The Bible Says That!? - Inerrancy, Infallibility, and Inspiration of the Bible
Click play below to listen as you read along
Intro
Today, we’re going to talk about the differences between Inerrancy, Infallibility, and Inspiration. Specifically, we’re going to cover how the Bible understands itself, examine the specific language it uses to describe itself, and clear up some misunderstandings of the differences between these categories.
What do we mean when we say “Authority of Scripture”?
When you think about the Bible being ‘true,’ what does that mean to you? Does it mean it has no mistakes? That it is trustworthy? That it comes from God?
The authority of Scripture is often questioned and our culture often distrusts authority. Often, our central question for Christian Doctrine is: What do we mean by the authority of Scripture?
Let’s define some key terms to help us understand the larger conversation around these questions.
Inerrancy
Does anyone know what Inerrancy specifically means?
Inerrancy is the belief that Scripture contains no errors or mistakes in any of its affirmations–whether theological, historical, or scientific. There are three general positions on Inerrancy (Strongest to weakest stance):
Absolute Inerrancy: The Bible contains very detailed treatments of scientific and historical matters. Therefore, apparent discrepancies can and must be explained. It is 100% factually true and accurate.
Full Inerrancy: The Bible is completely true. While the aim is not to give scientific and historical details, its assertions in these areas are true. However, the references are ‘excellent,” that is, they are reported the way they appear. So, even though there might be descriptions with approximations, they are still true.
Limited Inerrancy: The Bible is inerrant in its salvific doctrinal references. The references made within it reflect the then current understanding of the time. The Bible writers were subject to the limitations of their time. Inspiration did not raise the writers above their ordinary knowledge. So, the Bible may contain errors in these areas.
What are some strengths and weaknesses of each of these categories?
Some will argue “always and forever,” and others will soften and say “only in the original autographs.” This does us literally no good and it’s not super helpful to say that. Why?
Why is saying “in the original autographs” not helpful for us today?
Because we can and will never know what the original autographs said if that is the standard measure. We cannot prove what the original autographs said. Neither do we have access to all the information, nor can our fallen minds perceive all the data. Also, our own interpretations are involved in this. So, we must properly interpret the text 100% of the time for it to be true. This is also an issue of “True” and “False” instead of “error.” So, we need to understand those differences as well. “False” does not equal “error.” “Truth” does not equal “no error.”
Infallibility
Does anyone know what Infallibility specifically means?
To put it simply, Infallibility is the same thing as “Limited Inerrancy” above. To put it another way, the Bible’s infallibility is limited to matters of faith, and practice, specifically to matters of salvation. Simply, “The Bible makes no false or misleading statements about matters of faith and practice.” (Stephen Davies).
What would that look like to you and your understanding of the Bible and its authors?
Scripture may reflect human limitations (Language, culture, literary form, etc.) but it is trustworthy and incapable of deceiving or leading us astray in matters of salvation, faith, and godly living. It acknowledges human authorship while maintaining full divine reliability.
Inspiration
Can anyone tell me what Inspiration is specifically?
There are technically two ways to understand the word “inspiration.” The first is “it’s inspired in the same way a poem or a speech is inspiring.” This runs the risk of reducing Scripture to being a subjective, emotional uplifting text rather than divine revelation. The Second is best explained in the following and involves how the text was created, by whom (God), and for whom (Humanity). The following shows increasing levels of divine control in the text's creation:
Intuition: Inspiration as a high degree of insight, like an artistic ability that the Bible author has, but it is a natural endowment.
Illumination: The Holy Spirit influenced the authors of Scripture, but it was only a heightening of their natural abilities. Thus inspiration is only a matter of degree, not of kind.
Dynamic: Emphasizes an even combination of divine and human elements. The Holy Spirit directed the writer to the thoughts and concepts that the writer should have while allowing the writer’s own distinctive personality to come up with the choice of words and expressions.
Verbal: The Holy Spirit not only directed the thoughts but also the selection of the words to convey the message. The exact words were selected to convey God’s specific message, while still allowing the personality and talents of the author to shine through.
Dictation: God dictated the exact words in the Bible to the writers. There can be no distinctive style of the individual authors. The writer’s personality was completely overshadowed/ignored/bypassed by God.
How does the Bible understand itself
Read:
Galatians 1:11-12
2 Peter 1:20-21
2 Peter 3:15-16
1 Thessalonians 2:13
Hebrews 1:1-2
1 Corinthians 2:4
Based on these passages, how does the Bible understand itself?
How do these stand in tension or in unison with the Inerrancy, Infallibility, and inspired conversation we just had?
Read 2 Timothy 3:16
Based on this passage, how does the Bible understand itself?
How do these stand in tension or in unison with the Inerrancy, Infallibility, and inspired conversation we just had?
What does it mean to be “God-breathed”? How is this different or similar to how the Bible understands itself?
Does the Bible ever describe itself as “Inerrant” or “infallible or use the categories we’ve come up with?
The Bible does seem to understand itself as being “inspired” by God as the one who directed and orchestrated its creation for the purpose of our salvation, faith, and practice.
So how does this relate to being “God-breathed?”
Take Away
The Bible is 100% inspired and created by God. The question then is 1) how is it inspired?–which we know is not necessarily the point or purpose that God wants us to wholly focus on, and 2) What is the Bible’s function and purpose?
I could take weeks to cover all the fun little gritty textual nuances of the manuscript evidence and show you all the cool little spelling mistakes, slips of the pen, and character of the authors, but that would be missing the point. Although interesting (one of my favorite things to study, by the way), it neglects the fact that this text is a living, breathing text that points us to the one who made it. We don’t worship the Book, but we do worship the Author of the Book.