This project aims at academic integrity, but is not merely an academic exercise. This is a faith-based academic effort asserting that the canon of Scripture is an act of faith in search of a conversation with God. As such, it deserves our very best efforts as we engage both heart (the discipline of faith) and mind (the discipline of academic rigor) in pursuit of a conversation with God. Not only should the canon be offered words of great respect (as it often is), but it should be pursued with responsibility and integrity (which it often is not). It is not enough that Christians claim a “high view of Scripture” or “academic excellence,” they must act upon such things or the claims mean nothing.
We approach Scripture energetically. It is not, however, the object of our worship, but a witness to the Lord who is. It was the apostle Paul who enjoined all seekers of God to “remove the veil,” not as students of the letter alone, and certainly not of human tradition or convention, but as urgent in heart, as responsible and diligent in mind, and as out-reaching in Spirit for the advocacy of the sustained and powerful reading of Scripture as God’s written word, worthy of so much more than mere human praise or beautifully written words; worthy, indeed, of our very selves, as if in conversation with God himself.
There are many statements of faith by Christians around the world, against which we bring no quarrel, save those which speak well of Scripture in all the right words, but which act in ways of neglect or abuse. Our statement here, simple and inadequate it may be, is an offering of faith nonetheless, trusting that our feeble efforts and writings will more fully attest to the joys and longings of our hearts than any brief statement can encompass.