Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?

A
Paper
Submitted to
Dr. Ken Keathley
of the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
DISC 5300 SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 1

Lenton Mitchell Jr.

B. A. P. M., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
November 18, 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE......................................................................1
CHAPTER 2THE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF INSPIRATION.........................................................5
CHAPTER 3PROBLEMS FACING INSPIRATION......................................................................7
CHAPTER 4
IN DEFENSE OF INSPIRATION.................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14

iii

CHAPTER 3
THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

The subject of the inspiration of scripture has been an issue of debate and discussion
along theological lines for many years. The way a person views the inspiration of the Bible has
great implications for his daily decisions and devotion. Also, what a person believes about
Christianity depends largely on the view that he takes of Scripture. If he believes that the Bible is
the very word of God and infallible, he will derive one belief of Christianity. However, if he
believes that the Bible is just a collection of human writings, with spiritual and moral teachings,
but containing many errors; his conception of Christianity will be totally different. This paper
will attempt to answer the question, is the Bible the inspired word of God or not?
A good place to get started in answering this question would be to define what the term
inspiration means. Millard J. Erickson in his book Christian Theology, defines inspiration as a
supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which rendered their writings
an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word
of God.1 David S. Dockery defines inspiration as the superintending influence of the Spirit of
God on the writers of Holy Scripture. As a result, the account and interpretation of the Word of
God have been recorded as God intended so that the Bible is actually the Word of God.2
Benjamin B. Warfield wrote in his book, The Inspiration and the Authority of the Bible, that if
1Milliard J. Erickson, Christian Theology 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998),
225.
2David S. Dockery, THE DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE. (Nashville: Convention Press,
1991), 67.

five of the most advanced thinkers were to assemble in one place to discuss the subject of
Inspiration, at the least they would conclude six theories from that meeting. He said that they
would differ on every point except one. They will agree that inspiration is less pervasive and less
determinative than had been originally believed. Or than is still thought in fewer enlightened
circles. They agree that there is less of the truth of God and more of the error of man in the Bible
than Christians have been wanting to believe.3
The question of inspiration is very important for the Christian Church. Of all the
different doctrinal issues that the church has faced over the years, it has not held any as high as
the idea of the inspiration of scripture. They hold differences of opinion about baptism, the
Communion supper, predestination, election, atonement, grace, perseverance; etc., but most have
agreed that the Bible is trustworthy and that its pronouncements are final. Dewey M. Beegle says
in his book, The Inspiration of Scripture, that if the doctrine of inerrancy is given up, all
confidence in the Biblical writers as trustworthy witnesses to doctrine is undermined. He said if
they prove to be wrong in their claim of inerrancy, where are they trustworthy?4 B. H. Carroll,
wrote in his book, Inspiration of the bible, that scholars derive the word inspiration from the
Latin word inspiro, which means to breathe on or to breathe into. As he begins this book, he
writes:
It is believed by most Baptist that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely
inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its
author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that
it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain

3Benjamin B. Warfield, The Inspiration and the Authority of the Bible. (Philadelphia:
The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948), 105.
4Dewey M. Beegle, The Inspiration of Scripture. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,
1952), 169.

to the end of the world, the true centre of Christian union, and the supreme standard
by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried.5
Two terms are used in referring to inspiration and they are called verbal and plenary
inspiration. Verbal inspiration suggests that the influence of God surrounds not only the thoughts
of biblical writers, but also to the very words that they used to reveal the thoughts of God with
infallible accuracy.6 C. H. Dodd says that verbal inspiration maintains that the entire corpus of
Scripture consists of writings every word of which (presumably in the original autographs, for
ever inaccessible to us) was directly dictated by the Deity, in a sense not applicable to any other
known writings.7 By plenary inspiration, it is suggested that the full and sufficient influence of
the Holy Spirit is extended to all parts of Scripture, rendering it an authoritative revelation from
God. The idea is, although God gives the revelation through the minds and will of men, they are
still without question the words of God.8 Carroll says that much of the controversy over whether
or not scripture is inspired, is coming from those in the church rather than those outside the
church. He said that some accredit the questioning of the inspiration of scripture to science, but
science can have nothing to say about the ultimate origin and destiny of things and beings. It
cannot sit as a judge or as a jury upon questions of the supernatural. It can only discuss the
natural, not the supernatural.9 It is amazing that those who hold to the scripture as the means to
salvation would question its infallibility.
5B. H. Carroll, Inspiration Of The Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980),
15.
6Walter A. Elwell, EVANGELICAL DICTIONARY of THEOLOGY. (Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 2001), 1242
7C. H. Dodd, The Authority of the Bible. (Great Britian: Fontana books, 1929), 41.
8Elwell, 929
9Carroll, 28.

