What is the basis for the doctrine of inerrancy? Do I believe the Bible to be without error because …
1.
Archaeology and science have shown it to be true.
2.
It is the inspired Word of God.
3.
It stands alone in comparison to other ‘sacred books.’
4. I
have personally found it to be life-changing.
The only appropriate answer is #2. #1 makes science “god;” #3 makes reason “god;”
and #4 makes experience “god.” I bring
that to your attention because I do think there is truth to each
statement. But the others (#1,3,4) might
help to confirm in my own heart the truth of the Bible.
·
Archaeology does that. The previous generation of archaeologists in
Israel (Yigael Yadin comes to mind) actually trusted the Bible to guide their
digging. If the Bible indicates a
certain place contained something important, they would dig there and find
it. One of my favorite sources of late
that demonstrates this is Randall Price’s Zondervan Handbook of Biblical
Archaeology.
·
The “consistency” of the Bible confirms
inerrancy. It doesn’t contradict
itself. The Bible was written by around
40 different human authors over 1400 years.
But there is not the contradiction you would find in any other book like
that. It gives you the idea that there
must have been one Author behind it all.
·
The practical efficacy (its life-changing value)
also confirms the Bible. To this day,
people who commit themselves to the God of the Bible find that the truths of
Scripture change their perspectives and actions in life in such a way as to
bring peace and purpose. In today’s
passage the power of the Bible in life is stressed. It changes the soul, makes a person wise,
brings joy to the heart and so forth.
Without going into detail, I believe that
other “sacred” books cannot say this.
The Book of Mormon tells stories of people that have never been seen in
the books of history of archaeology. Not
to mention that the same book contradicts itself and contradicts other books
(principally the Bible) held sacred by the LDS.
Some sacred books, particularly of the “Eastern religions,” do not make
pronouncements on historical events and locations. The fact that the Bible does mention these
types of things is part of the whole underpinning of the Bible: it is
ultimately the story of God coming to earth, in a real time, culture and geographical
location. Read the story of Christmas
again sometime (Luke 2:1-20) and see how many details of the Roman empire were
given when telling the story of His birth.
History matters and must be accurate.
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