Biblical Inerrancy

What is it, and is it necessary to believe in our modern context?

Biblical Inerrancy

First, it is important to provide a definition of biblical inerrancy. Theologically speaking, biblical inerrancy is the belief that, "...the Bible, when correctly interpreted in light of the level to which culture and the means of communication had developed at the time it was written, and in view of the purposes for which it was given, is fully truthful in all that it affirms." Furthermore, inerrancy asserts that Scripture, when interpreted correctly, does not contain any internal contradictions and is wholly accurate in all it declares. The notion that the Bible is completely true has serious implications historically, epistemologically, and theologically. For instance, Scripture was regarded as authoritative by Paul, Peter, and Jesus, himself. Therefore, if the Bible is completely inspired by God, and we know that God is omniscient and omnipotent, then His Word cannot contain any errors. If it did, then God would not be who He says He is, which would cause many to question whether He and His Word are trustworthy.

In our postmodern society, truth is often regarded as being subjective, or even inconsequential. Unfortunately, the church is not immune to the wiles of culture, and the idea of subjective truth has infiltrated many pews and pulpits, leading some Christians to believe that there are errors in the Bible. This false ideology must be addressed because truth matters, and as believers, we must proclaim Jesus as the only way to God. Additionally, there are those in and outside the church, who claim that incongruities in Scripture, like in the Gospels, equate to errors; however, these seeming inconsistencies are not uncommon in the retelling of historical events by eyewitnesses. In fact, J. Warner Wallace addresses this issue in his book, Cold Case Christianity. As a former homicide detective, Wallace uses his investigative skills to examine the essential claims of Christianity, and one of the issues he discusses is eyewitnesses and their reliability. At first glance, it can seem as if each eyewitness is telling a completely different story, but upon further examination, one will realize that each individual is simply providing a different piece to the overall puzzle. Similarly, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we see this exact form of testimony as each gospel account paraphrases, rearranges, and summarizes historical events, specifically those related to Christ. Thus, inconsistencies do not affirm error in the Scriptures, but rather, they assert the authentic telling of history from men who were fully inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The Importance of Inerrancy

In short, biblical inerrancy must be maintained in the contemporary church since most of the primary theological doctrines of Christianity rest upon the Bible's infallibility. Erickson (2013) warns against discarding inerrancy when he writes, "There is evidence that where a theologian, a school, or a movement begins by regarding biblical inerrancy as a peripheral or optional matter and abandons this doctrine, it frequently then goes on to abandon or alter other doctrines that the church has ordinarily considered quite major, such as the deity of Christ or the Trinity." Arguably, this is the most dangerous shift that has happened within many modern American churches. There are whole denominations that have disregarded biblical inerrancy, and these are often the same denominations we see denying basic truth, such as there are only two genders, marriage is between a man and a woman, life is sacred, and Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy also affirms the importance of biblical infallibility. For instance, the statement proclaims that the authority of Scripture is impaired if inerrancy is constrained or dismissed. When man seeks to make God in his own image rather than conform to the image of God, the eternities of men and women fall into peril. In conclusion, biblical inerrancy is a doctrine that can never be disregarded by Christians lest their aim is to deny God's authority and distrust His character.