritual life are connected to the Church. Since Pentecost, the Spirit has resided in the Church, where the people of God also reside. Here we are given eternal life by the power of the Spirit. Here the Word of God is declared and it is heard, so everything has been determined from the beginning. Here is the fullness of righteousness and the path to divine knowledge. Striving for the Spirit and praying to gain it is how we can glorify God within the walls of the church. God's revelation continues to live through the breath of the Spirit and the living entity of undivided truth is strengthened.
Now let us assume that someone brings some assumptions and methods of investigation from outside the Church and says: “We reject your teachings and conclusions because they contradict what we have learned and discovered.” As we know, some have done so. How do we answer? First, we reject all their assumptions, methods and conclusions that are contrary to the faith and practice of the Church. Next, we compare what they said with Orthodox doctrine and teaching. We return to the teachings of the Holy Books, Councils, Fathers, liturgical services, and bishops, as they are the rule, life, and knowledge contained in the Church...
The constant word in a changing world
We must not make mistakes. When we examine the approach of many contemporary Bible scholars, we find ourselves confronted with theologians who teach a different doctrine and confuse people. We must clearly show the difference between the Orthodox faith and what they teach. We are actually too late because they have invaded, making many doubt their faith.
However, it is not too late to open the battle lines, but let us open them with understanding, with the Church’s approach to revelation, with love, and with a firm rooting in faith. Centuries ago the prophet wrote, “Forever, O Lord, your word is established in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). With this before our eyes, let us be careful in dealing with the works of scholars who have other presuppositions, indeed another faith, and who therefore recklessly attack essential elements of the faith. They start in different places and progress in different ways, as Walter Brueggemann puts it: “In terms of interpretation, we are now a long way from the works of Walter Eichrodt and Gerhard von Rad, even though they are modern works.” relatively. "We have suggested that Leo Perdue's phrase 'the collapse of history' refers not only to changing methods but also to the cultural assumptions and political underpinnings that have facilitated the advocacy of a certain kind of interpretive work throughout the twentieth century."
The ever-changing patchwork of conflicting assumptions and methodology that has followed the rise of academic commentators, followers of scientific criticism, and their successors over the past hundred years demonstrates that their work does not apply in the church. From Wellhausen 1844-1918 to Albrecht Alt and Martin Noth 1966 to Gerhard von Rad 1962, Jurgen Moltmann 1967, Leo Perdue 1994, and Joseph Blankensub. Blenkinsopp 1992) up to Antii Laato's symptomatic approach to reconstructing the history of the prophets (1996), all of these scholars did not produce the light of God but rather, simply and truthfully, produced the complete chos. We do not question their integrity or their intellectual abilities, but simply find that they do not agree with the work of the Church. They are of no use, but are merely an obstacle and a woe to the orthodox theologian who falls into their theories.
Simply and fundamentally, the Bible is essential to faith in its teachings, including the history recorded in it. Our best guide is the church. Saint Cyril of Alexandria makes some sharp observations on this subject: “Those who reject the history recorded in the holy books inspired by God, considering it a history that has transcended time, hinder themselves from gaining a correct understanding according to the intended meaning... When some historical works are presented to us in the holy books, from It is appropriate to look for the benefit of this history, since in all cases the book inspired by God is for our benefit and assistance.”
If you have the Christian faith, then trust the Bible and approach it as a believer. Ask for baptism and chrismation and place yourself in the care of the Church. If you are a member of the church, act on this basis and live this sonship. On the other hand, if you do not have faith, forget the Bible as a guide to life. In any case, if you choose the latter path, do not call yourself a Christian or Orthodox.
The Bible is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). It is inspired by God and governed spiritually (1 Corinthians 2:14). It is “useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is a treasure we share with our children. As we read it, let the eyes of our mind be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18) so that we can “rightly articulate the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Written by: Father Jack Sparks
Arabization: Father Antoine Melki
Quoted from Orthodox Heritage Magazine
