Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
The bishop told Michael, “today we’re not here to talk about the scripture…we’re here to talk about our ordinance,” and said scripture is “so holy” it should be handled mainly in the Sunday setting with testimony time; what view of God and of ordinary believers is implied by that, and how would the early Christians (with widespread scripture reading and exhortation) have reacted?
Another way to ask: A bishop told Michael they were there to talk about “ordinance,” not Scripture, and that Scripture should mostly be handled in the Sunday setting. What does that say about how they viewed God and regular believers, and how might early Christians have responded?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
That approach implies Scripture is too “holy” for ordinary believers to engage directly in serious discussion, and that leaders or official settings must control access and interpretation. Michael’s reading of early Christian/Anabaptist sources pushed the opposite direction—Scripture as the guiding authority for daily church life, including discipline and new birth.
- The bishop said, “we’re not here today to talk about the scripture…we’re here…to talk about our ordinance.”
- He claimed “the scripture is so holy” and that’s why they ask “titheness” (testimony time) after sermons, and asked, “If you guys aren’t there, how are you going to hear it?”
- Michael repeatedly tried to raise biblical questions (new birth, Schleitheim articles, Scripture-backed excommunication) but found it “was not received at all.”
- Michael’s historical reading convinced him early believers aimed to follow “the Bible…not just the commandments of man.”
- Ephraim’s emphasis is to keep “eyes on Jesus” and pursue “the light,” implying believers should actively respond to Christ’s teaching, not merely submit to ordinance.