Articles
Is The Bible Infallible? (Part 2)
Those of us who approach the Bible with a conservative mindset perhaps take for granted its infallibility. We accept the divine origin of the Bible -- that God is a personal being, that He has communicated with man in objective form, that this communication was accurately and completely delivered and transcribed without error, and the totality of that revelation is the Scriptures that we have in our possession today.
Our appeals to Biblical authority for doctrinal beliefs, organizational structure and church practice grow out of the authority of the Scriptures, which we believe derive from the principle of inspiration and infallibility. But not everyone shares this assumption.
As we mentioned in an article last week, there have been strong philosophical influences since the Reformation that have challenged the idea of a personal creator communicating with the minds of men via inspired words. Various philosophies from the 17th century and onward that have shaped modern thought include: pietism, deism, materialism, naturalism, skepticism, agnosticism, romanticism, idealism, liberalism and existentialism (from Geisler and Nix, "A General Introduction to the Bible," pp. 134-148).
While each has its own particular slant, the one major premise that they have in common is that God does not absolutely and authoritatively speak to man through the Scriptures.
Because of assumptions about God’s non-interaction with the world, some would say the Scriptures contain the word of God, but they are not entirely the word of God. Others would say that divine truth cannot be transmitted rationally but only through subjective feelings. Yet others believe that, if there is a God, he communicated his truths by direct imprint upon the human mind apart from creeds or revelations.
This is mentioned merely to make this point: We should not be surprised when someone states his skepticism of or outright disbelief in the absolute truth of the Bible, or when he stares at a verse that affirms one thing yet dismisses it because he feels something different “in his heart.” The common man has been hammered for several hundred years with one idea after another that the Bible is full of errors, has been changed over time, or just should be ignored if it interferes with personal desire.
If something is fallible or flawed, it necessarily breeds doubt. While I know any manmade machine is liable to break, it is a bit unnerving when my flight is delayed because mechanics are fixing the airplane. I will board such a plane with trepidation, wondering what part, exactly, wasn’t working right -- a light in the lavatory, the navigation system? -- whether they really fixed the problem, or if one thing broke, who’s to say that something else won’t konk out at 35,000 feet?
But the instant we declare the fallibility of the Scriptures, we introduce doubt and uncertainty that has no remedy in human judgment. That is, how shall we decide what part is valid and what is cultural bias, myth or delusion?
Of theologian Benedict de Spinoza, Geisler and Nix comment: “Even though he was steeped in rabbinical tradition, Spinoza concluded that the Bible is fallible. It is clear from his writings ... [that he] was engaged in systematic antisupernatural criticism of the Bible. Indeed, virtually all the central emphases in higher critical thought are found in Spinoza” (ibid, p. 138).
Thomas Jefferson, influenced by the naturalistic bent of his day, compiled his own version of the Bible that excluded miracles:
The closing lines of his work portray Jefferson’s views most poignantly: "Now in the place where He was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never yet a man laid. There laid they Jesus, and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed’” (footnote 21, p. 139).
To paraphrase Paul, faith in an unresurrected Jesus is no faith at all (I Cor. 15:16-19).
The apostles had no misgivings or reservations about putting their revelations into words:
- “The things I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (I Cor. 14:37).
- “By revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Eph. 3:3-4).
- “Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (II Pet 1:15).
- “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full” (I John 1:3-4).
In fact, in doing so, they were following the express will of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:5).
The effort to discredit, undermine and neutralize the Scriptures will never end. Satan just can’t abide the truth, for it exposes him for what he is and expresses the love, joy and hope that are in God. We must be wise, discriminating, humble -- not in love with our own intellect, not thinking that we are too sophisticated for the reality that God has told us exactly what He expects of us. And we must comply with His will.