Clark H. Pinnock, a former professor of Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological

Seminary speaks out on the issue of verbal inspiration. In his book, A Defense of Biblical
Infallibility, he writes:
Just because inspiration concerns the written text of Scripture it has to do with human
words and language. Truth which is to be communicated must be related in language. Truth
incapable of being expressed in language is a contradiction in terms. If inspiration had
nothing to do with words it would be irrelevant. The term verbal inspiration has a firm
base in the doctrine of inspiration itself, which has to do with the written text of Scripture.
He goes on to say that the bible often speaks of the speech of God, who places Hi words in
the mouths of His prophets. Scripture is nothing other that an extension of the modality of
the divine speaking. there is more to revelation than has been captured in the inspired text.
But that which is written for our learning is truly written revelation. Inspiration means that
the impact of this collection of words is veracious and conveys the freight of divine truth
effectively to the human mind.10
In an attempt to discredit the idea of verbal inspiration Pinnock says, scholars
sometimes make an appeal to a general theory of language designed to make the doctrine seem
foolish. He went on to say that human language, is unfit to be the vehicle by which God would
present eternal truths.11

10Clark H. Pinnock, A Defense of Biblical Infallibility. (Presbyterian and Reformed

Publishing Company, 1972), 16-17.
11Ibid.

CHAPTER 3
THE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF INSPIRATION

Scholars have taken several views in dealing with the issue of scriptural inspiration. The
first is the Liberal view. Stewart Custer in his book, Does Inspiration DEMAND Inerrancy,
writes that this view grew out of the work of a German theologian by the name Schleiermacher.
He taught that the true source of theology was not the bible, but the human conscience. His
argument is that just because something is written in scripture, does not mean that men should
accept it. Basically, he only believed the things in the bible agreed with him.12
A second view is that of the Neo-Orthodox view. Custer says that often many
conservative Christians confuse this thinking with that of the old Liberalism view. However, in
reality, some distinctions exist between the two. He said that Liberalism is a frontal assault on
practically every important doctrine of the Christian faith, whereas Neo-orthodoxy will
outwardly agree with many major doctrines.13 Dr. Ken Keathley in his lesson hand out,
Systematic Theology 1: The Inspiration of the Bible, says that this view sees the Bible as
becoming the Word of God rather than it being the word of God. He says this view, believes that
the bible is simply a record of the encounters of men with God and is a combination of divine
truth and human error.14
12Stewart Custer, Does Inspiration DEMAND Inerrancy? (Nutley, New Jersey: The
Craig Press, 1968), 68.
13Ibid.
14Ken Keathley, Systematic Theology 1. (Class notes), 42.
5

A Third view of inspiration is the Neo-Evangelical view. This view teaches that the
bible is the word of God and the word of man combined. It teaches that the parts of the bible that
teaches salvation, faith and practice, are the words of God. However, the part of the word that
contains culture, science and history are the words of man. Finally he says that this view believes
that what is inspired and what is merely human is determined by Jesus.15 Custer says that one of
the most outstanding characteristics of this view is that it questions the verbal inerrancy of
scripture. He said that those who believe this view feel that the scripture needs to be revisited
considering the teachings of the liberal Thinkers.16
Fourthly is the Evangelical view also considered the Conservative view. This view
teaches that the Word, is the Word of God. It teaches that God is not just the author of part of the
bible, but the entire bible. They believe that God has inspired the bible but man wrote it and is
true in every respect.17 Custer wrote in his book that scholars hold to the doctrine of inerrancy of
Scriptures because the scriptures themselves teach it. He goes on to say that Conservatives will
no more surrender this doctrine than they would the doctrine of the deity of Christ, justification
by faith, or any other clearly taught scriptural doctrine. Speaking from a Baptist point of view,
the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly
instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of
error for its matter. 18

