‘Analogy of the Faith’

'Nowadays, we hear men tear a single sentence of Scripture from its connection, and cry, 'Eureka! Eureka!' as if they had found a new truth; and yet they have not discovered a diamond, but a piece of broken glass. Had they been able to compare spiritual things with spiritual, had they understood the analogy of the faith, and had they been acquainted with the holy learning of the great Bible students of past ages, they would not have been quite so fast in vaunting their marvellous knowledge.'

C. H. Spurgeon. The Sword and the Trowel, 1874, p.221

Spurgeon was particularly concerned about believers who read fragments of the Bible with no context or with very little understanding of the whole Scriptures or the ‘analogy of the faith’.

According to ‘analogy of the faith’, the scriptures never contradict themselves, so it is important for us to study all relevant scriptures to avoid fragmented perspectives and wrong interpretations to satisfy our own agenda. This means we must study the entire Bible to be sure we do not apply any text in a way that does not fit into the overall picture of the Scriptures. We use Scripture to interpret Scripture.

Spurgeon voices his concern about some men who claim to have unearthed new truth from the Bible that no-one before had noticed. His comments highlight some key issues which are of continuing relevance. Now taking into account the 'analogy of faith' would not solve all our hermeneutical problems, but it might help us avoid some of them. Danger exists when verses or phrase are ripped out of their

'Unexamined theology'

"All Christians do theology all the time, for theology just means thinking about our faith. When a child dies and we say "God didn't want that to happen," or "Now, she's in heaven," or even, "I don't know how to make sense of this" - whatever we say, we are doing theology. In less dramatic moments, if we pray, "if it be your will, help my mother to get well," or explain, "No, your friend can't take Communion; she hasn't been baptized," or sing "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so," all of that too is, or at least presupposes, theology…a pastor can help plan the church budget, provide helpful pastoral counseling, and get involved with organizing the community against a local polluter. But how do the way we allocate church funds, the advice we give, or the stands we take connect to our Christian faith? When we think about such questions we are doing theology. Theology thus orders and connects our faith and our practice. If Christians pretend not to think about theology, we end up with unexamined theology, sometimes in forms that are silly or even dangerous."