Perspective
At Bethel, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired & without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, & that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith & conduct. The normative role of Scripture in the faith community calls for careful reading of the text (exegesis) as well as thoughtful reflection on the significance of the inspired teachings, the stories and the meditations of Scripture because the Scriptures are indeed effective in evangelizing and discipling (teaching, reproving, correcting and training in righteousness) and equipping a Christ-follower "for every good work." (2 Tim. 3:15-17)
Since we are working with an ancient, Oriental text, the student of Scripture needs to tend not only to matters such as the ancient author, text and the first audience of this revelation, but also to how these texts speak to subsequent readers/hearers from a variety of cultures located across more than two millennia.
