Dear Friends,

In October, the Church has an opportunity to celebrate Bible Sunday, the day on which it gives thanks to God for the Canon of different books that make up the New and Old Testaments that He has given us to read and learn from. Each book was written at a particular time in history. Each has its own context and literary style. The job of the Church is to interpret what the Bible says, so young and old alike can apply it to their lives and the world around them.

Amongst the different books of the Bible, we find books of law, wisdom, history, psalms and prophecy, as well as the Gospels, epistles, and pieces of apocalyptical writing, telling us what will happen at the end of the time, when Jesus will come again to judge the world and rule over it.

All of these different books have been given to us, according to St. Paul to help “in the teaching of the faith, in rebuking and correcting of error and in training to live righteous lives”. They also have the power, as the writer of the letter of the Hebrews says, to cut right through us, to” where soul and Spirit meet”.

For me, Scripture lies at the heart of my Christian understanding. It acts as my starting point on any theological subject, before I interpret what the Bible is saying, in light of what the Church has traditionally said about that subject down through the centuries, before applying my own powers of reason and understanding, to come up with an interpretation for today which has also been, helped by insights I have gained from life itself.  

Doing theology in such a way was first devised by Richard Hooker, an Anglican Priest and theologian, during the reign of Elizabeth I. His method, together with what our own human experience can teach us about life, still holds good today,   

I commend it to you.     

God bless,

Andrew