Inerrancy

Here is an email I received in response to one of my essays on religion.

Inerrancy

R Lively : rlively@netzero.net : 2000-04-12

I disagree with some of the points you are trying to make about the Bible, and I would like to let you know:

>Can the deeds of the bloodthirsty, immoral cast of characters in the Bible possibly be held up as exemplary for modern conduct?

No, just because an act is depicted in the Bible does not mean that it is endorsed by God. It has records of things _people_ did, and as we both know people aren’t perfect.

[King David was held up as exemplary despite killing Goliath and arranging the death of the husband of Bathsheba.]

>Could the Bible seriously be the work of a God reputed to have created the entire universe? Is the writing quality, relevance, accuracy and consistency anywhere near up to the omniscience you would expect from God?

God didn’t personally cause the text of the Bible to appear on some paper - it was written by people who were inspired or otherwise led by God to transcribe this work .. people who are still as prone to error, mistakes, and selfishness as any other people. This does NOT mean, however, that there is nothing to learn from the Bible or that the entire work should be discounted as not coming from God.

[This would be a reasonable interpretation. However, the entire authority of the Bible flows from the assertion it is inerrant. As soon as you admit the possibility of error, the absolute authority of the Bible is put in question. It can no longer be used blindly to justify tormenting homosexuals for example.]

I enjoyed the rest of your site (Especially the Idiot Response part, how true…) and I would appreciate a non-flaming response if I do get one.

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