Literary Competence and Biblical Authority

he story is told of a young boy who returned home from church one Sunday morning and, over lunch, talked with his parents about the events of the day. “And what did you study in Sunday school today, John?” asked his mother. “We learned about Daniel,” he replied, “about Daniel and his houses.” The devout lady knew quite a bit about the book of Daniel, but she had never heard of Daniel’s houses. She inquired further. “You know, Mom,” urged the boy, “Daniel and his houses—my shack, your shack, and a bungalow.” We may only imagine whether the life of this devoutly Christian family was changed forever by the revelation that, unexpectedly, the Bible had something definitive to say about appropriate Christian housing. More likely, a better reading of the Scriptures ultimately prevailed, once the parents had recovered their composure and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were restored to their rightful forms and significance. I mention the story only because it illustrates an obvious truth about biblical interpretation: that those who care greatly about the Bible’s authority must necessarily care greatly about the Bible’s proper meaning. They must think carefully about how this “proper meaning” is to be arrived at, so that they are found to be giving the biblical text its own voice rather than simply reading out of the Bible what they have first brought to it. Only thus can the Bible have authority over the reader, rather than vice versa.