Issue
Inspiration and Inerrancy
Vol. 19, No. 2 • Mar/Apr 2010
Over the years, challenges to biblical authority have taken a lot of different forms. People have offered historical challenges: Do we really know where these books come from? Are we sure about their date and authorship? Others have offered hermeneutical challenges: Can we really understand what the Bible says? What about all the different interpretations? […]
All Articles (14)
Textual Criticism
Over the years, challenges to biblical authority have taken a lot of different forms. People have offered historical challenges: Do we really know where these books come from? Are we sure about their date and authorship? Others have offered hermeneutical challenges: Can we really understand what the Bible says? What about all the different interpretations? […]
“Where Can We Go?”
When Jesus was on the earth, he said some difficult things. When he said these things, the crowd stopped following him. His disciples still hung on, despite the fact that they probably did not understand either (see John 6). Looking back, we can see why. Although much of what Jesus was talking about would make […]
God’s Word in Human Words
Like the gospel, a proper understanding of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture is never something that we can take for granted. This is especially true when we live in a culture that is simultaneously naturalistic and mystical. As contradictory as these positions seem to be, they conspire against any ultimate claim to a revelation […]
Getting Inspiration from Inspiration
In his Phaedrus, Plato claimed that the spoken word was more powerful than the written word. Presence and gravitas could be conveyed through speech. Print, on the other hand, muted one’s rhetoric. The great philosopher intended this as a blanket statement, true with respect to all persons. Plato’s observation was prophetic, with regard to the […]
The Truthfulness of Scripture
Against the repeated claim that the doctrine of inerrancy, unknown to the church, arose first with Protestant orthodoxy, we could cite numerous examples from the ancient and medieval church. (1) It was Augustine who first coined the term “inerrant,” and Luther and Calvin can speak of Scripture as free from error. (2) Down to the […]
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
Article I.WE AFFIRM that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God. WE DENY that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source. Article II.WE AFFIRM that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the conscience, and that the authority […]
The Bible
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What Did Jesus Write in the Ground? The Controversy and Mystery in John 8
“The Pharisees were guilty of the same kind of sin they wanted to see this woman executed for. And that’s why they walk away from the scene with their tails between their legs. The story ends with Jesus showing mercy to the woman and calling her to repentance, highlighting the fact that contrite sinners make […]
How God’s Promise to Abram Is Fulfilled in Christ
There is more to the Abrahamic covenant than just this family and just that land. As will become clear from the rest of Genesis and from the New Testament, Abram knew that the earthly land of Canaan was just a picture of heaven itself (Heb 11:10). Likewise, he came to understand that the key to becoming a vast nation was a single son. From the one, special boy of Abram, the blessings would flow to the nations, who is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:7–9). By faith in Christ, we become the heirs of these ancient promises.
Our Victory Is Between the Flags of Sound Doctrine
Following sound doctrine requires our eyes to remain fixed on Jesus. It also requires that our faith rests in him. Faith opens the door to God’s plan and allows us to accomplish his will for our lives. It does so chiefly because it fosters a heart that yields to the counsel and leading of God. In this way, we remain on the road of truth.
Four Tips for Reading the Bible’s Prophetical Books
The Prophets are not just abstract apocalyptic literature, included in the canon of Scripture because of their audience or subject matter. No, they—like the rest of Scripture—are the divinely inspired word of God. They are included in the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan and written within the covenant context of God and his people for a theological purpose, reflecting a specific historical and geographical context.
