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Replies: Read your classmates’ threads and post a reply to at least 2 other classmates’ threads (200–250 words) by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Provide thoughtful analysis and evaluation of the
Replies: Read your classmates’ threads and post a reply to at least 2 other classmates’ threads (200–250 words) by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Provide thoughtful analysis and evaluation of the threads. Also, make sure you interact theologically and critically to the posts.
Reply TO Phillip
Forum 2 Scriptural InerrancyCOLLAPSE
The doctrine of inerrancy is one of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. Biblical inerrancy separates the bible from other ancient literature held by various groups to be scripture. As P. D. Feinberg suggests, if the church loses the doctrine of inerrancy there’s no foundation upon which to stand with other doctrines. He calls this the “slippery slope[1]” and while it doesn’t show inerrancy it is a danger which follows the loss of a high view of scripture. Though it’s true that God doesn’t use the scripture to say explicitly that the bible is inerrant, it is described as God-breathed. This explicit quality says more about scripture than, perhaps, even an explicit claim to inerrancy would. If the bible is God-breathed as it claims to be, then it is connected to God in a much greater way than just that he had a hand in its creation and it is without error. If scripture comes directly from God, then it is imbued with attributes of God as well. Its inerrancy is as certain as the certainty that there is nothing false with God.
The doctrine of inerrancy is absolutely essential to the contemporary church and its importance will only grow. The modern church is facing a great deal of scrutiny from the outside world, and while that isn’t necessary rare throughout the history of the church the church is facing opposition in modern American society on a growing scale. More and more the fabric of this society sets itself against the requirements of scripture. A scripture that, if it can be in error, will certainly be found to be so by many at every possible turn. If scripture can be in error, then anyone could legitimately reject any part of scripture they don’t like because they claim error in the text. With the culture so fervently opposed to the calling presented throughout scripture to live holy lives, inerrancy is the bedrock upon which scripture’s claim to authority is built. Without inerrancy, scripture loses its authority to accurately reveal God and therefore his will and expectations. American culture is veering further and further from the expectations of God and unfortunately many elements within the church are embracing this shift away from sound doctrine. While this shift is sometimes rooted in a lack of understanding, more and more it is rooted in the denial of the authority of scripture. Keeping a proper doctrinal understanding of the inerrancy of scripture is extremely important for the church.
Wordcount 415
[1] Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed., s.v. “Bible, Inerrancy of”.
Reply to Noah
Full InerrancyCOLLAPSE
Upon further investigation and study, I still firmly land on the position that God’s Word is fully inerrant, being—as Erickson puts it—completely true in the truths it seeks to convey within its culture, despite minor discrepancies regarding scientific thought and understanding that such passages were true for the time and thus, further the confidence that the rest of the text is true.[1] There is a unique union for the Believer—among many other concerns—between the doctrine of inspiration and inerrancy, and no matter the position taken, it can clearly be understood that a small view of the Bible’s inerrancy will logically affect the view of divine inspiration of God’s Word, and vice versa.[2] For further investigation, it is only fitting to look at one of the most commonly used passages to reflect a doctrine of full inspiration, as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”[3] If this Scripture is studied with a lens that believes that God’s Word is not complete and perfect, without error, it is perfectly understandable for the Believer to then question whether God even inspired it.
It is for this simple reason, among others, that biblical inerrancy matters for the contemporary church. Arguably, any view contrary to that has the serious danger of crossing the line into a subjective reality lacking a strong conviction and foundation. From a logical standpoint, if the Bible indeed has serious flaws in one area, how can it be trusted in some of its greater theological teachings? On a personal level, call me a traditionalist here, but how can I one minute tell a questioning Non-Believer that much of the Old Testament (i.e. Creation, Exodus, and so on) is purely figurative language, and then expect this individual to take the Gospel with complete confidence. Granted, this is dipping into not only inerrancy doctrine, but also literal and figurative interpretation; however, the principle still stands. The contemporary church needs objective truth, and it is my firm belief that God’s Word is fully inspired in its original text.[4] A small view of God’s Word has the potential to result in a small view of God, which ultimately affects the appropriate view of His Good News, lending to doubt, controversies, and the ultimate possibility that Christianity is no different from any other religion. If God’s Word is truly the voice of God to the world, and we doubt it, what does that say about our view of God? Similarly, if we look at the Bible as a generally good book written by men regarding a phenomena that—to a degree—is true, how can we have confidence in its writing?
[1] Millard J. Ericskson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 191.
[2] Ibid, 194.
[3] 2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001).
[4] It should be noted that there is a clear distinction between the original text and the various translations into English. As I am currently in the middle of NGRK 505, the topic of various translations and their degree of direct translation into English, and the wide variety of meanings that Koine Greek can present, it all lends to the possible error (in minor details) within the English. Such “errors” can also be considered more appropriately as inadequate English phrases to match the original Greek and Hebrew. For this reason, any reader should enter with a note of humility and gratitude toward the English translation; however, understanding that it is purely in the original text that full inerrancy is best displayed.
