By: Rev. David Wilson Rogers
There are many ways of thinking about that incredible body of work known as the Bible. Unfortunately, as comforting as it may seem, to think of the Bible as inerrant—that is, without fault or error—is perhaps one of the greatest mistakes a person could ever make when approaching God’s sacred scripture.
The apostle Paul in writing his second letter to Timothy said in chapter three, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” This is one of the most definitive statements in the Bible that defends the authority of the Bible. Yet, to what does it really refer? In practical terms, Paul is talking about the Old Testament. This is because Christian Bible did not exist when Paul wrote these words even though these words would later be included in the Christian Bible. So, for Paul, “scripture” only refers to the Hebrew Bible. It is reasonable to presume that the writings now known as the New Testament were eventually considered scripture so it would be a natural step to include them in the sacred works Paul referenced, but to do so would not be taking the Bible literally.
Paul also makes a point that is very clear. Scripture is inspired by God. A more accurate translation would say that scripture is God-breathed. The beauty of this description by Paul is that scripture is not the only thing in creation that is God-breathed. One only need look into the opening chapter of Genesis to see that all of humanity was nothing but dirt and clay until God breathed into the nostrils and gave life to the stuff of the earth. We are God-breathed.
Christianity is rooted in the belief that humanity is the crowning point of God’s creation and that, created in God’s image and alive with a spirit of God within which was breathed into us directly by the Creator. We have the essence of God within us. It is a beautiful statement of faith! Yet, for all the godliness within humanity—we all carry the Spirit of God’s breath and are created in God’s image—humanity is far from perfect. If we were perfect, there would be no need for Christ and the cross for sin would not exist. Perfection may exist in the afterlife, but it is not a possibility in this life. Therefore, God-breathed though we may be, we are not inerrant, without error, or without imperfection. Neither is scripture.
To say that Bible is not without error, however, in no way invalidates the power of the sacred text. In fact, it actually strengthens it! Scripture has its power because it is inspired—God breathed—just like you! Scripture is the work of women and men who were inspired to write down, translate, and share their personal experience with God, God’s working within the world, and God’s love for humanity. They were inspired to share how their own mistakes led them to a deeper relationship with God. They were inspired to share how being without God in their lives left a profound emptiness that only he could fill. They were inspired to share how they frustratingly tried to understand how God could be real and how humanity filled with God’s breath, still feels longings and struggles with sin all while created in God’s image and called good. The Bible is imperfect because the people who felt inspired to write it wrote out of their imperfections, just as those who translated it, carried it through the centuries, and seek to apply it to life in 2018, still work out of a blessed tension between divine inspiration and human imperfection.
Imperfect though it is, it is far from worthless—just like every human being! It is useful for ensuring all Christians are equipped for good work so it remains central to Christian faith!
