On Biblical Authority

This is an adaptation of a response made on Spectrum Magazine's Blog on 'Vessels of Dine Love: Adventist and the Dalai Lama' about inspiration, the Bible, and biblical authority of Ellen White.

"It seems that there are still Christians who see all the world as either black or white: one is either of the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of Satan.” - Elain Nelson

She makes a great point. In Christian philosophy, just as in life, things are not as easily compartmentalized as we would like them to be. This notion of either with Satan or God is a product of the Church of the Dark Ages – an age stripped of Reason, Enlightenment, or an educated populace. Such proclamations as Luther’s ["...you are either with the Kingdom of Chirst of of Satan..."] seem to be based on a much too conservative, exclusionist theology. Lest one forget that Luther was not without his flaws as a human being, albeit inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, he was, just as Ellen White and Paul were . . . HUMAN.

Luther struggled with an understanding of how the Jews fit into the great scheme of Christian Community – he failed with that struggle, opting at times for stances that were blatantly anti-Semitic. While with respects to Ellen White, she lacked a full understanding of publishing regulations and did not have the foresight to guide and direct Adventists as to the purpose of her writings – writings of a human, led by God, but not dictated through verbal inspiration by God.

Ellen, as Luther, failed in respects to this matter as can best be attested to by the countless amounts of time, money, clarification, and, most sadly, the amount of former-Adventists who would be "fellowshipping" with us today had they been better educated on the role of Ellen White in the Adventist Church. Finally, Paul, too, is not without his faults. Paul struggled with woman’s issues in the church. He failed at understanding God’s full intent to include ALL of his blessed children into the call of ministry, women included.

Most Mainstream Protestant Churches have realized Paul’s shortcomings; Adventism, as we sadly know, has not. Additionally there is much scholarship by the Rev. John Shelby Spong and former Jesuit Priest John J. McNeill that Paul might have been struggling with a homosexual orientation himself, indicating only more so his humanity and maybe even shedding some greater light on such a volatile issue as Homosexuality and Christian Community. Fore more information please see, http://www.pactsnetwork.org/grace/docs/Spong%20-%20The%20Church's%20Dance%20in%20the%2021st%20Century%20-%20Part%203.htm

Understanding that Luther, White, and Paul were all human – faults emphatically included - and did, in fact, interject their own human understanding – whether or not they admit it – into their writings is precisely the reason why we are directed in Holy Scripture to test all things, even Scripture itself. Rev. John Shelby Spong wrote an incredibly important book for Christianity to consider The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love. In it Spong discusses this very issue of inspiration and the Bible.

While it is true that there are scant Ellen White quotes that mention “Oriental religions,” it is my belief that Sister White is, quite frankly, well above her perception level; having no recorded material chronicling that she had given serious study to what she dubs as “Oriental religions” she lacks any intellectual credibility on the issue and one need to take that into account before they marry themselves to her statements on such.

Whit respects to the Dalai Lama – the topic of this article – I cannot, for one second, submit to the idea that he is with the “Kingdom of Satan.” I join Elain in her proclamation that, “For one, I refuse to accept that limited concept. People are NOT either all good or all evil but a combination of both good and evil.” Like I stated in the article, such statements are the product of ignorance of the core philosophy of Buddhism and are neither productive in fostering a religious community of tolerance and understanding (I believe an inspired directive by God) nor exhibit manners in which Christ would have his followers interact with their fellow human.

Matters of spirituality, theology, tradition, religion, and culture are not as simplistic as some Christians would like to make them.

What worries me is that we have this notion that God is only working in Christianity. What of the Jews, then? I find myself immediately asking. Or for that matter, what of the billion of adherents to Islam?; both faiths – Islam and Judaism – which stem out of our common Abrahamic traditions have so much in common with each other and Christianity. Such a view, I believe, is ultimately fundamentally flawed. How can it be that we serve such an awesome and majestic Creator that is so dull when it comes to religious expression? Look outside your window at the environment you live in – take note of the difference in people, nature (the trees, flowers, grass, sand, oceans, lakes, streams), the clouds above. We serve an amazing God of creativity! Why then must he be so boring when it comes to religion?

I have long heard the argument that the plurality of our religious experience here on earth is due to the influence of the devil. God has no creative ability – Christianity, that’s all, folks. Satan has Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, etc. God has Christianity. The comparison is quite sad if this is indeed the case that God only resides within Christianity.

I pleasantly reject that notion of exclusionist theology and what I refer to as the kindergartenesque “my God is better than you god argument.” We must understand the immense influences that culture, geography, language, and history place on religious traditions. Christianity is quite diverse within its folds. There is not “one true church.” Many claim that there their tradition is the “One True Church,” even our own church, but history has shown us the bloodshed, depravity, and brokenness that such a proclamation begets. Rather within Christianity there are many denominations precisely because God meets people where they are at – this is axiomatic within the Scriptures and extra-Biblical references and accounts.

God works with us; the Bible is a blessed document not because EVERY word is divinely inspired or dictated by God, but rather because this document dramatically portrays a loving creator-God who earnestly struggles to be understood by His people and a rebellious, anxious people who earnestly struggle to understand God. That is what makes the Bible such a beautiful and cherished document. It is not the proclamations against this or that or the mythological stories, historic accounts, miraculous deeds, poetic prose of the Psalms, - these add to the biblical narrative, yes, indeed, but by no means are any of these in and of themselves reasons to cherish the Scriptures or to call them ‘holy.’

Coming back to the Dalai Lama and Adventism. There is much that can be learned from Buddhism and Christianity. Much scholarly work has been done by Dr. Marcus J. Borg (‘Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings’) and Thich Nhat Hanh (‘Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers’ and ‘Living Buddha, Living Christ’) that has shown the connections and parallels between Buddha and Christ. We must be able to separate (as the Dalai Lama told us on Monday) religious traditions and faith.

The Dalai Lama does not believe that Christ was God (in the Christian theological sense) he believes he was a great teacher and manifestation of the Divine, but God, no. My beliefs of the Buddha are that he was a great teacher and manifestation of the Divine, but God, no. So how can the Dalai Lama and I work together to bring our faith communities into kind-hearted fellowship? That is a key question you must ask yourselves.

I ultimately believe that God manifests himself in many faith traditions. Whether or not the Dalai Lama is going to “be saved” or what that concept even means, I care not for. God is awesome enough as a Creator, let us have faith that he is awesome enough as a Savior – and let us leave matters of salvation to Him. What I am concerned with is the brokenness of humanity. This is my primary and deepest concern.

I live today as a follower of Christ’s message; a message of hope, tolerance, compassion, and inclusion. My great question to myself and other is how can we be vessels of Divine Love and Compassion? I think to start to that effect we must put draconian, anachronistic ideas of theology and salvation aside – stop making idols of dogma and creeds. After doing this we need to come to a place within our spiritual experience to see the Divine expressed in all things. With these understandings, I believe, we can then begin to fellowship as Followers of Christ and not simply adherents to some 28 “Fundamental” Beliefs.

I see the Dalai Lama as a force of good in the world and for that He is to be commended and respected. What his afterlife is going to entail I cannot claim to fully know or even comprehend. I hope that he will be among those who say to Christ, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' and what peace and joy will fill my heart as Christ responds to the Dalai Lama, “'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”