Biblical inerrancy treats the Bible as “divine information” whose truth is guaranteed by God. (82)
The Bible says that the world was created not very long ago and that our primordial parents were tempted by a talking snake. So that’s what happened.
. . . So that’s what happened.
. . . So that’s what happened.
. . . So that’s what happened.
. . . So that’s the way it is.
. . . So that settles it. (83)
Because believing in the inerrancy and absolute authority of the Bible is so widespread today, it is important to realize that this is a Protestant phenomenon. (83)
The major figures of the Reformtion did not affirm biblical inerrancy. (84)
{Luther] also affirmed “evident reason.” (84)
Richard Hooker, perhaps the most important theologian of the Anglican Reformation, did not speak of an inerrant Bible as the sole authority for Christian life, but affirmed three interactive authorities: scripture, tradition, and reason. (84)
Many independent Protestant churches have few or no educational requirements for ordination. . . . Another reason is the desire for security: some people yearn for an absolute authority that clearly delineates the right way from the wrong way. (85)
Does God Command and Will Indiscriminate Violence? (86)
Does God—or Did God Ever—Endorse Slavery? (87)
[What Happens] When a Man Rapes a Virgin? (88)
Is Patriarchy the Will of God? (90)
[Is Jesus] Coming Again Soon? (91)
The foundation of the way of seeing the Bible begins with the conviction that it is not the inerrant and infallible revelation of God, but the product of our religious ancestors in two ancient communities . . . biblical Israel [for OT] and early Christian communities [for NT]. (94)
. . . Torah became sacred around 400 BCE; the Prophets, a couple of centuries later; the Writings, perhaps as late as around 100 CE. (97)
The first list to cite all 27 documents in the New Testament comes from around 365 CE. (97)
[Note paragraph quoted from Origen around 200 CE “rejecting and savagely ridiculing a literal interpretation of the six-day creation story . . . “] (98)
Moreover, Jesus also trumps the New Testament. (100)
Affirming that the decisive revelation of God is in a person and not in a book or a set of teachings is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Christianity. (100)