[Here is an excerpt of an essay by a European Messianic believer. Sometimes I think there is a greater spiritual awakening in foreign lands than in Apostate America these days. The entire article is well worth the read.]
Divine revelation has many aspects, and doesn’t only consist in the Bible. It consists of actions of G’d in the history of mankind, in the calling of the Patriarchs, in the constitution of the nation of Israel, in all the institutions and laws of the Torah, including the very important institution of the Sanctuary and everything belonging to it. Finally and ultimately this revelation centers in the person of Messiah, the perfect Man and the complete embodiment of the Torah and the prophets, the one and only Mediator with G’d. All this belongs to the divine revelation. This revelation thus includes much more than only Scripture.
Why then is Scripture so important that many of us would adhere to the formula of the Reformation: Scriptura sola? It may be asked: Is it really of fundamental importance if there are so many ways G’d by which has revealed himself to mankind?
I think Scripture is of fundamental importance, and that is necessary for us even to confess its full inspiration, and — as a consequence — to affirm its inerrancy. I think it also possible to understand and affirm the rallying cry of the Reformation “Scriptura sola ” in a way that is relevant and applicable to our situation today as Messianics.
The necessity to confess the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture stems from the fact that it is only by Scripture that the other means of divine revelation just mentioned were guarded and kept secure and intact in the course of salvation history. All these relevatory facts, instructions, institutions and doctrines are known to us nowadays by no other means than Scripture. Scripture alone is the safe ark that leads us through the storms of time to the coast-land of eternity.....
More at http://messianic613.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/the-inspiration-and-inerrancy-of-scripture/ or click at title of article. Messianic613 blog is also listed on my sidebar.
11 comments:
I distinguish between mistakes and inerrancy. There may be mistakes in the Bible due to mistranslations of words, tenses, theological bias, etc. Yet, overall I believe God has preserved His Word, keeping it from the kind of error that would lead us astray. We may need to dig deeper than our English translations, we may need to determine whether there may have been tampering with the original text, but we can rest assured that we essentially have the Bible in our hands today. His precepts are "for our good always." It is better to trust and obey than to overly critique and reject the timeless treasure of God's Word.
Another thought....
We would be better off to let the Scriptures judge us, than for us to judge the Scriptures as unworthy of our time, consideration, and obedience. And when we do not read the Bible each day, it is like being married and not living together. Why would a believer not want to spend time with God in His Word? And why would an unbeliever continue to run away from the Source of healing, deliverance, cleansing, and restoration?
Hello Tandi,
I have not read the entire article as I am familiar with yet do not accept many of its philosophical underpinnings.
The doctrine of biblical inerrancy is irrelevant. It cannot be applied in the modern world. In order for the bible to be actively inerrant, the reader must have an inerrant reading. Unless one can claim the inerrancy of her reading, the doctrine is utterly meaningless.
This irrelevance of biblical inerrancy is one reason why I cannot accept the Bible as inerrant. Another reason I cannot accept the Bible as inerrant is that the Bible contains errors about issues that are empirically verifiable in our everyday phenomenal world. How can I call what is black, white? I see error, I call it error. The Bible is errant. Those who do not see the biblical errors about the observable world are likely blinded by their prejudices, do not know enough about the observable world, or do not know enough about the Bible. It’s generally a combination of these three that keep the blinders glued.
Notice this…. Biblical inerrancy means nothing unless the Bible is interpreted. The believer in biblical inerrancy trusts her interpretation of the Bible. As a result of the relationship between the text and the interpretation, it is the interpretation that is lauded as the inerrant authority. Hence, it is the individual who is the ultimate, inerrant authority, not the Bible. Any belief system that makes the individual an inerrant authority is scary.
Hello Peter,
Thank you for visiting my blog and sharing your view. I can agree with your final statement:
"Any belief system that makes the individual an inerrant authority is scary."
Here is an additional excerpt from the article for your consideration:
“If we allow a special science or domain of scholarship to criticize Scripture, we inadvertently elevate that domain of learning to a position of independence from Scripture. And above that, we give this special science a religious status, because we elevate it above the central documents of our religion. That means that in reality by so doing we don’t criticize religion or Scripture by science or scholarship at all. No, we criticize religion by means of another religious instance, a domain of learning that is elevated by ourselves to a pseudo-religious status — and in this manner was turned into a pseudo-science as for instance the evolution theory. Such an elevation of “science” above Scripture is essentially nothing else but apostasy and idolatry.”
