One of the charges often laid against Sydney Anglicans is that we believe in ‘The Father, the Son and the Holy Bible’. This is not only a shot at our perceived low view of the Holy Spirit, but of our perceived overinflated view of the Bible. So are Sydney Anglicans right in how we handle the Scriptures?
In Jer 36, the prophet is commanded by God to write down all the words God had spoken to him throughout his entire prophetic ministry, which Jeremiah does. Twice. The reason for this command is given in v. 3; so that when the people read (or hear read aloud) God’s words, they will repent, and God will forgive them. Or in other words, so that the people will fix their relationship with God.
This is the purpose of the whole of the Scriptures. The Bible was given to humans to build our relationship with God. Alongside prayer, it is the main factor in creating the deepest and most intimate relationship with our creator that we can.
So while I cannot speak for all Sydney Anglicans, I would argue that we do not worship the Bible; we worship the triune God (Father, Son and Spirit). The importance of the Bible is that it helps us worship God; it helps us do that for which we were created.
Given this incredible purpose, Christians should be setting aside huge chunks of time every day to read God’s word. Would you only talk to the members of your household on Sunday morning? Of course not. We would converse with them every day. So if Christians are not actively and joyfully conversing with God every day, through prayer and Bible reading, then perhaps our view of the Bible is not yet big enough.
