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Many articles have been written in Christis debating the infallibility or otherwise of the Bible. Well, you’ll be glad to hear that this is another one.
All Christians accept the importance of Scripture, after all the Bible is the only account of Jesus’ life and teachings. However, some people argue that different parts of the Bible have more or less significance. Is this view valid?
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I don’t think that this is the case. There are several important facts to bear in mind when we talk about this issue. Firstly the Bible makes claims about its own usefulness “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Secondly the Bible comes as a package of 66 books. And finally it is unaffected by ‘fashion’ or what the general population think is acceptable.
Let’s look at these points in a little more detail and in reverse. The Bible is timeless. It contains principles that apply across eternity. These are principles that apply to us whether we like it or not. What society thinks is acceptable does not change what the Bible says. ‘Society’ says it’s OK to be homosexual, the Bible says otherwise. ‘Society’ says it’s OK to have an affair as long as you don’t get caught. The Bible says otherwise. ‘Society’ says it’s acceptable to ‘pull a sickie’ if you really want to go and see Scunthorpe win the cup. The Bible disagrees. When we as Christians start to decide which parts of the Bible are reasonable based on the wider view of ‘society’ (and lets face it who of us doesn’t sometimes) we are on shaky ground. Who are we to say that we are more reasonable than God?
Secondly the Bible comes to us as a package of 66 books. They are all relevant and vital. Many ‘good’ Christians, make the mistake of only reading the New Testament and making the claim that the Old Testament is irrelevant to us today. The tragedy of this is that the Old Testament has much to teach us about God’s unfailing love, his perfect justice and his mercy towards his people Israel. It shows us that God has always spoken to his people. Right from Day One we see God speaking to Adam and Eve, and later to the prophets. When we know the Old Testament we can see how some things never change. All through the New Testament God continues to speak to His people, first by sending His Son and later through the Holy Spirit and gifts of prophecy.
And finally, returning to my original point. The Bible claims to be the truth. If it is the truth then I have absolutely no right to tamper with it. If I decide to tamper with it I am saying that I am a better judge of the truth than God Himself. How do I know that the areas I’m changing are the ones that are wrong? I must read the Bible with humility. If what I believe and what the Bible says differ then I must assume that I am wrong and that I need to change.
Many people say that Evangelical Christians (that is those who believe that the Bible is the Word of God) are arrogant. But I argue that the arrogant ones are those who believe that the Bible can be edited to suit themselves.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005