Journal: Central Bible Quarterly
Volume: CENQ 03:3 (Fall 1960)
Article: Current Trends In The Authority Of Scripture
Author: Charles H. Schulze

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CenQ 3:3 (Fall 1960) p. 23

Current Trends In The Authority Of Scripture

Charles H. Schulze

Central Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary

Authority is here used of the unquestionable, unconditional, absolute power of God in the world. Since this authority resides with God alone, it is implied that the Bible, which is the Word of God in all of its parts, is the voice of God speaking to men. There is no appeal to any other authority, but rather the Bible as the sole standard demands unqualified obedience. Doubt has arisen in the minds of many today concerning the human share in authorship.

Doubt has also arisen in the realm of the authority of the Scriptures because of the part that man plays in determining which writings should be in the “canon.” The term “canon” indicates the standard, norm, or rule by which the books were measured on the test of divine inspiration and authority and were adjudged to be “God-breathed,” The decision as to whether a book was considered to be Scripture or not was based on five tests, (l) Divine Authorship: Was this writing given by God through the Holy Spirit to godly men, or did it come from, man alone? (2) Human Authorship: Was the account written, endorsed, or edited by a prophet or a spokesman for God? (3) Genuineness: Can this work be traced back to the time and writer from which it professes to come? If the writer cannot be named, can it be shown to contain the same matter as it contained when it was written?

(4) Authenticity: Is this account a true record of actual facts ?

(5) Testimony of the Early Church Fathers: What do the ancient versions, church councils, and the early church fathers have to say about the reliability of these books?

In the world today there are at work two contrasting views of authority which may be called the Roman Catholic Concept and the Bible-Conservative Concept. The Roman Catholic Concept believes that the canon is an authoritative collection of writings, but the authority does not reside in or is inherent in the Scriptures themselves, but rather it lies with a delegation of sacred churchmen. The Bible-Conservative Concept likewise teaches that the canon is an authoritative collection of writings, but that the authority is inherent in the writings themselves since they bear the stamp of the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It follows then that though there can be only one authority, the authority of God, the Bible teaches that God delegated some of His authority to prophets and apostles.

CenQ 3:3 (Fall 1960) p. 24

The Nature Of Divine Authority

When the early Christian church began, it was faced with the authority of the Scriptures as a given and self-evident fact. To every Christian it...

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