Bible faithfulness

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The term fidelity to the Bible is understood to mean an attitude that the Bible understands as the highest authority in the interpretation of the Christian faith . The term is often used by evangelical Christians in theological debate to denote their own attitude or interpretation of the Bible and to distinguish themselves from other approaches to the Bible. Your opponents often use the derogatory term biblicism against this strict stance . Most non-evangelical theologians are critical of the concept of fidelity to the Bible simply because it assumes that deviating, i.e. non-evangelical, interpretations of the Bible are not "faithful", that is, unfaithful and treasonable.

Faithfulness to the Bible in Theology

The concept of fidelity to the Bible is dogmatic and neither clearly defined in its meaning nor clearly defined theologically. This exegetical or ecclesiological attitude is justified as follows: The entire Bible is indeed written by humans, but as Holy Scripture it is inspired by the Holy Spirit and thus also God's Word . This view should already be found in the Bible itself: 2 Tim 3:16  ELB , whereby this text actually only refers to the Torah , according to some interpreters who are critical of the Bible .

The term Bible fidelity is used in several contexts:

  • All evangelical free churches in Germany and most evangelicals and pietists in regional evangelical churches call themselves biblical, but so do many fundamentalist Christian groups.
  • Christians who describe themselves as being true to the Bible usually place great value on regular personal Bible study and ask what a Bible text says about their own life. When interpreting, they trust in spiritual impulses in prayer and when looking at the text.
  • There are conflicting views among evangelical theologians as to whether the confession of faithfulness to the Bible also includes the inerrancy of Scripture in historical and scientific questions. The evangelical theologian Heinzpeter Hempelmann, for example, is of the opinion that such an understanding of the inerrancy of Scripture is alien to the actual concern of the Bible and therefore represents a category error . This approach, also known as the hermeneutics of humility , is countered by other evangelical theologians that it does not do justice to the self-claims of the Bible.
  • Bible translations are rarely referred to as being true to the Bible ; a distinction is made here between true meaning and word. There are recognized typical uses for both translation principles. The designation of certain translations as "not faithful to the Bible", which their critics claim to have deliberately distorted meaning, is controversial.
  • In 1998 journalists and publishers who see themselves as Christian fundamentalists founded the Working Group of Biblically Faithful Publishers , which appeared primarily in 2003, the year of the Bible . In February 2003, over 500 people took part in the meeting under the motto “Biblical journalism - the challenge in a changed world”.

Faithfulness to the Bible as a political issue

Social and political currents that refer directly to the Bible in their concerns usually also describe themselves as faithful to the Bible in German-speaking countries. Christians are involved in all parties; In Germany, however, parties that prefer to use the term Biblical loyalty are the CDU / CSU or evangelical small parties such as the party loyal to the Bible , in Switzerland the Evangelical People's Party (social center) and the Federal Democratic Union (right).

Examples from German politics are Hubert Hüppe , Member of the Bundestag (CDU and Christian Democrats for Life , CDL) or Johannes Rau (SPD, former Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and later Federal President), in Switzerland Heiner Studer (EPP, National Councilor and Party President), Walter Donzé (EPP, National Council), Christian Waber (EDU, National Council), Walter Schmied (SVP, National Council) and Werner Messmer (FDP, National Council). In some cases, political issues with a religious reference are perceived as a political label in the external perception.

Political concerns of biblical politicians are conservative and fundamentalist positions. On a societal level, there are numerous life rights initiatives such as Alfa ( A ction L just right f ÜR A lle) or physicians for life .

See also

literature

  • Helge Stadelmann: Basics of an understanding of scripture true to the Bible , Wuppertal 1985, ²1990
  • Ernst Lerle: Proclaiming with strong contacts: Basic features of a sermon true to the Bible , Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1989
  • Evangelical Mission in Germany: Spirit Moved and Faithful to the Bible: Pentecostal Churches and Fundamentalist Movements. Challenge for the traditional churches , Hamburg 1995
  • Rudolf Möckel, Wolfgang Nestvogel (Ed.): Volkskirche am Abgrund? A documentation about evangelical pastors and Christians who are faithful to the Bible in the Volkskirche , Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1996.
  • Thomas Schirrmacher : Inerrancy of Scripture or Hermeneutics of Humility? A conversation among those who want to be faithful to the Bible with Ernst , Nuremberg 2001
  • Helge Stadelmann (ed.): Love of the word: the commitment to biblical inerrancy as an expression of an understanding of scripture true to the Bible ; on the conversation with Heinzpeter Hempelmann, Nuremberg 2002
  • Thomas Schirrmacher (Hrsg./Übers.): Bible loyalty on the offensive ?! : The three Chicago declarations on biblical inerrancy, hermeneutics and application , Bonn 1993, third edition 2009.