the-bible-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls

74 SCROLLS FROM QUMRAN AND THE CANON
inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all
ages, are therefore authentic. (6.008)
The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration,
are no part of the canon, nor be otherwise approved, or made use of, than
other human books. (6.003) The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which
it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not on the testimony of any
man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof;
and therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God. (6.004)
This confession comes quite close to being a doctrine of inerrancy and
has been so interpreted by some conservative Calvinists. Its rootage in
the doctrine of sola scriptura could not be clearer.
In the Presbyterian Confession of 1967 we find:
The Bible is to be interpreted in the light of its witness to God’s work of
reconciliation in Christ. The scriptures, given under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit, are nevertheless the words of men, conditioned by the language,
thought forms, and literary fashion of the places and times at which
they were written. They reflect views of life, history, and the cosmos which
were then current. The church therefore has an obligation to approach the
scriptures with literary and historical understanding. As God has spoken
his word in diverse cultural situations, the church is confident that he will
continue to speak through the scriptures in a changing world and in every
form of human culture. (9.29)
Here the impact of historical criticism could not be more obvious.
Although the Old Testament is declared “indispensable to understanding
the New,” the christocentric thrust of recent Reformed theology is apparent
in the confession.
APPENDIX: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
I doubt that the Qumran finds will force the several religious communities
to alter their several canons. Tradition and authority in the churches
and synagogues play too strong a role. However, the scrolls should have
a serious impact on the ways in which we establish the text of biblical
books. I think there are perhaps three approaches available to scholars
and religious authorities.
1. Using all available materials, establish the best possible text of the
Rabbinic Recension. In the great Jerusalem Bible Project, this is the stated
goal of the late Moshe Goshen-Gottstein, and I suspect that it remains the
goal of his successors.