15Ibid.
16Custer, 79.
17Keathley, 42.
18Custer, 86.
6

CHAPTER 3
PROBLEMS FACING INSPIRATION

Although Scripture is believed to be inspired of God and ultimately infallible, there are
critics that have pointed out some troubling issues to be considered. Due to the size of this paper,
it is not possible to survey all the areas of the alleged problems or errors. The best that this writer
can do is to submit a few example passages from the Old and New Testament that are often
considered to be in error. Custer in defense of the inspiration of scripture says, the liberal will
call anything in Scripture which he cannot explain an error. This he says, is a manifestation of
his underlying assumption that Scripture is just another book with all the human frailties and
mistakes which an ordinary book has.19 One passage of scripture that is referred to as in error is,
Genesis chapter 30:37-43. It is charged that modern genetic science has shown that this passage
is nothing more than superstition. It is believed to be superstition because in this passage Jacob is
seen believing that during copulation of the herds, whatever they saw would affect the offspring
being born.20 Another passage in the Old Testament that is used to discredit the inspiration of
Scripture is, Numbers 2:2-3; 11:16; 24:-26; 12:4. In these passages, it is said that there is a
discrepancy when the Lord instructed the Israelites concerning their camping. The tabernacle
was supposed to be in the midst of the camp (Num. 2:2-3), but later people are said to come out
of the camp to get to the tabernacle (Num. 11:16, 24-26; 12:4). However, Custer said that there
was supposed to be a considerable space between the tabernacle in the midst and the camp of the
19Custer, 93.
20Ibid, 96.
7

people far off round about the tabernacle (Num. 2:2). He goes on to say that it would be just as
true that the people would have to leave the camp proper to come to the place of the tabernacle in
the center, as it would be to go outside the camp area. He said that the language would be
appropriately used of going out from any particular encampment to the open space in the center
where the sanctuary stood.21
Another passage that has come under fire because of discrepancies, is found in the book
of Numbers. Carroll says that critics have pointed it out that, Balaam prophesied in the camp of
Balak. The problem is, no Jew was there to hear it and neither was Moses. However, the Bible
accredits Moses to have recorded a remarkable series of prophecies made by Balaam in the camp
of Balak. Moses gave the record of all that he prophesied, in the very words. Therefore, the
question is, how was this possible if he were not there? He answers the question by stating that
God had to have given Moses a revelation of just what Balaam said.22 Although difficulties may
exist in understanding certain passages of scripture, the term error is not appropriate to explain
its difficulty. Wayne Grudem writes in his book, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, that the problem is
in the understanding of the definition of inerrancy. He said the term does not mean that the Bible
tells the reader every fact there is to know about any some subject, but it affirms that what it does
say about any subject is true.23 Lewis Sperry Chafer in agreement with Grudem says in his book,
Major Bible Themes, that in stating that the entire Bible is true and inspired of God, allowance
must be made for the fact that sometimes the Bible records a lie as a lie, as in the case of Satan in
21Custer, 97.
22Carroll, 77.
23Wayne Grudem, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY. (Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity Press,
and Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 91.
8

