Conservative and Liberal Viewpoints
Prologue:
In the commentary you are about to read,
I see two opposing perceptions of truth
I do not see the Conservative Theologians
and the Liberal Theologians attacking each other.
expressing themselves openly and candidly
in the pursuit of knowledge.
Is the Bible infallible, inerrant,
truly free of error?
What is Biblical Inerrancy?
When applied to sacred writings,
inerrancy is the belief that the words are
God's true revelations to mankind.
An inerrant text, is considered infallible,
truthful, reliable, totally free of error
and absolutely authoritative.
Inerrancy is not restricted
to moral and religious truth.
It is applied to all
statements of fact in the Bible,
scientific, historical, or geographical.
Protestants have reserved the term, infallible,
to refer to the Bible as the only true source
of faith and doctrine
and that it is fully trustworthy.
Its text does not deceive the reader.
Followers of many religions believe
that their own sacred texts are inerrant.
This is particularly true
within the conservative wings
of the world's major religions.
Fundamentalists and other Evangelical Christians,
Muslims, Baha'i World Faith and Mormons
consider their scriptures to be inerrant.
The Old Testament,
largely the first five books of the Law,
began as oral literature,
and was first written down following
the reign of King David circa 1000 B.C.
There were probably
four versions in existence
written by different people
over a period of 500 years,
and later combined by a number of editors.
A standard text of the Hebrew Bible
appeared circa A.D. 150.
The New Testament
records the life of Jesus Christ
and deals with the development
of the early church
and the meaning of faith in Jesus.
The New Testament,
like the Old Testament,
began as oral literature,
and was first written down circa A.D. 200
and included all New Testament books
except Hebrews and Revelation.
Martin Luther wanted Revelation
excluded from the Bible.
The New Testament was written in Greek,
which was widely spoken during that time,
but Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic.
By A.D. 400, the church
had established the present
Christian canon embraced by
the Christian church today.
Biblical Inspiration
is the concept that the authors
and the editors of the Scriptures
were directly inspired
and influenced by God
while they were writing
the text of the Bible.
God pre-determined each word
that the authors wrote,
and the writers merely
functioned as secretaries.
The terms inerrancy and inerrant
were first used in religious writings
in the 19th century; however, the belief in
the inspiration and inerrancy of scripture
can be found throughout Christian history.
Historical support
for Biblical inerrancy comes
from various sources.
Clement of Rome,
in the late 1st century, wrote:
The holy Scriptures which are given
through the Holy Spirit,
nothing iniquitous or falsified is written.
St. Augustine circa A.D. 400 said:
None of these authors
has erred in any respect of writing.
The Belgic Confessional in 1561 and later
The Westminister Confession in 1647
included a reference to
the infallible truth of the Bible.
A survey of student belief
at one of the largest
Evangelical seminaries in the United States
indicated that 85% of the students
do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.
A poll conducted in 1987 where
10,000 of American clergy were asked
whether they believed the Scriptures
are the inspired and inerrant Word of God
in faith, history, and secular matters.
95% of Episcopalians, 87% of Methodists,
82% of Presbyterians, 77% of American Lutherans,
and 67% of American Baptists said they did not.
Conservative Theologians
regard inspiration and inerrancy
as among the most important
of Christian doctrines.
At a Niagara Bible Conference in 1895
attendees prepared a list
of five fundamental beliefs
that could be used to evaluate
the suitability and orthodoxy
of a Christian speaker.
A 1909 publication
The Fundamentals
repeated these same beliefs.
The first, and presumably,
the most important,
was the inerrancy of the Bible.
Many assume an all-or-nothing
approach to inerrancy.
Warren Doud wrote:
The whole of Scripture
and all of its parts, down to
the very words of the original,
were given by divine inspiration.
The written word in its entirety
is revelation given by God.
Confession of the full authority,
infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture
is vital to a sound understanding
of whole of Christian faith.
J. I. Packer wrote:
Only truth can be authoritative;
only an inerrant Bible can be used
in the way that God means
Scripture to be used.
The implication being, if the Bible
can be shown to contain some errors,
then all passages become suspect
and therefore unreliable.
Dave Miller writes:
If the Bible were
a mixture of truth and error,
then it is like any other book
and simply not deserving
of any special attention.
Conservative Theologians believe
that many Christians and Skeptics
point out what appear to be errors
and inconsistencies in the Biblical text;
however, they believe that none truly exist.
They believe that the critics are themselves
committing errors in their analysis,
and the only people who can
truly understand the Bible are those
who have been saved.
It is of prime importance
on matters relating to
the deity of Christ
and an individual's route to salvation.
