The world says, “The Bible is…” Only fascinating stories Only fascinating stories A good book A good book Outdated! Outdated! A myth A myth Guidelines Guidelines Only history Only history Misinterpreted Misinterpreted Open to many interpretations Open to many interpretations Suggestions Suggestions A lie!! A lie!! Not to be taken literally Not to be taken literally Contradictory Contradictory Changed Changed One of many One of many Not inspired Not inspired Fables Fables Adaptable Adaptable Confusing Confusing Not the word of God Not the word of God Hard to understand Hard to understand Not relevant Not relevant The greatest hoax ever told The greatest hoax ever told Created by man Created by man Mind-numbing Mind-numbing Opium for the people Opium for the people Brain-washing Brain-washing Good for moral living Good for moral living

Impact from years of skepticism “More Americans are moving toward an interpretation of the Bible as a book of fables, history, and moral precepts… “…Attempts at demythologizing the Bible that have been ongoing in the academy for years seem to be moving more and more from the classroom to the pews… “…As recently as 1963, two persons in three viewed the Bible as the actual word of God, to be taken literally, word for word. Today, only one person in three still holds to that interpretation.” George Gallup Jr. & D. Michael Lindsay, Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs (1999), p. 36.

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Liberal View of Scripture The Liberal View of Scripture – The Bible CONTAINS the Word of God In brief, the Bible merely contains the Word of God, along with many errors. One must use human reason and the “spirit of Christ” to determine which parts are true and which are false. In brief, the Bible merely contains the Word of God, along with many errors. One must use human reason and the “spirit of Christ” to determine which parts are true and which are false. “Strictly speaking, the Bible itself is not the pure Word of God” (The Case for Theology in Liberal Perspectives, p. 17). “Strictly speaking, the Bible itself is not the pure Word of God” (The Case for Theology in Liberal Perspectives, p. 17). For “it is evident that the Bible is a collection of intensely human documents.” In fact, “most of the events described are activities of obviously fallible human beings. Many passages contradict one another or well-established knowledge…” (A Theology of the Living Church, p. 73). For “it is evident that the Bible is a collection of intensely human documents.” In fact, “most of the events described are activities of obviously fallible human beings. Many passages contradict one another or well-established knowledge…” (A Theology of the Living Church, p. 73).

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God – Karl Barth ( ) The Bible is only a fallible human record of the revelation of Christ. In the Bible “there are obvious overlappings and contradictions…The prophets and apostles as such…were real, historical men as we are, and therefore sinful in their action, and capable and actually guilty of error in their spoken and written word.” And the “vulnerability of the Bible, i.e., its capacity for error, also extends to its religious or theological content” (1.2: 509; 1.2: 529; 1:509). The Bible is only a fallible human record of the revelation of Christ. In the Bible “there are obvious overlappings and contradictions…The prophets and apostles as such…were real, historical men as we are, and therefore sinful in their action, and capable and actually guilty of error in their spoken and written word.” And the “vulnerability of the Bible, i.e., its capacity for error, also extends to its religious or theological content” (1.2: 509; 1.2: 529; 1:509). In short, the Bible is an errant human instrument used by God as a witness of His divine Word who is Christ. In short, the Bible is an errant human instrument used by God as a witness of His divine Word who is Christ.

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God – Emil Brunner ( ) “Scripture is not a formal authority which demands belief in all it contains from the outset, but it is an instrumental authority…The Scriptures possess this authority because they are the primary witness to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ…We believe in the Scriptures because, and in so far as they teach Christ. The authority of Scripture is not formal but material: Christ, the revelation” (The Christian Doctrine of God, pp. 110, 45, 110). “Scripture is not a formal authority which demands belief in all it contains from the outset, but it is an instrumental authority…The Scriptures possess this authority because they are the primary witness to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ…We believe in the Scriptures because, and in so far as they teach Christ. The authority of Scripture is not formal but material: Christ, the revelation” (The Christian Doctrine of God, pp. 110, 45, 110).

