scripture are invited to become actors in their own right. ‘The authority of scripture’ is thus a sub-branch of several other theological topics: the mission of the church, the work of the Spirit, the ultimate future hope and the way it is anticipated in the present, and of course the nature of the church. Failure to pay attention to all of these in discussing how scripture functions is part of the problem, as we can see when people, hearing the word ‘scripture’, instantly think of a rule-book—and