Historical, geographical
and scientific details
are of little consequence.
Some Fundamentalists
and other Evangelical Christians
consider the English King James Version
of the Bible to be inerrant.
This is particularly true
among lay members in their beliefs.
But most conservatives believe
that only the original,
autograph copies are inerrant.
None of the them have
survived to the present day,
and we only have access to
a variety of manuscripts which are
copies of copies of copies of copies.
The Holy Spirit,
the third person of the Trinity,
is considered by conservative Christians
to be responsible for
the inerrancy of the Bible.
The terms inerrancy,
authoritative, infallible and inspired
are closely linked.
If the scriptures are to
be considered authoritative,
then they must be inerrant and infallible.
And the only way to assure these factors,
would be to have the writings
inspired and controlled by God,
because only an all-knowing
God can be inerrant.
Some Conservative Theologians
believe that the gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
were written by apostles with those names.
They also believe that all of the books
of the Christian Scriptures
which state that
they were written by St. Paul
were actually written by him.
Liberal Theologians
believe that the writers of the
Bible naturally exhibited a
high degree of religious insight,
something akin to artistic ability.
The net effect of this position
is to make the scriptural authors,
as qualitative, no different than Plato,
Buddha and Mohammed.
The Bible thus becomes
the spiritual experience
of the Jewish people,
but they do not believe
that it is inerrant.
Most Liberal Theologians
believe that the scriptures were written
by very human and capable individuals,
but that their works were not inspired
by God to the point that they are inerrant.
There are many passages
which state or imply inerrancy
either in the Hebrew Scriptures
or in the Christian Scriptures.
However, they do not prove inerrancy,
just as similar statements
in the religious texts of other religions
do not prove that theirs are inerrant.
Matthew 5:18:
For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled.
The implication being that the law,
given in the Hebrew Scriptures,
was perfect, complete and free of error.
Matthew 10:19-20:
But when they deliver you up,
take no thought how
or what ye shall speak:
for it shall be given you in
that same hour what ye shall speak.
For it is not ye that speak,
but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you.
Mark 13:11:
But when they shall lead you,
and deliver you up, take no thought
beforehand what ye shall speak,
neither do ye premeditate:
but whatsoever shall be
given you in that hour,
that speak ye: for it is not
ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
Luke 12:11-12:
And when they bring you
unto the synagogues, and
unto magistrates, and powers,
take ye no thought how
or what thing ye shall answer,
or what ye shall say:
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you
in the same hour what ye ought to say.
Luke 21:14-15:
Settle it therefore in your hearts,
not to meditate before
what ye shall answer:
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom,
which all your adversaries shall
not be able to gainsay nor resist.
John 16:13:
Howbeit when he,
the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come.
Acts 1:8:
But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth.
John 10:35:
And the scripture cannot be broken.
Jesus is recorded as believing that the Law
could not be changed or edited.
2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished
unto all good works.
It is important to realize
that the only Scripture available at the time
1 and 2 Timothy were written
was the Old Testament,
so the author was referring only
to the Hebrew Scriptures.
2 Peter 1:20-21:
Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not
in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake
as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost.
Most would argue that
this doctrine is of great importance,
because it determines,
at a very fundamental level,
how Christians approach Scripture.
To most Conservative Theologians,
Biblical inerrancy and inspiration
are fundamental doctrines.
Unless the entire Bible is considered
to be the authoritative word of God,
then the whole foundation
of their religious belief crumbles.
If the Bible contains some errors,
then Christians would have no firm basis
on which to base their
doctrines, beliefs, morality and practices.
The books of the Bible
must be either inerrant,
or be without authority.
To most Liberal Theologians,
inerrancy is a false belief.
They believe that the Bible
was obviously written
and edited by human authors,
with limited scientific knowledge,
who promoted their
own specific belief systems,
who attributed statements to God
that are immoral by today's standards,
who freely incorporated material
from neighboring Pagan cultures and
who freely disagreed with other writers.
A main task of the liberal Christian
is to separate the true ideas
and statements by Jesus and Jehovah
from additions by Biblical authors.
Some religious liberals point out
that the 1500 or so religious
organizations in North America
have many diverse interpretations
of Biblical passages.
If humans have extracted
so many different meanings
from the same Biblical verses,
it matters little if the text
contains some errors or not.
Conservative Theologians
and Liberal Theologians
have very different concepts
of the nature of Scriptures.
They tend to develop systems
of Christian theology and morality
which differ greatly,
and are often mutually exclusive.
