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Bible Inerrancy

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Bible Inerrancy
RESEARCH PAPER
Inerrancy of Scripture: Authority by Inspiration

THEO 525 LUO (spring 2012)
Systematic Theology I

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Jacqueline M. Jones (ID# 24515464)
March 9, 2012

Thesis Statement
The divine inspiration of Scripture guarantees its inerrancy and authority.

Table of Contents [ No table of contents entries found. ]
Introduction

Introduction
Under the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, in what sense is the Bible authoritative? This is a question that has plagued the minds of many as a major element of historic Christian belief about Scripture as well as been a controversial topic of academic discussions. One of the major areas of conflict in the theological arena has been biblical authority as noted in a poll of the members of the Evangelical Theological Society. Conflict is not the only issue, because according to L. Russ Bush, many theologians and Bible teachers seem to be uncomfortable with the concept of inerrancy. Bush also points out that the semantic problems of biblical inerrancy are subject to misunderstanding which could be overcome if those misunderstandings concerning the definition or word usage were really all the problem there was. Conflict, uncomfortable, and misunderstanding of a concept are a great recipe mix for the concept to be challenged and tried. The inerrancy of the autographs of Scripture was challenged and tried as early as 1880 in the published works of Augustus Briggs. An even earlier controversy over the issue of the authoritative inspired book of biblical inerrancy was noted concerning the widely influential 1678 work of Richard Simon. Research on the topic of the inspired, inerrant scriptural authority is important in the sense that it evokes acceptance, respect and obedience. It appears that the study of biblical inerrancy and divine inspiration is warranted because of the continued and consistent controversy regarding both.

Body The question of authority is central for any theology and



Bibliography: Ashcraft, Morris. "Revelation and Biblical Authority in Eclipse." Faith and Mission 04, no. 2 (Spring 1987): 6-18 Dorrien, Gary J. Remaking of Evangelical Theology. Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed March 6, 2012). Eberle, Christopher J. Religious Conviction in Liberal Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2002 Huyssteen, J. Wentzel van. Essays in Postfoundationalist Theology. Grand Rapids:Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997 Kenney, M. "SYNOD ON THE WORD OF GOD." Compass 42, no. 4 (December 1, 2008): 2- 7 Nicole, Roger. “Why I Am Comfortable with Inerrancy”. Reformation and Revival 11. No. 3 (Summer 2002):113-125 Satta, Ronald F.  "THE CASE OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS: INERRANCY AFFIRMED." Trinity Journal  26, no. 1 (April 1, 2005): 69-90.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed February 6, 2012). Wellum, Stephen J.  "Divine sovereignty-omniscience inerrancy, and open theism: An evaluation." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 45, no. 2 (June 1, 2002):257.  http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed February 8, 2012) Is There a Single Right Interpretation?. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed February 17, 2012).

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