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God – Emil Brunner ( ) The authority of the Bible is identified by Brunner with the witness of the Holy Spirit. For “the word in Scripture, Christ, becomes the same as the word in the heart, the Holy Spirit…There is no such thing as revelation-in-itself, because revelation consists always of the fact that something is revealed to me…Revelation is…an act of God, an event involving two parties; it is a personal address” (God and Man, pp. 28, 32). The authority of the Bible is identified by Brunner with the witness of the Holy Spirit. For “the word in Scripture, Christ, becomes the same as the word in the heart, the Holy Spirit…There is no such thing as revelation-in-itself, because revelation consists always of the fact that something is revealed to me…Revelation is…an act of God, an event involving two parties; it is a personal address” (God and Man, pp. 28, 32).

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God – John Baillie ( ) “All true knowledge is knowledge which is determined not by the subject [God] but by the object [man]” (The Idea of Revelation, p. 20). (This relegates God to a secondary role governed by the human recipient who may or may not have a receptive disposition or who is otherwise unable to distinguish between essential truth and that which is peripheral.) “All true knowledge is knowledge which is determined not by the subject [God] but by the object [man]” (The Idea of Revelation, p. 20). (This relegates God to a secondary role governed by the human recipient who may or may not have a receptive disposition or who is otherwise unable to distinguish between essential truth and that which is peripheral.)

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God – John Baillie ( ) When speaking of the inadequacy of the events portrayed in Scripture to reveal God, Baillie asserts, “I could not know that God had revealed Himself to the prophets and apostles through these events, unless through the revelation of Himself to them He were now revealing Himself to me. I could know indeed that they claimed to have received such a revelation, but I can know that their claim is justified only if, as I read what they say, I too find myself in the presence of God” (The Idea of Revelation, p. 105). When speaking of the inadequacy of the events portrayed in Scripture to reveal God, Baillie asserts, “I could not know that God had revealed Himself to the prophets and apostles through these events, unless through the revelation of Himself to them He were now revealing Himself to me. I could know indeed that they claimed to have received such a revelation, but I can know that their claim is justified only if, as I read what they say, I too find myself in the presence of God” (The Idea of Revelation, p. 105).

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God “The neo-orthodox view is that the Bible is a fallible human book. Nevertheless, it is the instrument of God’s revelation to us, for it is a record of God’s personal revelation in Christ. Revelation, however, is personal; the Bible is not a verbally inspired revelation from God. It is merely an errant human means through which one can encounter the personal revelation who is Christ. In itself it is not the Word of God: at best, the Bible only becomes the Word of God to the individual when he encounters Christ through it.” – Geisler & Nix, Introduction to the Bible “The neo-orthodox view is that the Bible is a fallible human book. Nevertheless, it is the instrument of God’s revelation to us, for it is a record of God’s personal revelation in Christ. Revelation, however, is personal; the Bible is not a verbally inspired revelation from God. It is merely an errant human means through which one can encounter the personal revelation who is Christ. In itself it is not the Word of God: at best, the Bible only becomes the Word of God to the individual when he encounters Christ through it.” – Geisler & Nix, Introduction to the Bible

Contemporary Theories of the Bible’s Origin The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture The Neo-Orthodox View of Scripture – The Bible BECOMES the Word of God “But implied in the fact that the Bible is a testimony to and an interpretation of the Christ event is also the fact that it consists of words of men, contingent upon and determined by historical, sociological, and psychological circumstances. Thus we have in the Bible what is absolute only in and through what is relative. It is the work of the Spirit to make the word of man in the Bible into God’s absolute word for us” (Krister Stendahl, The Bible and the Role of Women [1973], p. 16). “But implied in the fact that the Bible is a testimony to and an interpretation of the Christ event is also the fact that it consists of words of men, contingent upon and determined by historical, sociological, and psychological circumstances. Thus we have in the Bible what is absolute only in and through what is relative. It is the work of the Spirit to make the word of man in the Bible into God’s absolute word for us” (Krister Stendahl, The Bible and the Role of Women [1973], p. 16).