Hello Tandi,
By this statement it is asserted that this particular belief system is beyond review or consideration—it must be accepted because it is accepted. If a person holds to such a circular belief system, it is impossible to consider outside information, information from the material world. This is Gnosticism par excellence. It is knowledge (gnosis) that is untarnished by and independent of reality.
If a Muslim were to make the same claim about the Quran, what would you make of it? You would say she was blinded by Satan, caught in the web of a circular, illogical system of deceit. I say the same about everyone who believes so about the Bible. Such a system makes it impossible to understand a sacred text such as the Bible for what it truly says. In this system, the Bible is understood against the backdrop modern value-ridden dogma. Its authors and writings are not free to speak independently. They are hence enslaved to the belief system—forced to speak that which would have been impossible at the time of composition. They are forced to address questions and exigencies that have no bearing to the circumstances of the original reading or hearing communities. Biblical reading is corrupted, tarnished.
Does the Bible speak to contemporary science? Do its authors seek to address questions about the speed of light, global warming, the cure for cancer—questions addressed by science? If not, why should scientific disciplines be subjected to the rule of the Bible? Science is not a religious system. The scientific method relies on the assumption that we can trust our senses, i.e., our sensory perception is reliable. If we cannot trust the scientific process, then again, Gnosticism rears its head. Science (trust in our sensory abilities to make observations about the material world) aside, can we only trust the untarnished spiritual gnosis of the Bible? How is this not head-in-the-sand Gnosticism?
If we are to forgo all scholarship in reading the Bible—trusting in the subjective intuition that some call the Spirit—then we are even more foolish. We are essentially calling our intuition infallible and inerrant, not the Bible. The Bible itself means nothing, like any piece of literature, unless it is read and interpreted. If one seeks to jettison scholarship in biblical interpretation, and rely only on intuition in the name of the Spirit, that one is an authority to herself. She is the infallible, the inerrant….not the Bible.
Hello Peter,
You might no longer believe what you once wrote, but I do:
“Scripture is inspired of God and constitutes the perspicuous and plenary special revelation of God.”
I had to consult the dictionary as usual but I think perspicuous pertains to clarity. The Bible is self-interpreting and defines itself clearly, yet only those who sh’ma (hear/obey) will receive wisdom to understand it,. And the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Pro. 9:10).
No Scripture is of any private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20), so I agree with you that a subjective, personal, out-of-context reading of the Bible can be dangerous. However, God does at times speak to our innermost being through His Word/Spirit, leading and guiding us. This is demonstrated throughout Scripture as happening to the most ordinary of people, including women and children. Also, Paul demonstrates taking a Scripture out of context when he talks about not muzzling the ox that treads the corn (1 Cor. 9:9; 1 Tim. 5:18). He treats it as an analogy and makes a modern day application.
Every philosophy begins with presuppositions. Your logic could turn out to be just as flawed as mine. It comes down to what we choose to believe. There is a place for scholarship/inquiry, but it must not be exalted above God.
See the article at my sidebar entitled, “Idolatry and Three-place Logic.”
The following may seem too simplistic for your intellectual taste, but it is an old favorite and I stand by it......
A Tribute to the Bible
The Bible is not an amulet, a charm, a fetish or a book that will work wonders by its very presence. It is a book that will work wonders in every life, here and hereafter, if acted upon and obeyed in faith and sincerity. It is God's inspired revelation of the origin and destiny of all things, written in the simplest human language possible so that the most unlearned can understand and obey its teachings. It is self-interpreting and covers every subject of human knowledge and need now and forever.
As a literary composition, the Bible is the most remarkable book ever made. It is a divine library of 66 books, some of considerable size, and others no larger than a tract. These books include various forms of literature - history, biography, poetry, proverbial sayings, hymns, letters, directions for elaborate ritualistic worship, laws, parables, riddles, allegories, prophecy, drama, and others. They embrace all manner of literary styles in human expression.
It is the book that reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories true, and its decisions immutable.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. The Bible contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here heaven is opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good is it’s design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill your memory, rule your heart, and guide your feet in true righteousness and true holiness.
Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, meditatively, searchingly, devotionally....and study it constantly, perseveringly, and industriously. Read it through and through until it becomes a part of your being and generates faith that will move mountains.
