Some bible critics have claimed that defenders of inerrancy “discredit Christ” by taking qualities that properly belong to Christ, and then attributing them to Scripture. For example, any true Christian will affirm that Christ is sinless and perfect. Inerrantists go one step further; they “take” this property of sinless perfection and “give” it of the Bible. And this, we’re told, is a problem. Well, how so? Continue reading
Author Archives: Rich Davis
Does the “Letter of Scripture” Kill?
In the past few posts (see here, here, and here), we’ve looked at this idea that the Bible isn’t authoritative; only Jesus is. The Bible isn’t perfect and error-free; only our Saviour is. At first glance, these assertions have the ring of piety. Unfortunately, the least bit of probing exposes the painful fact that they are supported by demonstrably invalid arguments. That is, they aren’t supported at all. As far as being logically mistaken goes, this is almost as bad as it gets—a bit like adding 7 and 5, not getting 12, and then pressing ahead blissfully unaware of one’s mathematical gaffe. If we’re going to claim that the bible is non-authoritative and non-inerrant Bible—call this the ‘Errant Scripture View’ (ESV, for short)—it should be on the basis of proper reasoning. Continue reading
Are Epimenides and Paul in Error?
One of the “go to” passages for those who deny inerrancy is Paul’s quotation of Epimenides in Titus 1:12 – “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” According to Paul, “This testimony is true.” According to the critics, Paul is guilty of incoherence or at least overstatement. He gets carried away, oversimplifies matters, and consequently lapses into error. So what about this charge? Does it, perhaps, oversimply things? Continue reading
Is False Scripture Useful?
Paul says to Timothy that “All Scripture is God-breathed…and useful” (2 Tim 3:16). So we should use it. That seems right. Recently, however, I’ve noticed some pastors and professors claiming that even if what God breathes out is flatly in error, this shouldn’t deter us from making good use of it. Scripture might be false (and no doubt is in many places), but it’s useful all the same. Our question is: Is that right? Continue reading
Penal Substitution and the Pacifists
Isaiah 53:5 says that “He was crushed for our iniquities.” On the ordinary and prevailing (evangelical) reading of this passage, what v. 5 expresses is this truth:
(R1) Jesus was crushed as a punishment for our iniquities. Continue reading
Where the Authority Really Lies: Jesus or the Bible?
Is the Bible authoritative or not? Suppose someone were to argue as follows:
(1) All authority has been given to Jesus (Mt 28:18).
So:
(2) No authority has been given to the Bible. Continue reading
Baptism and Inerrancy
Consider 1 Corinthians 1:14, which says: “I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius.” Does this verse show that Scripture contains an error? Someone might reason as follows. Anyone who writes (or asserts) v. 14 commits herself to a fatal conjunction: Continue reading
