Christianity's Dangerous Idea

The Christian Chronicle recently did a review of Alister McGrath's book, Christianity's Dangerous Idea. It's about the Protestant Reformation's ideal of individual interpretation of Scripture. An ideal shared and perhaps strengthened by the Restoration Movement. The principle is that every individual believer has the right to read and interpret the Bible on their own. We don't need religious authorities or church tradition to decipher it for us. It's a great idea. Although, as McGrath points out, it's also a dangerous one.

He writes, "Since every Protestant has the right to interpret the Bible a wide range of interpretations cannot be avoided. And since there is no centralized authority within Protestantism, this proliferation of options cannot be controlled. Who has the right to decide what is orthodox and what is heretical?"

That's at the heart of many of the debates taking place in my fellowship. With no denominational headquarters and no written creed, who is to decide what is orthodox and what is heretical? Our longstanding answer has been "the Bible alone." An answer I appreciate and agree with. However, I also understand that the potential outcome of such an answer involves a lot of diversity. As each generation takes a fresh look at the Bible, apart from their tradition or expected interpretations, they naturally come away with some different conclusions. That's dangerous because their conclusions may shake the foundations of what is already accepted and practiced as orthodox. And yet, it's genius because it constantly forces us to return to God's Word and hear it with fresh ears and open hearts.