"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be
unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute weunderstand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any word in the New
Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act
accordingly. 'My God,' you will say, 'if I do that my whole life will be
ruined. How would I every get on in the world?' Here in lies the real
place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's
prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that
we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too
close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful
it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even
dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."