One of the first things that Martin Luther did at the beginning of our movement was to translate the Bible into something that was readable by his German neighbors and friends. He wasn’t the first person to do this, but it does show that since the beginning, Lutherans have felt the Bible is important.
In fact, Lutherans say that “Sola Scriptura” or “Scripture Only” is one of the four elemental beliefs that make us who we are. We believe that our theology, what we believe about God and His church, should only be based in Scripture.
Isn’t that everyone?
Well, sort of. Most Christians will say that the Bible is important to them, but they understand it via tradition or terminology. Some Christians will use tradition (historic practices and understandings of the Church) to understand the Bible. While we think those things are great, we don’t think you need to understand all of Christian history to understand what God has put in His book. Other Christians will understand the Bible through the lens of terminology. These Christians tend to read the Bible having defined some of its meaning with logical terminology. While we understand this, we just don’t think that God’s Word needs to sit below terminology and categories made by humans. We think it does a fine job on its own.