We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

On Biblical Inerrancy

Epistles of the Apostles
Matthew Kirkland via Compfight

In this essay, Peter Enns explains his views on Biblical inerrancy and the complexities encountered as evangelicals attempt to define the term.

From the essay:

Speaking as a biblical scholar, inerrancy is a high-maintenance doctrine. It takes much energy to “hold on to” and produces much cognitive dissonance. I am hardly alone. Over the last twenty years or so, I have crossed paths with more than a few biblical scholars with evangelical roots, even teaching in inerrantist schools, who nervously tread delicate paths re-defining, nuancing, and adjusting their definition of inerrancy to accommodate the complicating factors that greet us at every turn in the historical study of Scripture.

(Disclaimer: We link to various articles and blog posts not necessarily because we are in 100% agreement with them, but because we think they offer a perspective worth thinking about)

Category:
Tags: ,

Related Reading

When the Bible Isn’t Clear

Mark Grapengater via Compfight Roger Olson wrote a post today entitled How to Solve a Theological Dilemma when Scripture Doesn’t Clearly Solve It: An Exercise in Theological Method. The title itself is provocative and problematic if you’re a fundamentalist, so Roger spends some time dealing with the mindset of fundamentalism. This is a really valuable read if…

Sermon Clip: Creation Week 1

The story of creation has interesting details. But getting lost in those details can make us miss the big picture. In this short sermon clip, Greg Boyd talks about the importance of properly interpreting the Bible to fully understand the intended meaning and how that relates to what the Bibles author is telling us about…

Tragedy Strikes and Coherence Goes Out the Window

I encourage you to read Aurora shooting inspires various perspectives on God and belief, written by Electa Draper and published on the front page of the Denver Post Monday. The article shows how differently believers process tragedies, and illustrates the centrally important role one’s picture of God plays in these responses. For today, I’d like…

Sometimes The Strangest Things Keep Us From God

Sermon Clip: God In The Gallows

Greg has recently returned from a three week trip in Europe, and today he shares stories of how the Kingdom message of a Jesus-looking God, radical love and non-violence is truly spreading all over the world. You can view the full sermon here: http://whchurch.org/sermons-media/sermon/god-in-the-gallows

How is the Bible “God-Breathed”?

The historic-orthodox church has always confessed that all canonical writings are “God-breathed” (1 Tim 3:16). But what exactly does this mean? How could God guarantee that the writings that his “breathing” produces are precisely what he intended without thereby undermining the autonomy of the agents he “breathes” through? In other words, did God breathe the…