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown Even some of the most religious and sometimes most knowledgeable men have wrongly concluded that the Bible is inspired, but not all of it. Even some of the most religious and sometimes most knowledgeable men have wrongly concluded that the Bible is inspired, but not all of it. – Hard Sayings of the Bible Written by some of most scholarly men Written by some of most scholarly men in Christendom Designed to explain difficult passages Designed to explain difficult passages and answer alleged contradictions Published in 1996 Published in 1996 Pages address alleged Pages address alleged contradiction between 1 Cor. 10:8 (23,000 killed in one day) & Num. 25:9 (24,000 killed in plague for disobeying)

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” – Hard Sayings of the Bible (MADE HARDER!) It is possible that Paul, citing the Old Testament from memory as he wrote to the Corinthians, referred to the incident in Numbers 25:9, but his mind slipped a chapter later in picking up the number.... We cannot rule out the possibility that there was some reference to 23 or 23,000 in his local environment as he was writing, and that caused a slip in his mind. Paul was not attempting to instruct people on Old Testament history, and certainly not on the details of Old Testament history.

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” – Hard Sayings of the Bible (MADE HARDER!) Thus, here we have a case in which Paul apparently makes a slip of the mind for some reason (unless he has special revelation he does not inform us about), but the mental error does not affect the teaching. How often have we heard preachers with written Bibles before them make similar errors of details that in no way affected their message? If we notice it (and few usually do), we (hopefully) simply smile and focus on the real point being made… Thus, here we have a case in which Paul apparently makes a slip of the mind for some reason (unless he has special revelation he does not inform us about), but the mental error does not affect the teaching. How often have we heard preachers with written Bibles before them make similar errors of details that in no way affected their message? If we notice it (and few usually do), we (hopefully) simply smile and focus on the real point being made… …As noted above, Paul probably did not have a written Bible to check (although at times he apparently had access to scrolls of the Old Testament), but in the full swing of dictation he cited an example from memory and got a detail wrong (emp. added).

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown Even some of the most religious and sometimes most knowledgeable men have wrongly concluded that the Bible is inspired, but not all of it. Even some of the most religious and sometimes most knowledgeable men have wrongly concluded that the Bible is inspired, but not all of it. – God’s Holy Fire: The Nature and Function of Scripture Written by three men who are faculty Written by three men who are faculty in the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University. Published in 2002 by ACU Press Published in 2002 by ACU Press On pages 40-45, the following is found On pages 40-45, the following is found

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” – God’s Holy Fire “In numerous instances in the Bible, one finds apparent inconsistencies in the narratives” (p. 40). Examples they gave included: (1) the raising of Jairus’ daughter; (2) Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree; (3) the cleansing of the temple; and (4) Matthew’s quotation of Jeremiah in 27:9. Following these alleged internal inconsistencies, they then stated: “Sometimes the narrative does not correspond to the historical record” (p. 40)… “Because the Bible has come to us through human beings, our view of the divine origin of Scripture is not a matter of mathematical certainty, but ultimately an affirmation of faith” (p. 45).

Modern-Day Fruits of These Destructive Seeds Sown “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” “The Bible is inspired, but not all of it.” – God’s Holy Fire Finally, these men described, not skeptics, but “well-meaning Christians” who hold to Scripture as being the truthful Word of God in all that it says, as those who “in their attempts to provide absolute certainty,...have created a crisis of faith,” because they are “always feeling a responsibility to provide an answer for every potential discrepancy” (p. 44). According to these writers, Christians merely “assume that God ensured the precise accuracy of the original versions” (p. 42, emp. added).

What does the Bible say? “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).