Scriptural Alignment v. Scriptural Basis

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m just getting hung up on semantics or style of presentation, but something that really bugs me is when excellent Christian writers resort to mere alignment of what they write with Scripture.

Here’s an example of what I mean.  One area that I’m passionate about is marriage.  I have a real passion to see couples actually living out their life together according to God’s plan.  I’ve read literally dozens of books on the subject, books you would recognize, by authors that are well-known and well-respected.  Most of what I’ve read I would describe as ’scripturally aligned.’ What I mean is that the the author lays out all they want to say, in the way they want to say it, packaging and presenting within their preferred paradigm.  And at some point, most of these authors will present a few scripture passages to support what they have presented.

In theory, there is nothing wrong with that approach.  I’d rather have something aligned with scripture than misaligned with it.  And I can’t say that I’ve read much in those books that I would classify as contradicting scripture.  But to me it seems to lack power somehow.

There are a few books on marriage, however, like Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, where the content flows out of the very scripture.  He starts with scripture, and the unique perspective of his book flows from the actual words of scripture, rather than a preferred packaging paradigm (say that three times!).

I guess this particular quirk of mine comes from an ironclad belief that scripture really is sufficient.  If we’re going to teach out of the Bible, then let’s let the Bible do the teaching.  I want to hear what God has to say rather than the well-constructed argument of man, even if it does align.  I was taught to be skeptical of teaching that bounces around, plucking a verse here or there that supports the teacher’s own view.  It’s so easy to isolate a verse out of its context and use it to support a position never intended.  That risk is significantly mitigated when the author starts with the passage, explores the context, and let’s his teaching emphasis flow from the intended meaning.

And yes, before you jump on me and tell me that I have been guilty of the same thing at times here in my blog, you are absolutely right.  And when you see me doing it, feel free to call me on it.