Wesley Tenney is a graduating senior with double majors in Secondary Education and Christian Ministries. During his Gordon career, he has studied in Israel/Palestine and has served as a youth minister in Belarus. Raised in North Central Massachusetts, he enjoys hiking, biking, and writing in his free time. Following graduation, Wesley plans to pursue further theological studies, with emphases upon ecumenism and Christian formation.
The goal of the following investigation is to outline the ongoing power and authority of scripture for Christian believers. After a brief exploration of communication theory to identify scripture’s context, the investigation narrows to focus on biblical hermeneutics. To identify the audience of God’s communication today, it then turns to the history of the Judeo-Christian covenant – especially the competition between Jews and Early Christians for this covenant. This history sets standards and boundaries for interpretation that transcend cultures and eras, as evident in how this history justifies the Early Christian hermeneutic of typology, even for modern readers. From this standard, the investigation then evaluates the power of scripture for post-modern Christians who now inherit God’s covenant. Concluding this investigation is a delineation between scripture and canon to highlight scripture’s current, ongoing authority. Scripture becomes a broad term for God’s Truth. Canon denotes a three-level hierarchy of the different Christian writings that communicate God’s Truth.