Saying “The Entire Bible Is The Literal, Inerrant Word Of God” Is A Cop Out

By Charles Toy

Many Christians like to go around saying (sometimes shouting), "The entire Bible is the literal, inerrant Word of God."

No it isn't. Furthermore, to make such a statement is not only wrong, it's lazy and irresponsible.

The Bible is a complex book. Parts of it are God talking and parts aren't. Parts are God speaking through prophets. Parts are clearly written by men for specific purposes related to their society in the era they wrote it.

Discovering which parts of the Bible are in fact the "literal, inerrant Word of God" is a lifelong process which involves dedication, study, prayer and reflection. It is not for the lazy or faint of heart, but if you take the Bible seriously it's a requirement.

Christians who make grand pronouncements by throwing around clichés they know nothing about are nothing less than dangerous. Millions of lives have been subjected to untold misery by men proclaiming "thus saith the Lord," when the Lord didn't say anything of the sort.

Jesus stated in Matthew 22:37-40 that we are to love God and love our neighbors as we do ourselves. He also said that "on these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." In other words the entire Bible leading up to Jesus' birth can be summarized by these two commands. If Christians want to fall back on a concept while they learn the rest of the Bible this is the one to fall back on. Love trumps all. Love wins ... every time. As Paul wrote, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Here's Pastor Rick Warren (with whom we disagree on many things) stating that the scripture cited by Piers Morgan is nothing more than "Jewish Civil Law." On this matter, we agree with Pastor Warren.

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