Religious studies
Religion is diverse. Different individuals or groups of individuals have varying believes. Some of these religious believes are contained in religious books all of which are said to be God’s word (Geisler & Roach, 2012). Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, but what authority or prove does the Bible have as the word of God? The Bible is indeed the inspired word of God. The literature in the Bible itself claims that the Bible is the word of God, “All scripture is inspired by God.” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible has a transforming ability that has not been seen in any other book in human history. There is evidence of people with deviant behaviors such as stealing, killing and adultery among others get transformed by just studying the Bible. The Bible despite having been written by different individuals over a long period of time in diverse circumstances and environments maintains a single theme and never contradicts itself. Such unity would not be possible were it not guided by a single source. Lastly and most importantly, God proclaims that indeed the Bible is His message to humanity.
The concept of inspiration as used in reference to the Bible refers to God’s guidance (Geisler & Roach, 2012). It means that the words written in the Bible are of divine origin. In 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 16, the Bible states that all scripture is inspired by God. The Bible is thus different from all other books in which men or human beings write their knowledge of the world. The Bible was written by men but by God’s guidance. In 2nd Peter, chapter 1 verse 2, the Bible states that men spoke from God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Inerrancy in relation to the Bible means that the Bible is error free (Geisler & Roach, 2012). It means that the Bible in its original form is devoid any errors, contradictions or otherwise. The first argument in support of this concept is the Biblical argument. In 2nd Timothy, chapter 3 verse 16, the Bible clearly states that “All scripture is God inspired.” This is prove that the God could not err and thus the Bible inerrancy. The second argument is the historical consistency of the Bible and the manner in which its doctrines were spread. Having been written in different time periods, the Bible maintained its consistency. People were never forced to adopt the doctrines but were allowed the free consent to believe or ignore. The Epistemological argument, asserts that since the Bible is considered inerrant, then it follows that its contents are absolute truths and thus cannot be erroneous. The slippery slope argument, which is the fourth and last argues that an individual cannot believe in the Bible partially, its either you believe it in its entirety or you disregard it. The strongest argument is the Biblical argument in which God Himself claims the Bible to be His word and thus inerrant. The weakest argument is the historical consistency. In the process of spreading the gospel, some individuals could have manipulated the actual doctrines for their benefit.
Inspiration means originating from God while inerrancy attempts to prove that the inspired word is devoid of any errors on the basis that the word is divine (Geisler & Roach, 2012).
Considering the Bible’s authority, inspiration and inerrancy, I am convinced that I should follow the Bible’s doctrine to guide my life. The three concepts are interrelated and which prove a common theme, the superiority of God over mankind.
Reference
Geisler, N.L & Roach, B. (2012). Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scripture for
a New Generation. New York: Baker Books.
