Review: Biblical Authority: The Critical Issue for the Body of Christ,

by James T. Draper, Jr., and Kenneth Wheatley (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, 2001).

Reviewed by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                   Vol. XIV, No. 9, October 2001

This small book (144 pp.) is excellent, especially for the layman. It is an updated version of the first edition, initially published in 1984 during the most critical period of the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.

The authors have a facility for penetrating the smokescreens so often laid down by liberal antagonists and drawing out the true issue. For example in chapter one – only nine pages – they point out that there are really only three basic, possible claims to truth: “(1) human reason, (2) ecclesiastical authority, and (3) divine revelation.” They briefly but convincingly discuss human reason and ecclesiastical authority and demonstrate that each of these dethrones Scripture as ultimate authority, replacing it with man’s reasoning or ecclesiastical decisions (which are also based on man’s reasoning).

In the second chapter, “The Dramatic Shift Away from Biblical Authority”, Draper and Wheatley attribute the shift to four factors: the emergence of the historical-critical approach, existential philosophy (which maintains that it is impossible to know objective truth), the rise of naturalistic-uniformitarian science (the laws of nature reign supreme), and the study of comparative religions. The latter produces pluralism which holds that God uses all religions to save their devotees; all religions are valid ways of worship. Each of these four factors is examined in some detail but in terms fully understandable to the non-theologian. As a layman I appreciated the clarity of this discussion.

Chapter 3, “The Church’s Historical Position on Biblical Authority”, makes a solid case that Christians have always believed the Bible is divinely inspired and therefore inerrant. The major part of this argument is comprised of quotations from well-known Christians with the first being Clement of Rome who died in 102 A.D. Clement said, “Look carefully into the Scriptures which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit.” Other citations take us from Clement of Rome to Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).

Turning from Christians in general to Baptists, the fourth chapter offers a selection of quotes from prominent Baptists, starting with John Smyth, pastor of the first “modern” Baptist church in Amsterdam in 1609. The chapter includes quotes from Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams, John Gill, John L. Dagg, James Boyce, Basil Manly, John Broadus, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and B. H. Carroll. The last nine pages (out of 23) of the chapter discuss the Baptist Faith and Message as adopted in June 2000, focussing on its position regarding biblical authority.

“The Bible Speaks about Itself” well describes chapter five, and chapter six, “Biblical Authority: What We Do and Don’t Mean”, covers some of the practical considerations of the question. For example, that figures of speech and approximations are contained in the Word, and that only the originals are fully inerrant, not any translation.

The final two chapters look to the future: “The Next Big Issue for Christians: The Sufficiency of Scripture” and “The Southern Baptist Convention and Authority: What to Do Now?”. In the former, Draper and Wheatley assert that “The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture is being undermined in our churches with three dangerous errors. The first is the error of adding to the word of God. ... The replacing of the Word of God is the second danger ... with modern psychological theory... The third danger [is] the displacing of the Word of God ... when the preaching and teaching of the Bible are relegated to the periphery of the worship of the church. Each of these is examined.

The final chapter cautions Baptists to avoid three pitfalls: the danger of Christian cannibalism (internal strife), the danger of Baptist exclusivism, and the danger of a passionless orthodoxy.

This is an excellent book: brief, to the point, dealing with the most significant issue in Christian life, and written in clear, easily read language. You may obtain it at your LifeWay Christian Bookstore, order it from another store (the ISBN number is 0-8054-2453-9), or buy it online by going to www.lifewaystores.com, look in the upper right-hand corner of the home page, search by title, type in “biblical”, and click “Go”. This takes you to a long list of publications listed alphabetically. Scroll down to Biblical Authority and check for the two authors’ names. Then you are ready to order. $12.99.