Preview

Bible Inerrancy

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3398 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bible Inerrancy
RESEARCH PAPER
Inerrancy of Scripture: Authority by Inspiration

THEO 525 LUO (spring 2012)
Systematic Theology I

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Jacqueline M. Jones (ID# 24515464)
March 9, 2012

Thesis Statement
The divine inspiration of Scripture guarantees its inerrancy and authority.

Table of Contents [ No table of contents entries found. ]
Introduction

Introduction
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 a poll of the members of the Evangelical Theological Society. Conflict is not the only issue, because according to L. Russ Bush, many theologians and Bible teachers seem to be uncomfortable with the concept of inerrancy. Bush also points out that the semantic problems of biblical inerrancy are subject to misunderstanding which could be overcome if those misunderstandings concerning the definition or word usage were really all the problem there was. Conflict, uncomfortable, and misunderstanding of a concept are a great recipe mix for the concept to be challenged and tried. The inerrancy of the autographs of Scripture was challenged and tried as early as 1880 in the published works of Augustus Briggs. An even earlier controversy over the issue of the authoritative inspired book of biblical inerrancy was noted concerning the widely influential 1678 work of Richard Simon. Research on the topic of the inspired, inerrant scriptural authority is important in the sense that it evokes acceptance, respect and obedience. It appears that the study of biblical inerrancy and divine inspiration is warranted because of the continued and consistent controversy regarding both.

Body The question of authority is central for any theology and



Bibliography: Ashcraft, Morris. "Revelation and Biblical Authority in Eclipse." Faith and Mission 04, no. 2 (Spring 1987): 6-18 Dorrien, Gary J. Remaking of Evangelical Theology. Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed March 6, 2012). Eberle, Christopher J. Religious Conviction in Liberal Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2002 Huyssteen, J. Wentzel van. Essays in Postfoundationalist Theology. Grand Rapids:Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997 Kenney, M. "SYNOD ON THE WORD OF GOD." Compass 42, no. 4 (December 1, 2008): 2- 7 Nicole, Roger. “Why I Am Comfortable with Inerrancy”. Reformation and Revival 11. No. 3 (Summer 2002):113-125 Satta, Ronald F.  "THE CASE OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS: INERRANCY AFFIRMED." Trinity Journal  26, no. 1 (April 1, 2005): 69-90.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed February 6, 2012). Wellum, Stephen J.  "Divine sovereignty-omniscience inerrancy, and open theism: An evaluation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 45, no. 2 (June 1, 2002):257.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed February 8, 2012) Is There a Single Right Interpretation?. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2012).

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    ELWELL, WALTER A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology: Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001. (accessed February 28, 2014).…

    • 1506 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Dan Baker

    • 4516 Words
    • 19 Pages

    [28] J. I. Packer, Concise theology : A guide to historic Christian beliefs. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House. (1995)…

    • 4516 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theo 202 Se3

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bibliography: Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 1984.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Theo 201 Short Essay 1

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Bible has authority in it as being the word of God. The authority the Bible comes from God that is given to the people by an inspiration and revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit from God. God said in His word that He is the Great I Am. Inspiration is nothing more than a revelation, or shall I say, a mere comforting and confirming word from God. As it states in John 16:33 "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace, in this would you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Once inspiration has been given then we move into inerrancy; which is not demonstrable. This teaches you how to interpret things correctly. It helps us to tap into our faith to learn the hidden miracles and treasures that God has in the Bible. This is why it is very important, according to Proverbs 3:5-6 "to trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths." In defending inerrancy I chose to stand behind the Biblical Argument because as it states in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed; “The scriptures are the breath of god; which guaranteed they are without error." John 1:1 reads "In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God." Just as God blew His (Ruah) breath into Adam to bring life to him; He did the same to the word when Jesus came down to the earth in the form of a baby. God is not a man that He should lie. He said in His word that Heaven and earth shall pass away but His word shall remain forever. The historical argument speaks from the church perspective as it related to doctrines and traditions such as the Sadducees and the Pharisee’s in the Old Testament as it pertained to the Sabbath. Nevertheless, epistemologies arguments have to be proven. Look at the resurrection of Jesus. In order for Thomas, a disciple whom walked with Jesus, was…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theo 201

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bibliography: Elwell, Walter A, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001 Towns, Elmer L, Theology for Today. Manson, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Chapter 6: Are The Bible Records Reliable? 2. Why do you think our culture is so quick to believe the false “facts” given to them (by professors, scientists, intellectuals, media, etc.) that the Bible isn’t a reliable document? Our culture is quick to believe the false “facts” given to them that the Bible is not a reliable document since it is assumes those in positions of influences have been intellectually honest in their research and are not ruled by their presuppositions or prejudices. 4.…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bibliography: (1) Elwell, Walter A.. Evangelical dictionary of theology. Second Edition ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1984.…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Malcolm X History

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages

    References: Krieg, Robert A. Journal of Religious Thought; Fall79/Winter80, Vol. 36 Issue 2, p37, 8p Morrison, Allan Ebony, Oct1965, Vol. 20 Issue 12, p135-142, 6p…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Christian Church believes the Bible is inspired and inerrant. This means that God is the one who moved through the writers to communicate to us the words which God wanted us to hear. This inspiration, however, is not a dictation, but a movement of God 's Holy Spirit through the writer, utilizing the personality and style of the writer. Paul said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim.3:16), he was dealing with one area, which was the Old Testament. Another reference is 2 Peter 1:21, “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Inerrancy In The Bible

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The goal of those participating in Biblical Inerrancy is to defend the scriptures within the Holy Bible. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy was developed, in 1978AD, by 300 evangelical scholars in which their Article X states,…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sorenson explains the validity of the Bible that becomes a controversy over the scholars through the ages. The issue is asking about the preservation of God’s Word in the Scripture. There are two textual translation generations in the Bible, such as Traditional Text as King James Version and Critical Text as NIV, ESV and etc. However, both of Bible translations have a different history. Bible-Believing churches adopted traditional Text while Gnosticism applied Critical Text instead. The issues continue as more people ask the truth of God’s Word over the Bible. However, God said in Proverbs 30:5 Matthew 4:4 that God has preserved His Word in Scripture because “Every word of God is pure” and we have to live God’s word.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Wrote The Bible?

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    inspiration of scripture.” If Jesus had used it, it must be substantial, and if those who read it…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theology

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    On the topic of systematic theology we have studied five topics on scripture: authority, inspiration, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bible

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Testament – comes from the Latin word “testamentum” or Greek “diatheke” meaning covenant or agreement…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The problem with scripture

    • 1899 Words
    • 5 Pages

    2000 years ago, the great Siddhartha Gautama taught a timeless lesson. He voiced, "Don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, or by scripture. It is not that these things should be discarded, but ultimately it’s experience and the opinion of the wise that should be your guide." Within this simple phrase, Buddha left me pondering the true identity of our guide and wondering whether the general populace's faith in scripture is ill-founded. The latter seems to be the more answerable question of two, as scripture, specifically the Bible and Quran, have a significant amount of attributes that lead them to have paradoxical text and controversial nature. Throughout history, individuals have hand picked and dismissed different sections of the holy books to create a foundation for contrasting branches of the same religion by claiming that they alone understand God through their interpretation of western scripture. However, in order to understand the reason behind the complexities of scripture, we must first dwell into the history of the books, specifically the Bible.…

    • 1899 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics