The Bible Vs. Scripture

Here is an excellent post from RevJen about the difference between 'the Bible' & 'Scripture'. The author explains how very different they are from one another although admittedly, he is playing with symantics to make a point. Still.. it's a good point. My only caveat in the article would be to suggest that it is the Holy Spirit that turns the Bible into Scripture and thereby making it a 'graceful participation'.

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To recognize that God’s intentions for Scripture are to form us into people who reflect his character more than to provide texts to support this or that position leads us in a very different direction. First, we do not cast about in Scripture, fishing for proof texts that allow us to make the points we want to make, but rather to see that one must immerse one’s self in Scripture in order to discern what Wesley called “the general tenor of Scripture.” It is a way of coming to see the “big picture.” Second, we do not seek to extract various points from Scripture’s narratives. Instead, we allow ourselves to be formed by the narratives themselves with the goal of coming to “have this mind in us that was in Christ Jesus.” In short, the goal of Scriptural study is that we be formed by the narratives so as to “think Christianly." Third, as a result, we come to see that the Scriptural narratives lead us to see the world in a very different way. Some have used the idea of seeing the world through “Scripture colored glasses.”

This approach is very different than the application of a set of “principles.” Rather, it is a way of valuing and assessing every situation so as to be able to make sound Christian judgments. Our usual approach is to ask how the Bible can speak to our world. Scripture, though, wants us to live in its world so that we are shaped according to its theological vision.

Go here to read the entire article.