The Bible is infallible

Sir,

In his letter of 30 July, Joseph Markham asks ‘Is the Bible without error?’ The simple answer is yes, as the Bible cannot err, since it is God's Word, and God cannot err. The Scriptures, from Genesis through to Revelation, are inerrant (perfect) and infallible (reliable). Since God is perfect, holy, and true, we know there are no real errors in His Word, no matter what it seems at first.

Biblical inerrancy does not mean that we are to stop using our minds or accept what the Bible says blindly. We are commanded to study the Word (2 Timothy 2:15), and those who search it out are commended (Acts 17:11).

This, of course, does not mean there are no difficulties in the Bible. But the difficulties are not due to God's perfect revelation, but to our imperfect understanding of it. The history of Bible criticism reveals that the Bible has no errors, but the critics do. If we read the Bible at face value, without a preconceived bias for finding errors, we will find it to be a coherent and consistent book throughout.

Yes, there are difficult passages. Yes, there are verses that appear to contradict each other. We must remember that the Bible was written by approximately 40 different authors over a period of around 1500 years. Each writer wrote with a different style, from a different perspective, to a different audience, for a different purpose. We should expect some minor differences. However, a difference is not a contradiction. It is only an error if there is absolutely no conceivable way the verses or passages can be reconciled. And they can, each and every one of them.

However, the sad fact is that most people who critically attack the Bible are not truly interested in an answer. If they were spiritually minded, desiring to feed upon the Word and understand what it teaches, they would find it without any fault or flaw whatsoever. Alas they have a hidden ‘judgemental’ agenda and go cherry-picking until they find a verse, or a cluster of verses, they imagine (wrongly) to be a contradiction, an error or a mistake – beside another verse.

They cannot see that it is sinful man who makes mistakes, not God, as one Divine said, “If the Bible is truly from God, and if God is a God of truth (as he is), then ... if two parts seem to be in opposition or in contradiction to each other, our interpretation of one or both of these parts must be in error.”

Yes, in every case, there is a logical explanation - we just have to clear up our own ignorance. The idea that God made an error is never a possibility.

Donald J Morrison

85 Old Edinburgh Road

Inverness.

Letter: The Bible is infallible

6 August 2018