WATCH: Is Biblicism Bad?

[vc_row 0=””][vc_column][vc_column_text 0=””]With all the Reformation celebrations, many critics of Protestantism pick on the Protestant commitment to sola Scriptura as the source of all kinds of chaos. But does sola Scriptura need to entail biblicism? And why might Protestants want to beware biblicism? Brad Belschner and Alastair Roberts discuss. Watch the discussion below![/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/LrTyM29XRNU”][vc_column_text 0=””]

HIGHLIGHTS:

00:20 – Biblical and Systematic theology. Is Biblicism bad?

00:33 – Biblicism is being used in reference to a specific distinctive of evangelicals. For many people it had been seen as a positive. Taking scripture as reliable and truthful.

01:18 – The question is what place does the Bible take in the larger framework of God’s revelation. Is it all we have?

01:28 – And how do you define “Biblicism”?

01:31 – Elevation of the Bible to such a high level that it precludes other things that we need to take into account.

01:40 – Example – The Bible doesn’t talk about something such as necrophilia, but none of us really need it to because God has given us revelation in nature.

02:11- To treat the Bible as the Bible ALONE leaves us without attention to these issues.

02:21 – Biblicism forces us to use verses or to force verses to argue things that we don’t really need the Bible to argue for.

02:34 – Take the Necrophilia example: people might get some verses and force them towards the end of arguing against it, because they feel like they need a verse in order to be able to speak.

02:48 – We don’t need a verse for many of these things, but when God gives us a verse, he gives it for a good reason, for things that we need to learn. The question is “What is the Bible here to teach us about?” and what does it assume we already know? There are plenty things that it assumes. Common sense, for example.

03:25 – There is no prudence when you are simply following verses like recipes.

03:49 – This elevation of Scripture eliminates common ground that we should be able to have with unbelievers. We should be able to appeal to “the way things are;” natural law.

04:45 – We can know many things by just reflecting upon nature.

05:00 – We can appeal to nature. There are things that are obvious.

05:20 – When we factor in the sufficiency of Scripture, we see that Scripture is not something in isolation from nature.

06:00 – Scripture reveals things that we would not have known otherwise.

06:25 – So yes to sufficiency of Scripture, yes to sola Scripture, but God gives us a lot more to live our lives by than just Scripture.

 

 

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