The Bible’s Detractors
Detractors claim that the Bible presents us with a cruel God, even a sadistic God, and that biblical faith is evil. This is because they read texts about the command of Israel to wipe out different ethnic groups that inhabited ancient Canaan, and passages about the hard judgment that awaits evil people either after death or at the final judgment. I wrote about this issue recently on this website. This reaction is focused on less than 10% of the hard texts in the Bible. There are good explanations for these texts. See Walter Kaiser’s book on The Hard Sayings of the Bible. There are many writers who address these issues. Yes, a fearful judgment awaits those who reject God and the truth.
The Canonical Thrust of the Bible
Some years ago, Dr. Brevard Childs of Yale Divinity School argued that our theological convictions should be based on the overall thrust of the Bible on particular subjects. He called this the canonical thrust of the Bible and argued that we should submit ourselves to the teaching that arises from this canonical thrust. However, without belief in the full authority of all biblical texts, there is too much subjectivity in the selection and judgment of what that thrust really is. This does not lead to being true to the canonical thrust.
Theology through the Hymns
I want to propose that we look at the issue of the canonical thrust of the Bible through the hymnology of the people of God. There is a great compendium of hymns from the Middle Ages to today. It is painful to me that the place of the great hymns in many congregations has been lost. One writer wrote, for example, that Methodists learned their theology from their hymns. I would venture that this was true for many others, not only Methodists. The hymns give us a good sense of the canonical thrust of the Bible. Some topics are left out, but so much is included.
What Do the Hymns Present in Theology?
They present God as a God of love who gave His Son as a sacrifice. We read from Wesley, Amazing Love, How Can It Be. They present the suffering of Yeshua for us in a deep and touching way, as in the Bernard of Clairvaux and Bach hymn, O Sacred Head, Now Wounded. God is presented as a God of miraculous intervention and as One with whom we can have an intimate, conversational relationship. In I Come to the Garden, we sing, “He walks with me, and He talks with me and tells me I am His own.” He is our provider in God Will Take Care of You: “Be not dismayed whatever be, God will take care of you.” He is faithful in Great Is Thy Faithfulness. He is our mighty fortress in A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. He is majestic in How Great Thou Art. Yes, God is the true and righteous Judge, but the greater emphasis is on the offer of salvation, not condemnation—though that danger is certainly present, as in Sleeper’s Ye Must Be Born Again. He is coming again, “with power and great glory.”
I would urge the reader to purchase a great book of hymns, such as Hymns for the Living Church. Read through it devotionally and see the theology of the Bible expressed in hymns.
The Canonical Thrust of the Jewish Worship Book
I would also recommend purchasing a Jewish worship book, the Siddur. In this devotional book, we see how our people put the theology of the Hebrew Bible into worship. It is the canonical thrust as perceived by classic Jewish devotional writers.
How did our most spiritually in-tune people read the Bible? This is such an interesting study. Be encouraged.