The voice of the scholar and the voice of the Spirit

“Scholarship and the work of the academy is important in the fields of textual work, archeology, and original language work and their surrogates. That said, the academy needs to be repositioned with regard to its sway and authority in the church. The academy and the scholar are the humble servant of the person in the pew and the church at large. As such the scholar’s opinion on this or that passage should be no more authoritative than the plumbers or nurses or business owners. In the end the church does not wish to hear the voice of the scholar. We wish to hear the voice of the Spirit in the word of God by faith.”

Peter Van Kleeck Jr.