Authority and Inspiration of the Bible

I first wrote this paper in April 2008 for a Hermeneutics class.  Its awesome to look back 4 years and see ways in which I have grown in Spiritual Maturity.  I may write this paper a little differently today, but I would still come to the same conclusion.  Enjoy...

My opinion on the authority and inspiration of scripture is best summed up in John 10:35, where Jesus not only uses the words of scripture to refute the religious leaders of His day, but he goes on to declare that “scripture cannot be broken”. We all have used 2 Tim 3:16 to claim and assert that the Bible is inspired and authoritative, but is it possible to delve deeper into this understanding and determine why? Having surveyed the views on the authority of scripture, and coming to a better understanding of the liberal, evangelical and fundamental positions, I find that my inclinations are towards a fundamentalist approach to authority and inspiration, with some slight modifications. However, I do feel that the Bible is both infallible and inerrant simultaneously without the need to feel contradicted.

In his book, Inspiration and Authority, Achtemeier presents very well not only a summary view of the 3 major positions, but also the presentation of his own personal view as an evangelical. In summary of his reading, we see that he contends for a Bible reading where scripture is infallible, yet where room exists for errancy in matters not related to faith, or where history and/or science is related. I disagree with the second position stated and will come back to address.

I do agree with his position on inspiration as a 3 part process: scripture as a witness to itself, the relationship with the faith community, and with regards to the formation of canon. (Achtemeier, 91-92) I believe that scripture to be inspired is a process. I do not necessarily feel that this indicates that the Spirit performs direct revelation to the writer, or that the Bible is verbatim the given word of God. The process of rewriting, borrowing, altering events, under guidance and inspiration of the Spirit is all part of the inspiration process. It is this process that allows scripture to contain the internal testimony of the Spirit without which the Bible would be no different than any other period literature book. (Achtemeier, 122-123)

However, I disagree that because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and it’s internal testimony, that we can separate the need for accuracy due to the deeper meaning of the text. How can the meaning be correct but the content be inaccurate? This is where I split with the evangelical view as presented. (Achtemeier, 124) Furthermore, the act of separating the infallible message with the potentially inaccurate word could ultimately lead to a type of Biblical docetism (Sproul, 83) whereby we receive the infallible message of the Bible through the ability to err of the writer. Furthermore, I cannot agree with Achtemeier’s view that since inspiration is inerrant and inspiration ceased with the original Bible writers, then anything that a current writer could add would only be an errant distraction. (Achtemeier, 127) I think this is based on a particular understanding of the word inerrant. This will be addressed shortly.

Just for the sake of presenting the third option listed, I cannot understand or comprehend the liberal position that the Bible is not inspired, but rather contains revelations, based on subjective and inductive understandings. For example, Rudolph Bultmann in his book Kerygma and Myth, declares that the proclamation of the Gospels is myth, based on mythical ancient understandings. For instance, the notion that we live in a 3 tiered universe; Heaven above, Hell below and Earth in the middle is a mythical notion that we moderns should not have to accept. We “moderns” know that there is nothing below the earth or above the skies from an empirical standpoint. Therefore, we can throw that out of our understanding. (Bultmann, website) What matters is that Jesus lives and is the Son of God, and we must have faith in Him alone and all will be well. But, this understanding alone cannot be. All of our sacred Creeds: Nicene, Apostles’, etc are based in scripture. (Bruce, website) Additionally, scripture reflects the character of God and Jesus, and serves as a pattern for us to follow. (Bruce, website) Should all this be thrown out? Furthermore, the books of the NT were not deemed inspired and authoritative because they were included in Canon; rather they were included in Canon because they were already revered and deemed to be inspired and authoritative by the earliest church fathers. (Bruce, website)

I personally have always believed that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant, authoritative word of God. Not that it is a substitute for faith in Jesus Christ, because ultimately that is where justification and salvation come from. But having this high view of scripture, I have not been comfortable with the ability for some to take portions of scripture and remove them, thereby reducing canon. (Sproul, 34) I struggle with this for many reasons, not the least of which are the multiple passages of scripture that attest to the infallibility and inerrancy of scripture. Passages that speak in favor of the inerrancy and infallibility in the Word include 2 Cor 4:3-6, 1 John 1:10, 2 Tim 3:16, John 10:35 to name a few. But most importantly to me is John 3:12, Jesus rebukes Nicodemus for not believing him on earthly things. How do we then say the Bible can err? In his book Scripture Alone, RC Sproul takes this a step further. For if we claim that God is inerrant, then how can we claim that writers under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit be guided into error? (Sproul, 85)

