A proof text, for the purposes of this, is a passage of scripture taken out of context and not considered with the whole message of scripture. This approach links on two ideas of the renaissance — return, whenever possible, to the source (and in the original language. My crib book for Gk. is published by the Vatican, and quotes St Francis saying that he wished more could read the NT in the original).

The second rule was elaborated by the reformers, I’m fairly sure it was old by then. It is to use scripture to interpret scripture. This led to the extensive set of proofs within the Westminster confession.

However, in those days men had brains and a spine. You could merely allude to a scripture, and the context was understood. For printing had bought many literacy, and for the illiterate there were sermons every day and twice on Sundays: the context was known and had been studied.

Not in these days. We have reached the point where our liturgical friends — the Catholics and Anglicans — know more scripture because they have it woven into the liturgy.

John 7:37-52

³⁷On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, ³⁸and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” ³⁹Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

⁴⁰When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” ⁴¹Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? ⁴²Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” ⁴³So there was a division in the crowd because of him. ⁴⁴Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” ⁴⁶The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” ⁴⁷Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? ⁴⁸Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹But this crowd, which does not know the law — they are accursed.” ⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ⁵¹“Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” ⁵²They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

If is a frightening thing to consider or talk about scripture. After posting here and over at SSM and Zippy’s my sleep was disturbed. There is a huge attraction for the neatness of the Catholic formulation of marriage — if only it did nor rely so much on tradition — but I am not Catholic, and I’m more interested in dealing with a fault within the church on my side of the Tiber.

And that is not considering all the facts. We are not the church we used to be. We tend to rely on a few favourite texts, and do not develop beyond a basic understanding of the faith. Now, to be fair, to get baptized within my church you need to be either an infant or (as an adult) be catechized: indeed for confirmation of your baptism you need to be catechized. (A step I pray my sons will take: towards baptism with understanding [1]).

But that is but a beginning. We need to develop the habit of thinking carefully about the situations we find ourselves in: not relying on our feelings, nor searching the Bible for a text that feeds the hamster of rationalization.

And we need to do this ourselves. The other side of the Tiber has delegated this to the minions of the magisterium, who try to reduce the faith to a set of precepts and principles. Do this, and you will be in the faith. Their intentions are noble, but even with these aids our Catholic friends need to deal with new problems and work through them carefully. But we need to work through these issues — with fear and trembling — because our duty is remain standing in the faith, and to do good for God’s glory. We cannot do this in ignorance and foolishness.

The stakes are too high. We need to be wise.

And humble. Unlike the Pharisees. besides, the prophet they thought was from Galilee was born in Bethlehem.

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1. When my wife and I had our sons, we were worshipping within an open brethren community where th teaching was that baptism was not for infants. I now consider that an error and the position of the Reformers allowing this was correct. But I cannot do what was not done as an infant.