Genesis 3:4. The Bible can also record the experiences and reasoning of men as illustrated in the
Book of Job and Ecclesiates. He says some of the statements of the friends of Job are wrong, and
some of the philosophizing of Ecclesiastes does not go beyond human wisdom. However, this
does not take away from the inerrancy.24
Some New Testament passages that are considered to be in error are: Matt: 5:33-37;
Matt. 17:27; and Matt. 27:3-10; Acts 1:16-19. In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, Custer quoted
a statement by Broadus in his writings on Matthews gospel.
The charge is sometimes made that Christ is here contradicting the Old Testament law. But
the language which our Lord quotes is drawn from rabbinical interpretation of the Old
Testament. Part of the language is based on Deuteronomy 23:21-23, which deals with the
fulfillment of vows, and part is based on Leviticus 19:12, which deals with swearing
falsely. Because the Jews were given to uttering innumerable minor oaths, the Lord is here
showing the danger of using that which is holy to dignify frivolous occasions or subjects.
Broadus states that the Jews were known to swear in ordinary conversation by the temple,
the dishes in it, the altar, the lamb, the law, Moses, the prophets, the life of the rabbis , and
a host of other things.25
He continues on to say that it is frivolous use of minor oaths which the Lord is attacking
and not the use of a formal oath on solemn or legal occasions.26 R. Laird Harris has written in his
book, Inspiration and Canonicity, that says that verbal inspiration is in question because no one
has seen the original manuscripts. He counters by saying that scholars today may not have seen
them, but some did. One person in particular that he names is Tertullian. He said that Tertullian
in A.D. 200, said that the original manuscripts of the New Testament books could still be

24Lewis Sperry Chaffer and John F. Walvoord. Major Bible Themes. (Grand Rapids:
Academic Books, 1974), 23.
25Custer, 104-105.
26Ibid.
9

inspected in the churches founded by the apostles. Also that extensive portions of the New
Testament from the day of Tertullian and one fragment from even seventy years earlier are now
in existence.27
CHAPTER 3
IN DEFENSE OF INSPIRATION

Although the bible may hold many difficult passages that may seem to contradict itself,
conservative Christians still deny that any of these passages are in error. Custer says, although
the Conservative may not be able to account for some things in such passages, he will not
automatically assume that there are error in the Scripture. However, he would rather assume that
his own understanding of the passages may be in error.28
Erickson in defense of inerrancy says that the doctrine of inerrancy does not tell us a
priori of what type of material the Bible will contain. Nor does it give instructions on how to
interpret the individual passages. However, the doctrine of inerrancy maintains merely that
whatever statements that the Bible affirms are fully truthful when correctly interpreted as to their
meaning in their cultural setting and the purpose for which they were written.29 In saying that the
scripture has errors, the word itself needs to be defined. As Erickson said, if the term is not
defined or no fixed limits are in existence that clearly separate truth from error, the meaning of
27R. Laird Harris, Inspiration and Canonicity of the Scriptures. (Greenville, SC:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 68-69.
28Custer, 93.
29Erickson, 263.
10

inerrancy will be lost. In attempting to get understanding for the term error, he said statements
in Scripture that plainly contradict the facts must be considered errors.30 An example that he
gave was: if Jesus did not die on the cross, if he did not still the storm on the sea, if the walls of
Jericho did not fall, etc., the Bible would be in error.31
Although many critics point out certain scripture passages to deny the inspiration of the
Word of God, many other scriptures confirm it. David S. Dockery says in his book, THE
DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE, that both Testaments view the words of Scripture as the Word of
God. As the Old Testament treats the Mosaic law as the Word of God (see 1 Kings 22:8-16; Neh.
8; Ps. 119), the Old Testament as a whole is seen as oracles of God (Rom. 3:2), written by men
whom the Holy Spirit moved and taught (see 1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).32 Dockery goes on
to say to do an exhaustive survey of the prophetic formula thus says the Lord or the word of
the Lord came to me saying would be impossible.33 The idea is that this statement gives
credibility to the word being authoritatively from the Lord. He concludes his argument by saying
that the Scriptures own testimony of its divine nature and authoritative character is revealed
through a variety of means. He says that these truths can be recognized through:
the witness of the Old Testament; the witness of the New Testament; the prophetic shape of
portions of Scripture; and the fulfillment of prophecy in Israel, in the church, and
ultimately in the life of the Lord. The attitude of Jesus toward Scripture provides a working
model for our lives as we seek to live conscious of Gods leadership and obedient to the
teaching of Scripture.34
30Ibid., 264.
31Ibid., 264.
32David S. Dockery, THE DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE. (Nashville: Convention Press,
1991), 41.
33Ibid., 44.
11

