DEFENDING THE DOCTRINE OF INERRANCY

In Defending Inerrancy - inerrancy is the belief that the Bible is without error in its original writing - Norman Geisler and William Roach (GR) have written:

• ...Total inerrancy has been the standard orthodox view throughout the history of the Christian church. This is true from the earliest times. The view of limited inerrancy (that only spiritual or redemptive matters are without error) is a late view in church history, arising as a result of accommodating the doctrine of inerrancy to modern science and biblical criticism.

Against those who claim that some in the Early Church didn’t believe that Scripture was entirely breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), GR provide evidence from the Church Fathers:

• Justin Martyr (d. 165) spoke of the Gospels as the “Voice of God” (Apology 65). He stated, “We must not suppose that the language proceeds from men who were inspired, but from the Divine Word which moves them” (1.36). Irenaeus (d. 202) added that the Bible is “above all falsehood” (Against Heresies 3.5.1) and we are “most properly assured that the Scriptures are indeed perfect, since they are spoken by the Word of God and His Spirit” (2.28.2; 2:35). Medieval Church Fathers Summing up the early church, Augustine of Hippo declares: “I have learned to yield respect and honour only to the canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the authors were completely free from error” (Letters 82.3). So “if we are perplexed by any apparent contradiction in Scripture, it is not allowable to say, the author of this book is mistaken: but either the manuscript is faulty, or the translation is wrong, or you have misunderstood” (Reply to Faustus 11.5). Likewise, in the later Middle Ages Thomas Aquinas insisted that “it is heretical to say that any falsehood whatsoever is contained either in the gospels or in any canonical Scripture” (Exposition on Job 13, Lect. 1). For “A true prophet is always inspired by the spirit of truth in whom there is no trace of falsehood, and he never utters untruths” (Summa 2a2ae, 172, 6 ad 2). The Reformation Period The great reformer Martin Luther affirms that “the Scriptures, although written by men, are neither of men nor from men but from God” (Luther’s Works 35:153).

• Likewise, John Calvin agrees, insisting that “the Bible has come down to us from the mouth of God” (Institutes 1.18.4). Thus “we owe to Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God; because it has proceeded from Him alone. . . . The Law and the Prophets are . . . dictated by the Holy Spirit.”

These Fathers of the Faith had excellent reasons to believe this way. There is not a single verse in the Scriptures that expresses any skepticism about its inerrancy. For example, Jesus only expressed the highest possible regards for the Scriptures including His own teachings, which He claimed would last forever (Matthew 24:35). For Jesus every word of the Scriptures came from God:

·       Jesus answered [the Devil], "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus did not set Himself above Scripture as its judge to decide which verses were truly inspired. He received “every word” as God’s Word:

·       "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)

If Jesus had regarded the Word as errant in some respect, He would never have said “until everything is accomplished.” Instead, He might have said, “Until every part that is WITHOUT ERROR is accomplished.” Rather, He continually insisted that everything had to be fulfilled:

·       He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself… He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24: 25-27, 44-45)

Notice how Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, rather than His own Word. Whenever He quoted from the Scriptures, it was always to affirm what Scripture had said. Never once did He disparage Scripture. Instead, He castigated those who didn’t know the Scriptures:

·       Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)

They didn’t know Scripture because they didn’t esteem it, despite their protestations to the contrary:

·       "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" (John 5:45-47)

In contrast to the religious leadership, Jesus believed in what Moses had written and that Scripture could not be broken” (John 10:35). He even regarded the Psalms as ultimately authored by God. Quoting from Psalm 110, Jesus claimed that David was “speaking by the Spirit”:

·       He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? (Matthew 22:43)

Never once did Jesus raise the question about the divine origin of a single verse. Consequently, if we are serious about Jesus, we have to take the same view of the Scriptures as He did.

However, it seems that most denominations do not take Jesus’ view of Scripture. Instead, they tend to claim that Scripture is only inerrant in its important matters. Pastor and writer Greg Boyd reflects the thinking of many modern statements of faith:

·       …the Bible can and should be trusted as unfailing (infallible) in all matters that pertain to Christian faith and living. It cannot be considered inerrant, however, especially in regard to minor matters of history or science.

However, Scripture never makes such a distinction. Instead, this statement gives everyone license to decide for themselves what is essential to “Christian faith and living.” Unsurprisingly, we find that there is little agreement about the essentials. Consequently, some narrow down the “essentials” to only one thing – a socially derived understanding of “love.”

If a Christian is a follower of Christ and His understanding of the Scriptures, then few can legitimately call themselves “Christian.”