“The new Christianity of the Great Emergence must discover some authority base or delivery system and/or governing agency of its own. It must formulate—and soon—something other than Luther’s sola scriptura which, although used so well by the Great Reformation originally, is now seen as hopelessly outmoded or insufficient” (Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence, 150-51).

Tickle observes a major challenge for the Emerging Church: the diminished view of the Bible as the sole authority has left the Emerging Church without a sure foundation. The doctrine of sola scriptura has given post-Reformation protestant churches a sure foundation upon which to construct their theology and praxis. This foundation has led to a tremendous upsurge in the vitality of the Christian Church which can be easily observed in a cursory review of the modern mission movement. Sola scriptura offers the church an excellent foundation because it claims the Bible to be a sole and divine authority. The doctrine itself is constructed using the testimony of Scripture about itself.

Why does the Emerging Church feel so inclined to reject sola scriptura? Basically, they are so focused on contextualizing Christianity in the postmodern world that they have ventured into a thorough syncretization of their theology and praxis. Postmodernists are weary of any claims to certainty. Sola scriptura represents just such a claim. Evangelicals believe the Bible is the word of God and its meaning is clearly discernable. Emerging Church proponents want to muddy these waters by making the meaning of the Bible indiscernible.

If sola scriptura is to be rejected, what other foundation is there that might offer what only a divine foundation can offer? There is none; therefore, Emerging Church proponents are looking to relationships, conversations, social justice, and Kingdom of God metanarratives to supply an adequate foundation. They often promote a view of God as loving and devoid of wrath. Sin, for them, is like an unwanted disease that infects humanity and the world. For them, sin is not the result of the human inclination toward sin due to their utter sinfulness and complete rejection of God. While evangelicals like myself disagree with these positions, it still remains unclear how Emerging Church proponents determine the validity of their positions since they cannot rely on their own interpretations of Scripture given their postmodern dilemma.