The Infallibility And Inerrancy of Scripture - An Intro

 I'm starting a series on the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. Today I'll begin with an introduction. I have found over the years that most people only believe what they are told on any given doctrine. Rarely do people put in the honest hard work required to diligently study what they are told and what they so adamantly believe to be unquestionable truth because their preacher, their peers, their "church", denomination, non-denominations, etc state that it's truth. If your faith, your Christianity is dependent on such, then you are not in a place in your walk with Christ that you should be. Who or what people are truly passionate about shows. I'm sure you will learn plenty that you have never know before about Scripture. Of a truth, what I will be talking about during this series will unfortunately shipwreck the faith of some, even some who believe they are strong and well learned in the faith. I know many who have taken this journey and ended up on the rocks. So if you are not sure if your faith is genuinely rooted and grounded in Christ, then this series is not for you. If you can honestly say that you believe in God and His only begotten Son Jesus, regardless, even if you have no Scripture to back it up like Abraham, the father of our faith, and others like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Job, who did not have the written Word of God, yet believed. If you have a faith like their's in the living God, then set your sails for uncharted (to you) waters!

Many are surprised that most doctrines that we have been taught and led to hold tight and dear to our heart have come about in the past 500 years or less, out of the Reformation movement. For example, the doctrines of the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture came about during the 18th to 19th centuries in the aftermath of the Enlightenment or Modernist movement.

What do the theological terms "infallibility" and "inerrancy" of the Scripture mean in simple terms?

Inerrancy is the belief that the Scriptures are without error or fault in all its teaching. [Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scripture for a New Generation]

Infallibility is the belief that the Scriptures are completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish its purpose. [Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms]

Much of what has been taught or promoted on the inerrancy of Scripture in recent decades comes from the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which was formulated by more than 200 evangelical leaders at a conference held in Chicago in October of 1978. 

At this conference they admit that, "Inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographed text of Scripture." What they are saying is that there is no error in the original manuscripts penned by the inspired apostles or writers of what we have come to accept as the cannon of 27 books of the New Testament. Since no original manuscripts or autographs exist went on to say, "The autographic text of Scripture...in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy." This is where the study of Scripture and other available manuscripts, known as textual criticism, comes into play. 

While what came forth from the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy is popular and seem to be what most I talk with believe, though most don't realize the original manuscripts the Bible they read from don't exist. They always seemed shocked at this revelation. Probably because their preachers don't tell them the full truth, if they even know it.

Another common view is know as limited inerrancy. In this view they limit the Scripture's inerrancy to matters of faith and practice. That the Scriptures make no false or misleading statements about matters of faith and practice.

Well I did say this is an introduction, so I should bring it to a close until next time. I hope this has whet your appetite on learning more about what is known as the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture.