Reliability of Scriptures and the Inerrancy of Scriptures

Let me first begin by saying that in this post I am not denying the inerrancy of Scriptures. Instead, I simply want to point out that, even if the Scriptures contain errors, they are still reliable.

Before I make my point, let me first say why I consider my point important. I have noticed (in myself and in others) the tendency to act as if an error in Scriptures would undermine our whole faith. If Genesis really isn’t a historically accurate picture of the creation of the universe, for example, then we have no hope left. I think the reasoning is that if the Scriptures are wrong on *any* point, then the Bible isn’t God’s Word, because God wouldn’t speak falsehoods. And, if the Bible isn’t God’s Word, then it isn’t reliable in matters of faith.

So, here are my thoughts on this subject:

1. Even if the Bible contains errors, it can still be reliable. Our eyes sometimes makes mistakes–we see a distant tower as round when it is square, or we might see something out of the corner of our eye when nothing was there, or a near-sighted person might see a blurred image of color in the distance, when it is really a person. But we still consider our eyes reliable. If we see fire, we walk around it. If we see the edge of a cliff, we don’t walk over it. And so on. (Someone might reply that our eyes make mistakes, but the reason they are still reliable is that we know the situations they fail and so can withhold trust in *those* circumstances. But I don’t think this is thoroughly accurate. Take our hearing as an example: sometimes our hearing fails us in ways we aren’t aware of, e.g. someone is speaking to us and we think they say one thing but they really said another thing. We might even act upon the thing we *thought* they said. The point is that, on the whole, we consider our hearing reliable even though it fails us, and it fails us sometimes when we aren’t aware that it will fail us.) So, overall, I see know reason why we can’t find the Scriptures reliable even if they makes mistakes in some cases. The Gospels might not get Jesus’ words exactly right, but they can still be a reliable source of his teachings.
2. Even if the Bible contains errors, we can still think of it as given to us as a guiding instrument by God, i.e. it can still be God-given. This will probably be even more controversial than my first point, and I’ll admit I haven’t thought about it as much as my first point. But most Christians would agree that our bodies were designed by God, and, furthermore, that our body parts were designed by God for specific reasons. For example, it is thought that our eyes were designed by God to see. But our eyes can occasionally fail us, as I gave examples of above. But, the eyes, despite occasional mistakes, are still God-given instruments for seeing. So, likewise, I see no reason that we can’t view the Bible as a God-given instrument for guidance in the faith, even if it is occasionally wrong.

In general, I think we have set the bar too high with regards to Scripture. By this I don’t mean that Scripture isn’t inerrant and infallible–I’m not denying that. I mean that we have set the bar too high as far as what the denial of inerrancy and infallibility would mean. If the Bible is errant and fallible, it can still be reliable overall, and it can still be a God-given instrument for our guidance in the faith. (For that matter, so can the Church and its leaders: they can be God-given instruments for guidance in the faith, without having to be perfect.) It can be harming to people’s faith to give them an all-or-nothing–inerrant Scriptures or our religion is false–and then send them out into the academic world, where their faith becomes extremely vulnerable.

This is similar to the history of philosophical thought on our senses. It has been tempting to set the bar so high with knowledge that it is an all-or-nothing situation with regard to our senses: either they are perfect, or they are unreliable. Of course, lowering the bar (which was probably only raised by philosophers, not by common usage…though don’t quote me on that!) means that we can have a middle ground, reliable but imperfect senses.

Anyway, I would be glad to hear any thoughts–especially criticisms–of my views here.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, inerrency, infallibility, inspiration, Philosophy, Religion, Scripture, Theology