When faced with
one of the great moral questions
like abortion, the death penalty,
homosexual and bisexual rights,
the concept of marriage
and various aspects of sexual behavior,
each interprets the Bible
in their own way and
come to quite different conclusions.
One hundred fifty years ago,
the great moral debate of the day
was whether slavery
should be preserved or abolished.
Many Conservative Theologians
argued in favor of preservation,
and quoted specific verses that
condoned organized and regulated slavery.
They pointed out that Jesus,
St. Paul and many others
had numerous opportunities
to speak on the institution of slavery
but they never condemned it.
Many Liberal Theologians
ignored specific passages
that dealt directly with slavery,
and preferred to argue
on the basis of Jesus' message,
and its broad theological concepts.
They recognized that all persons
are created in the image of God,
and that one should treat
one's neighbor as one's self.
This would seem to imply
that the ownership of one person
by another was a profound evil.
The slavery question dealt a severe blow
to traditional beliefs about the Bible.
As an increasing percentage
of Christians rejected slavery
as an abhorrent practice,
they began to realize that
the Bible was wrong on the issue.
They concluded that
portions of Scripture which
discussed slavery had to be ignored,
and that a higher level
of morality must be adopted.
The authority of the Bible
within all Christendom
was severely weakened at that time.
We see a parallel today
in the debates over homosexuality.
Conservative Theologians frequently quote
specific passages from
English translations of the Bible
which unambiguously condemn
homosexual behavior of any form.
Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked
and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Genesis 19:24
Then the Lord rained upon
Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire.
Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind,
as with womankind: it is abomination.
Romans 1:24-27
Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness,
through the lusts of their own hearts,
to dishonour their own bodies
between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.
For this cause God gave them up
unto vile affections.
For even their women did change
the natural use
into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men,
leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust one toward another;
men with men working that which is unseemly,
and receiving in themselves
that recompense of their error which was meet.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Know ye that the unrightious
shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not decieved:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor effeminate,
nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Many Liberal Theologians
ignore those passages,
in the belief that they refer
only to homosexual rape,
homosexual prostitution,
homosexual temple rituals,
and sexual abuse of boys by men.
They regard the Bible
as being silent on the topic of
committed same-sex relationships.
They then turn to what they see
as the loving and inclusive aspects
of Jesus' message and conclude that
non-exploitive, consenting sex
within a permanent relationship
of two committed adults,
heterosexual or homosexual,
is totally acceptable, and worthy
of recognition and encouragement.
Many Conservative Theologians
and Liberal Theologians
consider the homosexual issue
to be of paramount importance,
one where Christians
are called by God to take action.
Similar dynamics can be seen
within debates over the role of women,
access to abortion
and sex outside of marriage.
Biblical inerrancy will probably
never be proven or disproven.
It seems essentially impossible
to prove or disprove
inerrancy or inspiration
since these are beliefs
that must be accepted on faith.
In summation,
Hopefully, we will all of us
Perhaps the only common ground
We have simply to behave responsibly
Can we do more?
Need we do more?
Free will and free choice
We can consider the opinions
Freedom of choice is wonderful!
whether or not
the Scriptures are inerrant
remains a moot point,
because the Conservative Theologians
will cling to their faith
while Liberal Theologians
will cling to their facts.
Somewhere between these parameters,
we laypersons
must sift through it all
and accept what we feel is relevant.
end up on some common ground.
available under the circumstances
will be based on what Jesus taught us ~
love is, and always will be,
the answer to all of our problems.
and to love one another.
are two points on which
the Conservative Theologians
and the Liberal Theologians agree,
so we can safely conclude that
everyone on earth
has the right to choose.
of the Conservative Theologians
and the Liberal Theologians
and choose what we believe
without fear of censorship or reprisals.
We can expound on what
we believe to our hearts delight!
Why, we can even try to win
everyone in the world
over to our side,
if we feel so inclined.
But never, never must we try to stuff
our manna
down someone else�s throat!
Remember the choice!
The choice is ours!
Remember the freedom of choice
to which all of us are entitled,
the freedom of choice that we
so passionately desire for ourselves.
We must afford everyone else
that very same precious privilege.
Live and let live
as our faith,
or lack of it,
necessitates.
We must be true
to ourselves and
to the preservation of
the rights of all humankind.
I have drawn freely
~*~ and ~*~
Ontario Consultants On Religious Tolerance
I have quoted, copied,
I encourage you
from material presented in print by
Encyclopaedia Britannica,
World Book,
The King James Version of the Bible
paraphrased for clarity,
and expressed in my own words
segments to develop this commentary.
to share your opinion.
FREEDOM AND EQUALITY
FOR EACH AND
EVERY ONE OF US!