As part of my ordination process I have to read a dozen books and write one page reports on each of them about the premise of the book and what I think or how I interacted with the topic. These aren't deep theological treatise, just simple reports (that I seem to have a hard time fitting to one page).
I just finished reading Inerrancy which is a series of essasy on, you guess it, the inerrancy of scripture. I thought I'd share with you what I wrote...and heh, if it makes you feel drowsy, well that's what the book did to me as well...
___________________________________________________________
Inerrancy
Inerrancy, edited by Norman Geisler, is a collection of 14 essays by leading evangelical scholars on the topic of the inerrancy scripture. The purpose of the book is equip Christ followers and the church with an understanding of what inerrancy is and what it means. By discussing the arguments for and against inerrancy the authors provide a solid doctrinal foundation for the authority of the Bible in the church
and in the life of the Christ follower.
I have to admit that I have not thought much about the doctrine of inerrancy since my days in bible college. My basic presupposition in life is that scripture is the word of God, breathed out by God through humans (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21) and I give it full authority in my life. As I read this book though, the essays triggered the reexamination of what I believe and my presuppositions about scripture; it strengthened my understanding of the arguments for and against inerrancy.
The study of inerrancy is very important as it roots us, grounds us, and ensures that worldly presuppositions and philosophies do not influence our teachings. For Giesler writes in his own essay that,
Therefore we should often revisit the doctrines of our faith and re-evaluate what we believe and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) This is what the book Inerrancy was to me, a chance to revisit, reflect, affirm and strengthen my belief in the inerrancy of
scripture. And in addition to affirming and strengthening my belief in the inerrancy of scripture, two essays from Inerrancy impacted my appreciation of scripture and my relationship with God.
The first essay by John W. Wenham called “Christ’s View of Scripture” helped me to understand Jesus’ attitude towards the Old Testament. Through out the Gospels we read of many times when Christ recited passages of the Old Testament in his teaching. Based on this Wenham says,
Jesus loved the Old Testament and his mind was “saturated” with it.
I think I have a tendency to spend more time in the New Testament in my personal study. In college I distinctly remember being encouraged to spend the majority of my time teaching from the Gospels and the Epistles second. From this encouragement, came a bias against the Old Testament. By reflecting on this essay and its scriptural basis I received a new appreciation of the Old Testament and a desire to spend more time studying it. Indeed, since reading this essay, I have spent the majority of my personal study times in the Old Testament and the time spent has been richer and more encouraging to me than I could have ever imagined and in addition my time in the Old Testament has spoken to and illuminated my study of the New Testament.
The second essay that impacted me was J.I. Packer’s essay “The Adequacy of Human Language.” In the essay Packer discusses the present-day skepticism that human language is inadequate for God to convey who He is and His plan for the world; His message of love and forgiveness. Two things stood out in particular in this essay.
The first thing that stood out to me in Packer’s essay is the concept that God’s communication through humans communicates not only doctrinal truths but it also demonstrates for us how divine grace works in the lives of those who He is communicating through. Through Scripture we not only get to learn about the doctrine of God’s grace from the writing’s of Paul, but we get to see it demonstrated in his life in the book of Acts and his epistles. Seeing a teaching lived out and demonstrated in the life of the one doing the teaching is the best way to learn and I loved being reminded by Packer that this is what God does through scripture.
The second thing from Packer’s essay that resonated with me was when Packer spoke about God’s use of human language as being an act of love. Packer says,
Not only does scripture speak of God’s love for us, but by its very existence, it conveys the love God for us. What’s more God wants us to know Him and he reveals himself to us on our level. Just as I talked one way to my daughter when she was 4, I now talk to her differently now that she is 16. God reveals himself on our level and as we grow in our discipleship, He talks with us differently, revealing more of himself for us. Packer made me again sit in awe once again of the God of the Universe who loves me and wants to be in relationship with me.
Inerrancy is an essential Christian doctrine and it is vital that we know what we believe; otherwise we are apt to become believers who cannot give a reason for what they believe and they hope we have. It is also a doctrine that when studied should make a believer sit back in awe and marvel at what a wonderful God we have.
