I am strongly Reformed in my beliefs. Part of this is growing up with it, and part of it is that I find it most closely follows what the Bible teaches. But one thing I am starting to struggle with is the idea of “solo-scriptura”. Now, don’t go running to the nearest council member to report that I need to be fired for having heterodox ideas. I fully support and believe in Scripture alone to define beliefs. What I’m struggling with is far less related to the actual intent of solo scriptura and more related to what we have made it into.
For some reason, we have gotten the notion that everything should revolve around the Bible. That our spiritual growth and well being depend on reading the Bible regularly. And praying. I don’t know about you, but for me that just doesn’t really foster a deeper relationship with God. So much of my Bible reading and study has been academic and is related to lesson writing that while I find value in this practice, other things are needed to really deepen the relationship.
If I am going to have a relationship with God I need to do more than read the Bible and pray. I need to find ways to actively engage in God’s work today. I need to hear other voices interpreting the Bible, I need to learn other people’s ideas for living the Christian life, I need to grow in community, I need to meditate and reflect and confess and be amazed by nature. I need to be open to every way that God is trying to break into my world and make himself known to me.
I feel like when we put so much focus on two practices we are putting God in a box. A very small, cramped, box. I feel like when we are so focused on the Bible as the means to the relationship it is like eating only grains and nothing else. Grains are very good for you and very important to a healthy diet. But when eating only grains you are missing out on important nutrients found in other types of food- like protein found in meats and vitamins found in fruits and vegetables. Yes, I can survive on only grains- it’s better than trying to survive on junk foods- but it will be very hard for me to truly thrive on such a limited diet.
The Bible needs to be one of those staple foods in our diet. It needs to be the base of our pyramid. But it cannot be the entire pyramid. Fasting doesn’t need to be a staple like the Bible, but it should be a meat. Serving is like a vegetable. We need to balance our diet. Reading other books is like eating an apple. Sacraments are like a bowl of yogurt.
Sola scriptura is a foundational tenet of the reformed faith. But we need to make sure we aren’t drawing this too far and ignoring other things that are equally important to our spiritual health. It is not meant to apply to our spiritual disciplines so much as it is meant to apply to our theology formation. Let’s start teaching more disciplines or we are going to be an unhealthy group, if we aren’t already.
Pondering Wanderer 