I have been reading N.T. Wright’s book “The Last Word — Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture.” This is a good read, shorter than usual for Wright, that discusses a number of issues surrounding Biblical inspiration in what I believe is a very healthy light. My quote of Wright in this post, while it links to an online … Continue reading Biblical Literalism according to Wright »

I have just got to promote this article by N.T. (Tom) Wright, bishop of Durham in England: http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=334 Thanks to my friend Ben for sharing it. Wright has outlined so many things in this piece, that have also been bugging me, that I don’t even know what highlights to quote. It’s long and a bit heavy at times, but seriously, take the time to digest … Continue reading Required reading by N.T. Wright »

One of the things that originally got me on the subject of what the Bible actually says about itself was my frustration about how people in the church use it. . .and these are things I have encountered in a wide variety of Christian settings, not just evangelical/fundamental ones. I refer here to the devotional rituals described by some as “time with the Lord” or … Continue reading Spiritual Innoculation »

While looking for the source of the quote in the previous post, I came across the entire text of Vernard Eller’s compilation of the writings of Johann Christoff Blumhardt and Christoff Heinrich Blumhardt, Thy Kingdom Come: A Blumhardt Reader. This excerpt from the section entitled “The Bible” is relevant and interesting: People speak much these days about “the inspiration of scripture”; and this is good. … Continue reading A different take on Inspiration – Blumhardt »

I have contended in previous posts that the conventional Christian position designating the entire Biblical canon to be the “Word of God” is in error. But this is not to say that we do not have the Word of God available to us. . .quite the contrary. The role of the “workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 … Continue reading Biblical Inspiration part 4 – Rightly Dividing the Word »

Note, please see the follow-on to this discussion linked at the end of this article. “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. . .” (NRSV). Doesn’t this verse conclusively state that our Bible comes straight from God? Well, not exactly. First of all we have to look at the word “Scripture.” While … Continue reading Biblical Inspiration Part 3: But what about 2 Tim. 3:16? »

One might reasonably ask whether, when I argue against the inerrancy doctrine of Biblical inspiration, I might not be undercutting the very foundation of our Christian faith. To this I answer an unequivocal “no.” At its core, our faith is not in any text, but rather in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh who dwelt among us, “For no one can lay … Continue reading Biblical Inspiration – Part 2: The Foundation of our Faith »

Most Christian churches teach a doctrine about the Bible that comes from outside the Bible itself. The Bible is variously described as the Word of God, the Inspired word of God, and similar terms. Many (most?) Evangelical and/or fundamentalist churches hold to a doctrine they call “Verbal and Plenary Inspiration,” (“verbal:” the words are inspired, and “plenary:” all the words are inspired) which to many … Continue reading Biblical Inspiration, Part 1 – The Error of Inerrancy »