How we see the bible

COS and Progressive Christianity

Since 2004, COS has had a strong identity as a community of “progressive” Christians.

For us that means:

  • Seeking to discern the continuing revelation of God (the sacred) in the world we live in;
  • Following the example and teachings of Jesus as one of the ways of encountering God (The Sacred)
  • Practicing a radical inclusivity that welcomes everyone, regardless of belief or disbelief, age, race, garden, class, or sexual orientation.
  • Working for justice and peace among all people.
  • Honoring other faith traditions as a visible path to God (the Sacred).
  • Finding more grace in living into our questions, than in the comfort of absolute answers.
  • A commitment to practice and witness our faith to others at all times and in all places.

Taking the Bible seriously, but not literally.

Christians are presently deeply divided in their understanding of how the Bible is to be read and interpreted.  Some believe that God inspired the very words of scripture, seeing God as the author in a literal sense, with human writers serving as the instruments, in much the same way as a stenographer takes dictation.  This view is known as the doctrine of “plenary verbal inspiration”.  The result of this view is that the Bible must be ‘inerrant’, totally free of any kind of error or contradiction, equally authoritative in all of its parts.  This is the cornerstone of theological fundamentalism.

Another view believes that the human authors of the Bible were inspired, or guided by the Holy Spirit, especially in the realm of spiritual insights, which are the principal and essential aspects of the scripture’s message.  But they believe that God worked in the writing of the Bible in the same way He always works, namely, through normal people who retained all their limitations and fallibilities.  This view allows for errors and contradictions, reflecting primitive views often at odds with a more accurate understanding of natural processes in modern science.  This view also allows for the Bible’s own evolutionary progress in revealing man’s ideas about God, from the harsh notions of a vengeful deity to the sublime ethical teachings of the prophets to the supreme revelation of God’s love in the person of Jesus in the New Testament.  Even God has a history.

The latter view is the one ascribed to in the Episcopal Church, though we do have some members who cling to the first view.  What seems liberating for some, is problematic for others.  This is particularly true when it comes to how scripture is treated.  Suffice it to say that the Episcopal stance of not giving scripture ultimate authority in all matters and not being bound by everything found in them places us in a unique position.  We do not have a doctrine of biblical supremacy.  The Bible is not the 4th part of the Trinity. Thus, we allow tradition, reason, and experience to also be considered in discerning the mind and will of God.  Interpreting and reinterpreting the scriptures in light of human understanding and experience within a believing and worshipping community keeps us open to the leading of God’s Spirit.