The Bible is a mine of wealth, the source of health, and a world of pleasure. It is given to you in this life, will be opened at the Judgment, and will stand forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the least to the greatest of labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
Author Unknown
The most basic presupposition to the three-part logic is that the Bible is God's word. The same logic would place the Muslim in an irretrievable downward spiral with her commitment to the Quran.
Hello Peter,
No man can serve two masters. If Mohammad is right, love and esteem his book (Quran). If YESHUA is right, love and esteem His book. Ye cannot serve God and Allah. The Bible and the Quran cannot sit side by side on a shelf or a favorite book list or in the mind as equals.
We can be delivered from the downward spiral of a false belief system by acknowledging the seduction and deception that the Bible warns of.
A simple but sincere renunciation prayer can bring freedom. I did this regarding Catholicism years ago. I still remember the weight that lifted and the confusion that dissipated. It was subsequent to my initial born-again experience....actually about two years later. I no longer own Catholic bibles or missals, crucifixes, etc. My commitment to Yeshua necessitates that I "hate every false way" (Psalm 119).
Hello Tandi,
I am a servant to neither the Bible nor to the Quran. I do not need to renounce either. Understanding outside religious constructs such as Judaism and Islam brought me greater appreciation for the faith claims of Christianity and the place of the Bible in my former variegates of Christianity. I encourage you to consider the selectivity that bars the entrance of outside ideas to your mind. It is often through understanding the heterogeneous that one can better appreciate the place of the homogeneous.
Last me ask you this…. If your belief system was wrong, what would it take to prove it to you? That is, what evidence would be needed to poke fatal holes into the foundations of your belief system? Is your belief system open to such questions or is it incapable of review?
.
Hello Peter,
Re: I encourage you to consider the selectivity that bars the entrance of outside ideas to your mind.
Why, so I can end up apostate and agnostic like you? No thanks. The path you have chosen is not one I wish to follow. Your studies have led you astray, not to greater appreciation of the Bible and greater faith. Besides, I do allow entrance of outside ideas....and reject those that are in opposition to the Truth. But those that love not the Truth are promised strong delusion (2 Thess. 2).
Re: Let me ask you this…. If your belief system was wrong, what would it take to prove it to you? That is, what evidence would be needed to poke fatal holes into the foundations of your belief system? Is your belief system open to such questions or is it incapable of review?
Why do you seek to poke fatal holes into the foundations of my belief system? In May of 2007 you said you did not wish to hurt the faith of others. That was before you entered the Vortex. As far as not being open to consideration of other points of view, have I not read and considered your strange views for almost 15 months now? I have outlasted everyone else in dialogue with you, all to no avail. Now you want to convert me, it seems, to your way of thinking. In a Theocracy, your attempts would warrant the death penalty!
“If thy ....friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee ...., saying, Let us go and serve other gods, .....
Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him;..... And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.”
Deut. 13:6-11
In a Theocracy, your apostasy would have been unlikely, for you would not have been brainwashed in school at a tender, impressionable age with Evolution/Darwinism. Teachers and textbooks played the devil’s advocate ....”Yea, hath God said?...casting doubt on the Word of God. Those who assisted you along the path to the Vortex will answer to God eventually. And the Kingdom WILL come!
My belief system is constantly under review, Peter, but the underpinnings of it remain fixed:
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD....and YESHUA IS LORD!
I find it ironic that your name reflects who you are: Rock/Sand. Which will be it be in the final analysis? Will you eventually build your house upon the Rock...or continue to trust in the dry and shifting sands. I continue to pray during these “days of awe” leading up to Yom Kippur on September 11 that you would choose life over idolatrous vain philosophies and science falsely so called.
I have posted another article at my sidebar for your consideration. I cannot seem to give up on you. I don’t want to give up on you. Peter Tzuriel was there for me at a time when I needed a friend. The LORD will not forget your kindness towards me, and neither will I. But there is only so much we can do.....
I just read this in today’s Bible Pathway commentary for Ezekiel 10-13:
“God could not remain and share His glory with false gods: I the LORD....am a jealous God (Exodus 20:5).
Brokenhearted, His presence hesitatingly departed from the city and went to the Mount of Olives, lingering there for a while as though waiting to see if Israel would repent and return to Him....”
I know the feeling.
Ahavah-shalom-chesed,
Tandi
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