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Friends United
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Quaker Life
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| Between Friends | Contents |
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By Katie Terrell, Editor What role does community have in our understanding of the Bible? Are we grounded in Scripture or grounded in the Spirit? Is it idolatrous to say the Bible is the Word of God? How do I reconcile the Old Testament God with the New Testament God? Does believing in continuing revelation mean I can’t believe in the authority of Scripture? Last fall an informal discussion group came together in the midst of FUM General Board meetings to consider this issue’s theme: Friends Views of the Bible. Above are some of the questions that arose during that session. Participants were from Indiana, Iowa, Great Plains, New England, New York, North Carolina and Western yearly meetings. I listened intently during that discussion group, taking advantage of the diversity of FUM represented around the table in order to be able to present to you the spectrum of Friends views on this topic. The spectrum that day ranged from, “I believe the Bible from cover to cover. I even believe the cover,” to “God can speak through the Bible as well as other ways,” to “The Bible is just a book unless the Spirit opens it to you,” to “The Bible was written by a bunch of guys sitting around a table just like we are right now doing their best to hear God’s voice and discern which texts should be included in the canon” to “The Bible is God-breathed.” Board members talked about the Bible as an inspirational book. They talked about the Bible as a guide to structure our lives and relationship with God by. They talked about the Bible as Law. And they agreed that they disagreed. In this issue you will find the perspective of a Friend who believes the Bible is the “Word” of God (p. 17) and the perspective of a Friend who believes the Bible contains the “words” of God (p. 16). You will read about early Friends whose lives were animated by Scripture (pp. 18-19) and early Friends who questioned the accuracy of Bible translations (pp. 20-22). Tim Kelley (pp. 24-25) shares his experience of being brought to the edge of his seat by Bible passages; Lynda Ladwig (p. 26) shares the comfort that the Bible provided her when her mother died; Krista Barnard (p. 42) describes falling in love with Scripture. Each of these articles presents a unique view of the Bible; each of these authors is a Friend. At the close of the discussion group, a board member commented on the fact that I had been silent except for the movement of my pen across a legal pad. The truth is, before coming to work at FUM I assumed that all Friends believed in the authority of Scripture, that all Friends owned a King James Bible and had read it cover to cover because only by reading it could one know the voice of God that speaks to us today. That discussion group and the articles in this issue have not changed my view of the Bible, but they have opened my understanding to the notion that one’s relationship with the Bible can be as personal and unique as one’s relationship with God. It is my prayer that you approach this issue of Quaker Life with such an openness, not to be changed or affirmed but to listen as Friends. |
12 Friends and
the Bible 16 The Words of God 17 The Word of God 18 Early
Friends and Scripture: 20 Early Friends and the Spirit: 15 On Scripture... _______________________________ 6 Sacred Moments 7 News from Friends United Meeting 23 Scripture for Living 24 Ask Tom 28 News 29 Reviews 32 Passages 36 Classifieds 42 Perspectives _______________________________ The compass depicts the role of the Bible in many of our lives, as we look to Scripture to guide our spiritual journeys in our search to be more like Christ. The quote on the cover is taken from the Uniform Discipline, once adopted by 13 American yearly meetings.
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