Biblical Inerrancy - a.k.a. my third and LAST college English paper

ENG 102 - English Composition
Judy A Jowers, Professor
5/13/09


Writing Assignment #3
By Mike Ivaska


While recognizing the immense value of biblical and historical criticism, the culturally conditioned nature of Scripture, and the sometimes apparent conflicts between biblical faith and modern science, nevertheless, if the Christian church is going to remain a faithful and potent witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, she must continue to fearlessly affirm both the truth and the reliability of the Christian Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. This is so she may have confidence in what is proclaimed and what is believed within her. It is also based upon the claims of Scripture itself. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the church must defend the truthfulness of the Bible for the sake of Christ's authority over the church and her able submission to Him.

The truth of the Bible should be affirmed for the sake of confidence. When a Christian says the words, "I believe," it is only natural to assume that he or she can answer the question, "What is it that you believe?" Faith cannot be had without knowledge. If the Bible is not a reliable source of knowledge, then the Christian is left without any primary data about God and Christ upon which to build his or her faith.

A second reason to assert that Scripture is true is the claims that are made within its pages. The Old Testament, particularly in the writings of Moses and the prophets, is filled with statements claiming to be the very words of God. It is obvious that the attitude throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is that if a man were to reject its sayings, he would not be in rebellion against men but against God. The Apostles themselves, who lend their authority to the New Testament writings, clearly consider themselves the messengers of God, and particularly of Jesus Christ. To disregard them is to disregard God (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:8). These kinds of claims would not only be foolish but downright wicked if they were not true. To borrow C.S. Lewis's defense of Christ's deity, if the authors of the Bible were not writing under God's own guidance and direction, they were either completely insane, or "something far more sinister." The Bible is either the words of liars, the words of lunatics, or the word of the Lord. If it is the word of God, its reliability should be believed and accepted.

The final, and crucial, reason to defend the reliability of the Bible is the question of authority. If the Christian church claims to be the bride and servant of Jesus Christ, she must know Him, His will, and His ways. The claim to be Christ's servant is false if the church governs herself instead of submitting to His governance. The most direct way available for Christ to govern His church is through the Holy Scriptures, and not through church polity or tradition. While Christians have the freedom to express their Christianity in a wide variety of ways, the One who Christians claim to serve, worship and glorify should still be allowed to govern those ways.

The church should not deny the vast amount of knowledge, insight, and even doubt that modern biblical science casts upon traditional Christian dogmas. She should not deny that the Bible is the product of its time, humanly speaking, and of its cultures. She should not deny that the claims Scripture makes do not harmonize as well as she might like with the scientific trends and attitudes of her own day. Despite all of this, the dogma of biblical inerrancy, the dogma that the Bible is true, reliable, and without error, needs to be asserted at all costs if the Christian church is going to remain faithful to her Lord and as His witness in the world.