The Inerrancy of Scripture: closing thoughts
One of my professors here at Azusa Pacific University, Steve Sommers, told our Theology and the Christian life class about an experience he had when interviewing for a professor position at a Christian university. He had recently attended Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. At fuller there had recently been a debate between two doctors of theology about the inerrancy of scripture. The two doctors held opposing views. One held the view that the bible was infallible meaning that the bible is true in all its intention. The infallible view is concerned with the intention of the authors. To them, from my understanding, and to this first professor the bibles truth depends on what it’s trying to tell you. It might have problems and even mistakes and it might not be scientifically or historically accurate. It’s accurate wherever the authors speak concerning matters of faith and practice.[1]
The other, the second, doctor was a strict inerrantist. He held that the bible contained absolutely no mistakes and that it was basically dictated from God to men. He believed that it was accurate in every way, about every subject. He even went as far as to say that every true Christian should hold this view.
The debate was a hot topic surrounding Fuller Seminary. When my professor interviewed at a nearby university the first question was “where do you stand.” They were talking about the debate. Sommers thought about his answer for a second and said “I’d rather be friends with the infalliblist who loves his friends and loves his family than the inerrantist who goes home and beats his wife.” His point was made and he didn’t get the job (but good old APU hired him).
The point of the story is that the point of the whole thing is that no matter what you believe about the nature of scripture if it has no authority on your life it’s all for not. As I’ve said before, the point is not the bible, the point is God. I worship, I love, I pray to, and I serve God… not the bible. If we get all caught up in the argument about inerrancy but then we do nothing that the bible says to do, we are hearers but not doers of the word[2], then we’ve missed the point. The authority of scripture; its’ command over the way we live our lives is a lot more important than whether it contains mistakes or not.
May the people who blog here and all those who claim the bible be people who do a lot less talking about what the bible is and a lot more doing what it tells us to do.
End Notes
[1] Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2000) 399.
[2] James 1:22-25
The other, the second, doctor was a strict inerrantist. He held that the bible contained absolutely no mistakes and that it was basically dictated from God to men. He believed that it was accurate in every way, about every subject. He even went as far as to say that every true Christian should hold this view.
The debate was a hot topic surrounding Fuller Seminary. When my professor interviewed at a nearby university the first question was “where do you stand.” They were talking about the debate. Sommers thought about his answer for a second and said “I’d rather be friends with the infalliblist who loves his friends and loves his family than the inerrantist who goes home and beats his wife.” His point was made and he didn’t get the job (but good old APU hired him).
The point of the story is that the point of the whole thing is that no matter what you believe about the nature of scripture if it has no authority on your life it’s all for not. As I’ve said before, the point is not the bible, the point is God. I worship, I love, I pray to, and I serve God… not the bible. If we get all caught up in the argument about inerrancy but then we do nothing that the bible says to do, we are hearers but not doers of the word[2], then we’ve missed the point. The authority of scripture; its’ command over the way we live our lives is a lot more important than whether it contains mistakes or not.
May the people who blog here and all those who claim the bible be people who do a lot less talking about what the bible is and a lot more doing what it tells us to do.
End Notes
[1] Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2000) 399.
[2] James 1:22-25