The academy needs more biblical scholars like Ben Witherington, a careful scholar, moderate in opinion, erudite in his learning, ecumenical in his outlook, accessible and clear in his writing. These features of his scholarship are on prominent display in his latest book—a study of the doctrine, sola scriptura, or the Scripture as the “sole” authority for Christian doctrine and practice, a doctrine most often associated exclusively with Reformation apologetics. As is characteristic of his extensive body of work, Witherington brings historical research to bear on this doctrine in a manner that challenges assumptions and speaks clearly to the practice of the Christian community today—offering a substantial challenge to Christians and their relationship to the authority of Scripture within the context of contemporary culture.
The author chose as the epigraph of the book two quotations from opposite ends of Christian history, one from 1 Clement and the other from Pope Leo XIII’s Providentessimus Deus, both affirming in boldest terms the authority of Scripture for the Christian life. With this broad historical framing in mind, Witherington sets forth three reasons why a study like this one is needed: (1) historical amnesia, (2) the chaos of contemporary culture and the resulting alienation of both younger and older generations from the Christian tradition, and (3) the overall rise in biblical illiteracy. Witherington sets out to define what the term “sola Scriptura” really means and what its implications are for Christianity today. He notes that, from early Judaism through the earliest centuries of the Christian tradition, sacred texts were crucial to Jewish and Christian identity and doctrine, that these texts from the earliest centuries were treated as having unique authority. Witherington’s magisterial grasp of the issues around text, canon, and translation empowers his presentation with acumen, nuance, and accessibility. Witherington’s presentation of the doctrine’s background in the early chapters of the book first centers on challenges to papal authority with appeals to the authority of Scripture, and then moves on to treat the writings of giants of the Reformation, especially the Puritan and Wesleyan traditions. The fundamental conclusion of Witherington’s presentation is that Scripture represents the primary and final authority for Christians (prima Scriptura) such that other Christian traditions can enjoy some authority, but only insofar as these traditions are based in Scripture.
In the final two chapters readers encounter the real thrust of Witherington’s efforts. Having addressed concerns about papal claims to authority over and against Scripture, he moves on to address the lingering effects of the Enlightenment in the rise of historical critical study and the emerging attenuation of the authority of Scripture in denominations like the United Methodist Church (the author’s own denomination and employer). Echoing (and citing at length) N.T. Wright’s well-worn caveats about modern biblical scholarship, Witherington offers a nuanced and sophisticated take on inerrancy and the “Chicago Statement” (one that echoes the Catholic doctrine articulated in Dei Verbum 11): sola Scriptura meant and means that Scripture is supposed to be the final authority on all matters of faith and practice, on things the Bible actually teaches, namely, theology, ethics, and salvation history. In this context, and reflecting on developments within his own denomination, Witherington warns about attacks on the authority of Scripture, such as the changing of the definition of marriage and the acceptance of contemporary sensibilities on LGBTQ issues in the Christian church. For Witherington, these developments stand in sharp contrast to what the Bible actually teaches on such matters and represents a rejection of biblical authority. And this is the rub: Witherington is largely correct here.
He is correct that these interpretive moves around sexual practice and marriage amount to a rejection (or at least an attenuation) of biblical authority, and Christians need to acknowledge and deal with this reality straightforwardly and honestly. Witherington demonstrates that scholarly attempts to gloss over difficult biblical passages through hyper-contextualization and nuance in the exegesis of key passages belie the fact that the biblical witness is noticeably consistent on some of these issues. And if Scripture appears to be consistent in these areas, by what authority does the believing community now move away from this consistency? In relationship to this question, Witherington’s presentation could have been expanded to include a more fulsome account of and engagement with Roman Catholic theology, which could provide a way forward on these difficult issues, in addition to his treatment of the so-called “quadrilateral” of Scripture, reason, experience, and tradition often employed in Methodist circles.
The waning of biblical literacy in the church and within the broader culture has had a deleterious impact on Christian life and practice. The Christian community, if it is to take seriously the revelation of God in history, must reckon openly and consistently with claims to authority, either the authority of Scripture or the authority to interpret it. Ben Witherington has, from the perspective of an erudite, evangelical, and ecumenical exegete, offered a robust resource for this work with which all thoughtful Christians ought to wrestle.
