Together we try to explore the source and nature of that authority. As I

already mentioned, some of the authority comes simply from the fact that the

biblical narratives help us make sense of our lives. Some of the Bible's

authority comes from the realization that for centuries it has shaped and

strengthened and nurtured Christian communities. Some of its authority

grows out of a realization of the God-breathedness of Scripture, the belief that

God inspired faithful followers to record accounts and encounters and

perceptions and truths.

And just as Niles is trying to sort through the various authorities in his

life, we attempt to help students understand the multiple authorities which

compete for their commitment and their attention and their loyalties in a

postmodern world. We seek to reaffirm the Bible as a primary authority for

guiding faith and life.

5. We hope to teach our students something about faithful biblical

interpretation.Much comes under this category. To interpret appropriately

we may need to acknowledge the complexity of the Bible. We may need to ask

questions about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New. We may need

to confess what our own "canon within the canon" is -- what part of the text is

most authoritative for us. We may need to ask how much weight should be

afforded to the recorded words of Jesus, and how those relate to Paul's

injunctions, and what we should do when Scripture seems silent? We may

need to recognize that historically passages have been interpreted in

drastically different ways by various church leaders:in the second and third

centuries Tertullian gave a thorough-goingly pacifist interpretation of

Matthew 5:39 ("Turn the other cheek") while St. Augustine, living two

centuries later in a world where Christians were now in power, claimed that