When we say that the Bible is the Word of God, does that imply that it is completely accurate, or does it contain insignificant inaccuracies in details of history and science?
By: Dr John Bechtle
Some theologians teach that the Bible is inspired and authoritative, and that it is an accurate revelation of what God wants us to know about salvation—but they leave room for minor errors in non-crucial areas. One theologian, for instance, says that the Holy Spirit’s work in inspiring the Bible only guaranteed “selectivity of events and accuracy of reporting and interpretation sufficient to achieve God’s purpose throughout the rest of man’s existence” (Dewey Beegle, Inspiration of Scripture, p. 190).
However, classic Christianity rests on the assurance that the Bible is completely accurate. It may contain statements that are (1) figures of speech, (2) non-technical descriptions, or (3) difficult to understand. But actual errors would fall into a different kind of category. If there are any errors in Scripture, no matter how small, the book can no longer be our standard of truth. I become the standard of truth, as I determine which Bible statements are right and which are wrong. And if I can’t trust God to get the facts straight on things like dates and measurements (where I can check on Him), why should I expect Him to be more accurate in areas likesin and salvation (where I can’t check on Him)?
The Bible doesn’t use the word “inerrant,” but the idea is obvious.
- Psalm 19:7-9—“The law of the Lord is perfect… the testimony of the Lord is sure… the commandment of the Lord is pure… thejudgments of the Lord are true forever.”
- Psalm 119:43—“the word of truth.”
- Psalm 119:142—“Thy law is the truth.”
- Psalm 119:160—“Thy word is true from the beginning.”
- John 17:17—“Thy word is truth.”
An inaccurate Bible contradicts God’s character quality of absolute truthfulness.
- Titus 1:2—“God who cannot lie.”
- Hebrews 6:18—“It is impossible for God to lie.”
Some consider this a minor issue, but the idea that the Bible contains errors opens the door to serious spiritual danger. When people decide they have the authority to label one verse as a mistake, they soon find others that they consign to the “error” category. I’ve watched it happen over the years. Each generation rejects more and more Scripture, as it gets in the way of their own opinions.
Author: Dr. John Bechtle
The Bible claims to be completely accurate, so it must be? Hmm.
And I don’t like the argument about objective standards either. The fact that it would be preferable to have a clear, objective moral standard to work from is no guarantee that we have such a thing.
As I mentioned in previous posts, I am not part of the “Bible Is Inerrant” crowd. I don’t like how the author dismisses more than 1/2 of the world’s Christians with his “classic Christianity rest on the ….” comment. What he should have said is that “Evangelical Protestant Christianity teaches that”, which would be true. Biblical Inerrancy is a more recent doctine (dogma if you like) and is a product of the Protestant movement. It wasn’t even an issue until the early Protestant leaders made it one and the idea of taking The Bible literally was a huge part of the movement, outside of the Anglican Communion, which started because Henry was ticked off that the Pope wouldn’t let him get divorced.
I don’t agree with the Author’s conclusions on the scripture he uses to prove his point and the vast majority of the verses he uses are completely out of context in the inerrancy discussion, especially the verse taken from John, where the author is using a Greek term (Logos) that he pulled from Greek Philosophy and used it to describe Jesus. He is not using it to describe The Bible as written word.
The Bible has many conflicting stories (Start with the two different stories of creation), things proven false by science (see the claims that a Rabbit chews it cud), the different takes on the life of Jesus (did he minister for 3 years or 1 year? Which version is accurate?), which is the real Paul? (the Paul in Acts or the Paul that wrote the Epistles?).
Many denominations and churches theology are centered around the idea that the Bible is inerrant so of course they are going to defend the idea, especially when your Faith in God is contingent on The Bible being inerrant.
interesting
Actually, Luther was not an inerrantist and neither was Calvin, nor Zwingli. Inerrancy was only defined in the nineteenth century.
I just read the other day that C.S. Lewis didn’t believe in inerrancy of bible too.
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