Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the original Bible is without flaw or error. The belief can be divided into two schools of thought. The first is that the Bible is without flaw or error with regards to History, Science, and Spiritual truth, also called Biblical literalism. The second is that the Bible is inerrant as a source of spiritual truth, but is more appropriately interpreted as metaphor or allegory in certain places (eg, the six day creation). Both views are supported by the idea that the Bible is the message from God to mankind, and therefore cannot be in error. The former view is popular among Young Earth Creationists and Evangelical Christians, while the latter is the official stance of the Roman Catholic Church. Books on Divine ActionâDivine Action and Modern Science (Oxford University Press, 2002) and the Vatican Observatory-sponsored Scientific Perspectives on Divine Actionâalso presuppose a conservative biblical authority over science, which is inherent in the doctrine of inerrancy.
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As many as one third of Americans hold this position[1].
Liberal Christianity and Biblical Inerrancy
In general, Liberal Christians tend to reject Biblical inerrancy in both forms, since certain passages[2] clash with their liberal ideology regarding things like Homosexuality and the role of women. What they fail to realize is that if one is allowed to toss aside those passages which disagree with their personal politics, the document quickly loses any relevance as a guide to morality and Christian behavior. After all, how can any of it be sacred if one arbitrarily decides that some of it isn't?
Some argue that if the Bible cannot be proven inerrant, then the claim within it would be irrelevant.[3]
Seventies debate
Two books in 1976 sparked a firestorm of books and papers amongst religious studies scholars. These were Harold Lindsell's The Battle for the Bible and James Barr's Fundamentalism. Lindsell's book is sympathetic towards conservative Christianity, while Barr's is hostile. Despite this key difference, both were in remarkable agreement that biblical inerrancy provides the "first line of defense" and demarks the "proverbial line in the sand" between liberal and conservative christianity. [4]
External Links
Notes
- â http://www.gallup.com/poll/27682/OneThird-Americans-Believe-Bible-Literally-True.aspx
- â http://bible.cc/leviticus/18-22.htm
- â Geisler & Nix (1986). A General Introduction to the Bible. Moody Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-8024-2916-5
- â "Evangelicals, Biblical Scholarship, and the Politics of the Modern American Academy" in Evangelicals and science in Historical Perspective, David N. Livingstone, D. G. Hart, Mark A. Noll (Editors), Oxford University Press, 1999, p.306-326