Dr. James T. Draper Jr., says in his book Authority: The Critical Issue for Southern
Baptist, teaches that Jesus affirmed that God inspired the scriptures and that they are inerrant, in
that he used the Old Testament perpetually as the final arbiter in all matters of faith and conduct.
Whenever He was contending with the pharisees, he referred to the Word of God as absolutely
authoritative..35 Draper also gives support to the idea of scripture inspiration and inerrancy in the
Paul also affirmed it in his writing to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:16,17). He went on to say that God
breathed into the writers of Scripture what He wanted them to write, and thus it was His Word
complete and without error.36 Finally, in agreement with other theologians, Draper says when he
refers to inspiration he means that the Bible is accurate in all that it says and that it will not
deceive its readers theologically, historically, chronologically, geographically, or scientifically. In
other words, it may contain some approximation, it may use figures of speech, it may use the
common language of the day, but whatever it says, the Bible says it accurately.37

CONCLUSION

As stated in the beginning of this paper, the inspiration of scripture has been and will be
an issue of debate for years to come. Its not something that can be resolved in a short paper such
34Ibid., 49.
35James T. Draper, Jr., Authority: The Critical Issue for Southern Baptist. (Old Tappan,
New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984), 73
36Ibid., 71.
37Ibid., 91
12

as this. It is not something that has been resolved although scores of books have been written on
the subject. However, this writer feels that the scripture is inspired and is the inerrant word of
God. This writer feels that if the word is not inspired, then it would cease to be the word of God,
but as liberals have believed just another compilation of words and errors by men. Many argue
that they believe that the original manuscripts were inspired and inerrant but not the modern
translations. That may be true in some instances, but as Erickson said, nonetheless, we must
reaffirm that the copies and the translations are also the Word of God, to the degree that they
preserve the original message. When we say they are the Word of God, we do not have in mind,
of course, the original process of the inspiration of the biblical writer. Rather they are the Word
of God in a derivative sense that attaches to the product.38 This world has untold volumes of
books that have been written over the years, but none has made the impact of the bible. Other
books may give a sense of enjoyment, but the bible gives a sense of security. This writer feels
that this takes place because of the fact that it is the word of God and not just another book. It is
a supernatural book given to natural man and it makes and impact to those who accept what it
has to say.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beegle, Dewey M., The Inspiration and the Authority of the Bible. Philadelphia: The
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948.
Carroll, B. H. Inspiration Of the Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1980.

38Erickson, 265.
13

Chaffer, Lewis Sperry and John F. Walvoord, Major Bible Themes. Grand Rapids: Academic
Books, 1974.
Corley, Bruce, Steve Lemke, and Grant Lovejoy ed., Biblical Hermeneutics. Nashville:
Broadman and Holman, 1996.
Custer, Stewart. Does Inspiration DEMAND Inerrancy? Nutley, New Jersey: The Craig Press,
1968.
Dockery, David S. THE DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE. Nashville: Convention Press, 1991.
Dodd, C. H. The Authority of the Bible. Great Britain: Fontana books, 1929.
Draper, James T., Authority: The Critical Issue for Southern Baptist. Old Tappan, New Jersey:
Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984.
Elwell, Walter A., EVANGELICAL DICTIONARY of THEOLOGY. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2001.
Erickson, Milliard J., Christian Theology, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.
Fretheim, Terence E., and Karlfried Froehlich. The Bible as Word of God: in postmodern age.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998.
Grudem, Wayne. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY. Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity and Zondervan
Publlishing House, 1994.
Harris, R. Laird. Inspiration and Cannoncity of the Scriptures. Nashville: Convention Press,
1991.
Keathley, Ken, Systematic Theology. (Class notes).
Manly, Basil Jr. The Doctrine of Inspiration. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1995.
McKim, Donald K. THE AUTHORITATIVE WORD. Grand Rapids: WM. B. EERDMANS
PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1983.
Montgomery, John Warwick. Gods Inerrant Word: an international symposium on the
trustworthiness of Scripture. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship inc., 1974.
Pinnock, Clark H., A Defense of Biblical Infallibility. (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Company, 1972).
Pinnock, Clark H., Biblical revelation, the foundation of Christian Theology. Chicago: Mood
Press, 1971.
14

Warfield, Benjamin B., The Inspiration and the Authority of the Bible. (Philadelphia: The
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1948).

15