Scripture had become a "religious football" between deeply divided opinions in the Anglican Communion, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, Most Rev Robin Eames has said.
Speaking at the launch of The Authority of Scripture, A Report of the Church of Ireland Bishops' Advisory Commission on Doctrine in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral, the archbishop said he believed it was "a most appropriate" time in the history of Anglicanism for an independent analysis of the authority of scripture.
The chairman of the Bishops' Commission on Doctrine, Bishop Richard Clarke, said the most important contribution we can make is to find "a shared space" where a courteous and respectful conversation can take place between those whose approach to scripture is radically different.
Fr Bernard Treacy OP, editor of Doctrine and Life, said that "a careful, clear-sighted and respectful" examination of what we regard as mandatory for grasping the essence of Christianity is a form of renewal which benefits every part of the Christian family.
Contributors to the book include Bishop Clarke; Nigel Biggar, the professor of theology and ethics at Trinity College Dublin; Rev Dr Maurice Elliott, rector of Shankill parish, Lurgan, Co Armagh; Very Rev Dr Susan Patterson, Dean of Killala; Dr Andrew Pierce of the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin; and Very Rev Dr Stephen White, Dean of Killaloe.
