Pause for thought

Glamorgan Star news 19/06/2022

1 minute read

Pause for thought.

By Rev’d Robert Parrish.

Why the Bible has its own X Factor

The X Factor was a very popular television show that ran from 2004 to 2018.

The aim of the show was to make stars of people who had an undefinable something extra on top of talent. Great artists, poets, and musicians also have an ‘X factor.’ They have their natural ability and training, but occasionally they produce something that seems to come from beyond themselves. The same composer can write something utterly sublime, and then something totally forgettable soon after!

When someone writes a brilliant novel or an uplifting piece of music, we say that they were inspired. The word ‘inspiration’ is related to the word ‘spirit’. Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God – that it has an extra quality to it that goes beyond the abilities of its human authors.

The Bible speaks of the ‘Holy Spirit’, meaning God in his relationship to our human spirits. Christians do not have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. ‘The wind/spirit blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.’ (John 3 v8). The word for wind and spirit is the same in the Greek New Testament, making a play on words possible.

The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church, and also beyond it, in the work of poets, artists, and musicians, and in the charitable work done by all people of good will. As the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, once said: “Christians should identify where God is already at work and join in.”