Rowland Croucher wrote: Is all Scripture inspired? Certainly not. (Again, the words of Satan or Job’s ‘comforters’… the list goes on).

Mark asked: So how does one discern which is “inspired’ and which is not?

I responded:

The key is Jesus’ authority and teaching: we work backwards into the Judaic Law and Prophets and forwards through the teaching of the apostles and councils of the church and follow them inasmuch as they agree with Jesus’ emphases. The church councils were, ahem, light on social justice and love for God, for example. For Jesus, they were his key ‘kingdom values’. So we have a light touch when it comes to creeds, confessions of faith and so on. They’re likely to be correct in what they affirm, but woeful in not affirming the most important tenets of Christian faith (see Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42). And we reinterpret the OT law and prophets inasmuch as they were ‘revised/fulfilled’ in Christ.

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Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

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