I believe this is due to a lack of understanding the terms infallible and inerrant, which in my humble opinion cannot be separated. EJ Young defines infallibility as meaning that the Bible has an indefectible authority that cannot be broken. It has absolute authority and cannot be contradicted in anyway. It is incapable of proving false or erroneous. (Sproul, 88) Furthermore, Hans Kuhn adds that the notion of something infallible connotes that something cannot deceive or mislead. (Sproul, 88) As we turn to the term inerrant, we define this word as meaning that it is free from error, incapable of being wrong, perfect in it’s teaching of the truth. By using these definitions and relationship between the words, how then can the words be separated with regards to scripture? By using the words as defined, and declaring scripture as infallible and inerrant, we are simply stating that scripture is true. Now if we can declare scripture is true, then how can anybody simultaneously believe that scripture contains deceit? I cannot make this connection. I don’t believe the Bible to be inerrant and infallible based on the ability of the human author; but rather because our belief is in the integrity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. (Sproul, 86)

While faith in the Word is the ultimate duty and identification of a Christian, it is not the only response, or defense, as to the declaration of scripture as inerrant and infallible. Many methods exist in which one can verify the objective position that is desired; these include the Confessional Method, the Classical Method and the Presuppositional Method to name a few. (Sproul, 64-67) I feel that the Classical Method best describes my position and justification of the inerrancy and infallibility of scripture.


The Classical Method rests on 4 premises:

A. The Bible is the infallible word of God.

B. The Bible attests to its own infallibility.

C. The self-attestation of scripture is an infallible attestation.

Conclusion: The Bible is the infallible Word of God.

(Sproul, 69)

If we analyze a moment what this says, it becomes clear that this is not a circular or self-fulfilling logic. The premise presents scripture in a light that begins with the general truthfulness of scripture and ends with the declarations of the inerrancy or infallibility of scripture. The following presentation provided by RC Sproul builds upon this method in this manner:

A. The Bible is a reliable and trustworthy document.

B. On the basis of this document we have enough evidence to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

C. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is an infallible authority.

D. Jesus Christ teaches that the Bible is beyond question and is the very word of God.

E. Because God is infallible and trustworthy, so to is His Word.

Conclusions: On the basis of the infallibility and authority of Jesus Christ, the church must believe the Bible to be infallible and trustworthy. (Sproul, 73)

In summary, the limitations of the paper cannot begin to do justice to the topic at hand. In my opinion, the Bible is the inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God. It must be the normative pattern for the Christian church to follow. Personally, I do not believe the Bible was a dictation, or that men served as scriveners for God writing word for word the message. The Bible has certainly been rewritten in parts, and assuredly the authors of the Bible used resources available to them in their day to write their message; whether common books, songs, traditions, etc, to best communicate the message laid on their heart through the inspiration of the Spirit. I believe strongly that the Spirit was the inspiring force in and through scripture that guided the writers into the message they were ultimately to communicate. Placement of a story in chronology, a set period of time, a scientific event, these were all written under divine inspiration and there to communicate to us a message that we are to receive under the illumination of the Spirit; these are not wrong, or errors, for as we discussed in class there are no errors in the Bible. To reduce canon, or mythologize scripture, or claim infallibility over inerrancy, in my opinion flies in the face of what scripture says about itself. I will end this brief paper with a passage, a warning, from John as he closed the Book of Revelation with a warning, and hence a warning now for all scripture in canon, with these words:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Rev 22:18-19

Bibliography

Achtemeier, Paul J. Inspiration and Authority
Peabody, MA.; Hendrickson Publishers, 1999

Bruce, FF. The New Testament Documents: Are they reliable?
www.earlychrisitianwriting.com; published 1943

Bultmann, Rudolph. Kerygma and Myth
www.earlychrisitanwriting.com; published 1953

Sproul, RC. Scripture Alone- The Evangelical Doctrine
Philipsburg, NJ; P&R Publishing, 2005