sufficient?

Dan Phillips of Pyromaniacs is beating the sufficiency of Scripture drum again. He is claiming that those that believe that God speaks today buy into an "open-Canon or leaky-Canon mindset". That's not true of course. We believe the Canon is closed, we simply believe that Scripture is only sufficient in conjunction with the ministry of Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives (Jn 5.39-40, Ja 1.5-6, and 1 The 5.19-22).

Then, in the standard disparaging method, he says we "think God now whispers, mutters, nudge-nudges, does hand-signals and mime, drops hints, gives meaningful looks and broadcasts low-frequency hunches..." in an effort to remove ourselves from meaningful debate.

He rightfully quotes 2 Tim 3.15-17 as saying Scripture is sufficient. The problem is the definition of sufficiency. Is it sufficient period? Or is it sufficient when combined with something else and thereby acting as a "plumb line"? If not a plumb line, why Acts 17.11, Isa 8.20, and 1 Co 12.3? Not only a plumb line but the sufficient Scripture itself testifies that God does and will speak to us (Jn 10.27; 14.26; 16.13-14; Ro 8.16; 1 Co 14.29-30; Ep 1.17; 1 Jn 2.27; etc.). What about Scripture's claim of on-going prophetic revelation in the Church (Ro 12.6, 1 Co 12.10, 28; 14.1, 4-5, 22, 24, 29-31, 39; Ep 4.11; 1 The 5.19-21; etc.)? The Scripture itself is replete with examples of how God speaks to His people. Jesus, the apostles, and God's people expected to hear God speak in a variety of ways. The written Word of God does not exhaust the ways God may communicate to His people.

So, when Dan Phillips concludes that it is "grown-up" to rely on the written text of Scripture and that everything that God wants to communicate to every person is contained in the written Word alone, I think he misunderstands what the Scripture is saying about God. I think this view is not "grown-up" but rather undercuts what God wants for His children. In the Scripture, when God wasn't speaking to His people, it was not a good situation. I do not understand why Dan Phillips would seek a place where God is silent.

Technorati Tags: Dan Phillips, Pyromaniacs, sufficiency of Scripture