David Brenneman
THEO201_D10_201230
Short Essay #1
Short Essay on Inspiration and Inerrancy of the Bible The inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible is a critical topic to our Christian faith. If we are to understand the Bible and its commands on how to live and be saved through faith, we need to be sure that we know how the Bible was written and whether or not the Bible is authoritative.
To say that the Bible has authority is to claim that the Bible is the very word of God. The Bible is the revelation of the Creator to His creation. In this sense, the authority of the Bible comes from God Himself. The word of God came to His people through the writings of Moses and the Prophets, and ultimately, the life of Jesus Christ. The
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Four main arguments are used to validate the inerrancy of the Bible. The first is the biblical argument. This maintains that the Bible itself implies that Scripture is inerrant and infallible. This is probably the strongest of the arguments; however it relies on the understanding of the divine inspiration of Scripture. Jesus argues in John 10:34-35 that Scripture cannot be broken. In this, He is emphasizing the authority of Scripture, but as Feinberg points out, “Something that contains errors cannot be absolutely authoritative.”2 Here again we see that if we accept that God inspired every word in the Bible, and ultimate authority belongs to Him, then the Scriptures must be inerrant.
The second argument is the historical argument. This argument claims that throughout history the church understood that the Bible was infallible. The early church fathers did not see this as something that needed to be defended. It was simply assumed. The people nearest to the events, and in every period since, have asserted the absolute authority and infallibility of the Bible. This argument is not as strong as the first, but still very influential. The major argument against this idea is that it is a modern invention, but there is clear evidence to the contrary.2
The third argument is known as the epistemological argument. This basically claims that “if the Bible is not inerrant, then any claim it makes may be
1) Inspired revelation – the source of authority and the direction for our life and ministry is found in the Scriptures. The bible is the foundational tool of theology in addition to being its source.
37); the Bible is regarded as being inerrant, because it was created by God and God cannot lie and is incapable of lying. The authenticity of God’s word is stated several times throughout Scripture, and David proclaims that God’s word is error-free; to object the honesty of God’s word as being true is to challenge the claim of Christ (Cartwright & Hulshof, 2016, pp. 35-37).
In order to be declared acceptable to be included within the canon there are specific criteria that are considered for the Old Testament. One of the first questions asked by the curious reader is, “Who authored the Old Testament?” The easy and most appropriate answer to that important question is God. That is to say that the Bible is divinely inspired and is an important, the most important, criterion for acceptance into the canon (Detweiler, 1985).ne can look to 2 Timothy 3:16 for confirmation, “all of scripture is God-breathed’ (NIV). Evidence is found in scripture itself. For instance
Under the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, in what sense is the Bible authoritative? This is a question that has plagued the minds of many as a major element of historic Christian belief about Scripture as well as been a controversial topic of academic discussions. One of the major areas of conflict in the theological arena has been biblical authority as noted in
If the burden of authorship were laid on man, it would like the foresight of God for the future. Because God divinely authored the Bible, he can also use it to speak to us today despite the difference in culture from the date of its authorship to now. That does not mean that we can just find any meaning we want and assume that God planted it there, it is still our responsibility to ensure that we are using proper study habits to decipher the word. One of the biggest issues I see today is that we have a habit of taking scripture out of context reading only the portion of the verse that supports our thoughts or not taking into consideration the context of who the scripture was directed towards or the culture of that time. During the reading in this week’s session, there were two things that stood out to me. McGrath notes in the Christian Theology Reader that under Hodge’s view “Biblical Authority is specifically linked with the correct Biblical interpretation” (McGrath, 2011, p. 111) and that the Bible is “absolutely infallible when interpreted in the same sense intended, and hence are clothed with absolute divine authority” (McGrath, 2011, p.
Most Christians would assert that the Bible has importance for their faith and understanding in how to live out their beliefs. However, there is great diversity in how exactly this takes shape. At issue is one’s perspective on how to read the Bible and the authority that is granted to Scripture. Differing viewpoints can be placed along a continuum ranging from conservative to liberal perspectives on the role of Scripture. Sparks (n.d.) highlights the hallmarks of different traditions based on a number of factors such as how the Bible is read, views of inerrancy, and the authority of tradition. Both Protestant Fundamentalists and Conservative Evangelicals hold to biblical inerrancy as a hallmark of their faith. However, the two diverge regarding
An age-old debate that has existed in religious studies concerns which argument for the existence of God is the strongest. The existence of God is pervasive throughout the world, although the means with which people attempt to prove His existence varying in significant (and sometimes contrasting) ways. Although there have been myriad methods for proving God's existence, a central dispute concerns whether or not to use a rational approach or a more Biblically-grounded approach. This paper examines three theories that are germane to the rational approach the Five Proofs issued by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, the central premise of St. Anselm's Proslogion, and Augustine's premise from his canonical text City of God. After discussing these three arguments, two Christological arguments are discussed, namely Richard Bauckham's thesis from God Crucified: Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament (1999) and William Lane Craig's argument from "The Resurrection of Jesus" (Date Unknown). Following a description of these theories, this paper argues in favor of the rational approach because it is more systematic in its justification for God's existence.
