Biblical Truth: A Discussion

Controversy surrounds the issues of inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture, owing chiefly to two strands of thought within the Christian community regarding how these terms should be applied to Biblical interpretation. In the contemporary period, the heart of the cleavage in Christian discourse can be traced to a distinction that has been drawn between evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. The distinction has been drawn not so much by self-identified Christians as by the sociological community. One commentator cites a study describing conservative Protestantism's "evangelicals [who] tend to view the Bible as 'authoritative' or 'inspired' (i.e., parts of which may be considered metaphorical), while fundamentalists are more likely to insist that the Bible is 'infallible' or 'literally true' without exception."

Some would say that a problem with such a designation begins with the term infallible, which is most often associated with Roman Catholicism; more important, however, this designation does not capture the complexity of inerrancy and inspiration as conservative Christians understand them. This research examines inerrancy and inspir

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til reduced to the rationalism that scripture provided, an only vaguely felt connection with aspects of the universe outside the control of human beings. With the scriptures defining the palpable life experience and Passion of Jesus in the background, however, the epistemological scriptures could explain, rationalize, and even celebrate the new-faith imperative in human terms. The Christian view of Jesus as both fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and departure from Old Testament ritual and belief has already been noted, and this view was developed most decisively by Paul. Spirituality, on this view, was a reachable earthly experience, made accessible specifically through scriptures and through the practice of worship. In a series of letters that deal with virtually every aspect of spiritual and moral life, Paul sets forth the documents that define and institutionalize the community of the faithful into a church institution. His letters are in a sense the founding documents of Christianity. Paul's mechanism for both spirituality and institutionalism is the writing he does, and it is this writing that will become the doctrinal basis of the church as theological ground and as institution. In this regard, Campbell cites Paul's ca
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Approximate Word count = 5201
Approximate Pages = 21 (250 words per page)

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