God’s Word or Words of Man?: The Inerrancy/Infallibility Conundrum

As a follower of Christ Jesus and HIS teachings, I hold the Bible as the authoritative guidance for Life in the Way and the disciples of Jesus. From time to time I will get notifications of debates and lectures regarding everything from Sola Scriptura to the Trinity. After watching many Christians attempt to answer the questions of whether there are contradictions or errors in the Bible, and fail miserably to explain them as the inerrant and infallible Word of God, I came to the conclusion that many Christians, including some of the most learned, don’t operate with a Sound Faith or Mind.

Paul wrote, in his letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:7), that we as Believers are given a σωφρονισμοῦ or sophronismos (sound mind). The term “sound” indicates reasonableness, rationality, sensibility, and discipline. A sound mind is the root of a sound faith. Without a sound faith or mind, our perspective and lens (interpretation and understanding) through which we view the world and ourselves are flawed and irrational. An irrational approach to the Bible is the doctrine of inerrancy and infallibility.

These doctrines are derived from the faulty belief that the Bible is the literal Word of God. In fact, even I have, in the past, been guilty of calling the Bible, “The Word of God”. The faulty premise is rooted in a misunderstanding of the context of 2 Timothy 3:16:

“All Scripture is inspired by God…”

The second letter of Paul to Timothy was written from 100-150 CE. There was no Bible in existence at this time. One cannot say that Paul was referring to the Bible so it is God’s words. Neither can one say that the verse was future tense so to include the Bible that would be compiled later.

The Bible was not written, but rather compiled from Jewish and Christian sources into a Canon, which was then called the Bible. The so-called authors of the Bible were not intending to be contributors to an anthology called the Bible. The writers of the documents that would later be added to Canon were intending to write letters or recollections to specific people. This is readily seen in the prologue of many books of the New Testament.

What Scripture was Paul referring to in his letter to Timothy? The Old Testament writings as well as other Judaic writings that were not included in the Old Testament but were universally accepted by the Jewish community as divine writings.

If you are still averse to this post, then let’s test the theory that the Bible is the literal Word of God:

1 Corinthians 7:12

“But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.”

In the above verse, Paul declares that HE was saying NOT the Lord (Christ). This means we cannot attribute the statement to Jesus or God, but rather to Paul himself. It doesn’t take from the wisdom he provided, but we cannot ascribe the statement to God.

Rationally speaking, wouldn’t it be contradictory to claim that the Bible is the literal Word of God and then choose which part we will practice today, and then claim that certain parts were not for us today, namely women pastors? If it is the literal Word of God then any disobedience to any part is a violation of the Word of God.

If we say, ‘It is not the literal Word of God, but the INSPIRED Word of God’, then we must admit that the inspiration had to go through the mind and writing of Man who is not inerrant or infallible. The character and attributes of a writing reflect its author.

The Word of God is Jesus Christ and He is infallible and inerrant in His teaching, work, and mission.

The Bible does not need to be infallible or inerrant to possess divinity or secure itself as an authoritative work and guidance for the Household of Faith. Our faith is in Christ, not the book.

This truthful and sound approach to the Bible takes the pressure off of us to try and make a square a circle when it isn’t. We do not have to defend the flaws of man as the words of God. We can focus our energy on other more important components of the Faith.

The Bible is not the Word of God, but rather a compilation of writings that contain some of the words of God in it, as written by man.

The Muslims claim that the Qur’an is the literal Word of God, but within it denies the crucifixion of Christ, which is documented and undeniable, both historically and religiously. The burden is on them to prove the inerrancy and infallibility of their rule and guide. That is not a burden for us.

Our Father, God is not asking us to invest our faith in the inerrancy and infallibility of the writings but rather in the message and His true WORD, His son Jesus Christ.