Evangelical Christians believe inspiration of scripture comes from God. Scripture declares that, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In addition, inerrancy declares that scripture remains truthful incessantly. Book of John states “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35). Furthermore, the bible maintains authority because it’s from God. Scripture claims” Because the Bible is what it is, it can do what it does (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Additionally, inspiration comes from God, which makes the scripture truth, whiling obtain authority.
The doctrines study that caused me to reconsider or change my position on theology during this course is the Doctrine of the Bible. After reading and completing my assignments, I believe the Bible is inerrant. Erickson states, "Inerrancy is the doctrine that the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings. Theologians have argued over the levels to which the Bible is inerrant. If the Bible is not inerrant, then our knowledge of God may be inaccurate and unreliable. Inerrancy is a corollary to the full inspiration of the Bible" (Erickson 2013, 188). This course of study has enlightened me new information on the importance of inerrancy. I read the Bible on a daily basis and believe the word of God, but this course has taught me how to dig deeper into the scriptures. The scriptures are inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, "All scriptures is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." God word is the truth. Isaiah 55:11 states, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." God is speaking to us through the scriptures and we as
Bible as the Inspired Word of God The Bible is the work of various authors, who lived in different continents and wrote in different eras. Furthermore, much of the text does not claim to have been 'dictated' by God and is not always God speaking to people. In parts it consists of people speaking to God, as in the Psalms, and people speaking to people, as in the New Testament letters written by Paul. In light of this, some maintain that it is not possible to treat the Bible as a book of divine oracles, delivered once by God and recorded by its authors through divine inspiration, since biblical authors were products of their time and subsequently their understanding of divine truth was culturally
Scripture, the saving revelation of God in Jesus Christ, addresses us with full divine authority in its total extent and in all its parts, and therefore the CRC speaks of the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God.
Luke was a physician and historian who had many writings and documents. In each one, he interviewed eyewitnesses and held thorough investigations. A.N. Sherwin White researched Luke’s work and studied his sources. White found that Luke’s sources spread across thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands; yet, not a single flaw was found in Luke’s information. Luke’s use of primary resources also makes his writings more accurate and believable. Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay sought to disprove Luke’s teachings. He spent twenty-five years in the Holy Land participating in archaeological digs and retracing Paul’s travels. Ramsay could not disprove Luke. Another archaeologist and professor at JHU, William F. Albright, declared the Bible a reliable source of History after participating in his own research. The Bible also has texts that are scientifically accurate. In one text the shape of the earth was described as round even though most people at the time believed the earth was flat (Job 26:10). Another text says that God hangs the earth on nothing, leaving it unattached in space (Job 26:7). This is an indication of gravity long before it was discovered. The studies of modern archaeologists and the scientific accuracy of the Bible proves the Bible’s
Generally, most biblical scholars agree that scripture’s authority is found in the sovereign God Himself; but their doctrinal positions differ from that point. Wisely enough, Wright avoids the “locked suitcase” melee on biblical inerrancy or biblical infallibility. Instead, he focused on God’s purpose for scripture and why it is demonstrably authoritative. Scriptures are not merely human books or collections of human opinion; they are books which contain God 's revelation of
This topic has been studied on for a long period of time already. Thus, resulting to a lot of articles on the internet or in books that prove that the Bible really is reliable. Despite it being about thousands and thousands of years old, it is still consistent and very up to date.
I believe that scripture is the infallible Word of God, divinely inspired by God through human hands, for the teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training of Christians and forming the basis of the Christian life and guiding them on the path to Christ. I believe that scripture is infallible rather than inerrant, because human writers through which God spoke can still make mistakes. However, Matthew 24:35 reminds us that God’s word is true in all ages and places. 2 Timothy 3:16 gives reasons why it is import for believes to use the scripture such as teaching and correcting. Scripture guides us along the path we should as evidences by Psalms 119:105 comparing Scripture to a lamp to show us the way. I have also personal experienced the wisdom that the scriptures can offer to those who need guidance. I also believe that scripture should be the main point of guidance, which is something that my church has taught me such I was young. Matthew 7:24 instructs us to build our house on the rock (scripture) which is the most solid place to rest our life.