Quotes about Authority

The passion for truth is silenced by answers which have the weight of undisputed authority.

Once our understanding is enlightened, we are no longer a pushover for the kingdom of darkness.

Remember, Christ never broke the written instructions of God. He only broke the traditions of men

Many people today are too bold to speak against men and women who are anointed of God.

Notions of absolute truth and ultimate authority are fiercely attacked, and the Bible itself is no longer accorded unconditional respect in Western societies.

He is not only its omega but also its alpha, and he is and can be its omega only as he is its alpha."1

When you read the Bible on its own terms, you discover that it doesn't behave itself like a holy rulebook should.

Sticking to the Bible at every turn, like it's an owner's manual or book of instruction, as the way to know God misses what Paul and the rest of the New Testament writers show us again and again: the words on the page of the Bible don't drive the story, Jesus does. Jesus is bigger than the Bible. For

There's an irony: the passionate defense of the Bible as a "history book" among the more conservative wings of Christianity, despite intentions, isn't really an act of submission to God; it is making God submit to us. In

The Bible is not, never has been, and never will be the center of the Christian faith.

What I discovered, and what I want to pass along to you in this book, is that this view of the Bible does not come from the Bible but from an anxiety over protecting the Bible and so regulating the faith of those who read it.

Because, more than the other three Gospel writers, John is big on Jesus's divine authority over the religious leaders. That's part of his agenda, and so he shapes the past to make the point.