We’re looking forward to having Dr. G.K. Beale with us at Clarus, which is now only three weeks away. Dr. Beale recently published an article in the Westminster Theological Journal related to the theme of our conference, “Scripture: God Speaks.” The title adequately describes his subject, “Can the Bible be Completely Inspired by God and yet Contain Errors? A Response to Some Recent ‘Evangelical’ Proposals.”

The total truthfulness of God’s word has been creatively subverted since the serpent twisted the words of God in the garden. Sometimes the truthfulness of God’s word is called into question among those who claim allegiance to God and His word. Inerrancy, some say, isn’t an idea found in the Bible, but an idea we have imposed on the Bible. Some would even say this is a form of idolatry. They would argue that a belief in inerrancy means we take the Bible more seriously than God. Can that be true?

Dr. Beale begins his response with this paragraph:

There has been much literature written over the past fifty years on the topic of the authority of the Bible, especially discussions within so-called “evangelicalism” concerning the nature of the notions of infallibility and inerrancy. Recent writers have especially questioned the traditional understanding of inerrancy. In particular, a central idea underlying inerrancy has been that since God is true and without error and, therefore, his oral word is true and without error, consequently, his word in Scripture is true and without error. This implication or theological inference that reasons from God’s flawless character to flawless Scripture has been challenged, and it has been argued that it is a logical deduction that is never made in the Bible. Accordingly, it is argued that though God, of course, is true and without error, he can, and indeed has, inspired all of Scripture in such a way that, nevertheless, the marks of human fallibility are woven into it. Thus, there are what we would consider to be “errors” in the biblical text, but God has inspired even those “errors” to form a part of his message to his people.

In the rest of his article, Beale shows how the line from God’s faithfulness to the faithfulness of His written word is not only logical, but Scriptural. That is, that the Scriptures are “God breathed,” does indeed mean that God’s faithfulness is reflected in what is written.

Dr. Beale argues primarily from the book of Revelation, where Jesus, the “faithful and true witness” (3:14), says to John, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (21:5), and speaks of what John has written as “trustworthy and true” (22:6). Here, Jesus’ faithfulness extends to his oral word, and from his oral word to its inscripturation.

The entire article is available online as a pdf. Read it and enjoy!

Also, if you haven’t purchased tickets yet, remember that you can do so online.

HT: Dane Ortlund