Before delving into specific biblical doctrines, we need to first think about what the bible is. In this lecture you’ll learn what the bible says about itself, some reasons to believe God inspired it, as well as the major types of biblical scholars and how they approach scripture. This episode, along with the last one, serves to round out the introduction to this course.
—— Notes ——
bibliology: one’s understanding about the bible
what is the bible? a library of 66 books
written by 40 people
how should you interact with it?
claims that God inspired the bible
Matthew 1.22-23
Mark 12.36
Acts 1.16
Acts 3.18
Acts 4.25
Acts 28.25-26
Hebrews 3.7
Hebrews 10.15-17
2 Timothy 3.16
2 Peter 1.16-21
Revelation 1.1-2
reasons why I believe the bible is genuinely inspired
it claims it
predictive prophecy
unflattering honesty
medical insights
martyrdom
archeology
some more reasons
ear-marks of eye-witnesses
historicity of the resurrection of Jesus
changed my life
incredible preservation survived some Israelite and Judean kings who disregarded it (Manasseh->Amon->Josiah)
survived 70 year exile in Babylonia
survived Antiochus Epiphanes who tried to destroy the Torah
survived destruction of Temple in a.d. 70
survived destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 135
survived several Muslim empires
survived all the crusades
OT survived in high quality manuscripts (Aleppo, Leningrad, DSS, LXX)
Diocletian tried to destroy the NT
NT survived in over 5,000 Greek mss
531 language for whole bible, 1329 languages for NT
dichotomy today between bible-believing and bible-critical approaches to doctrine
refer to youtube video of my lecture on Losing Faith from 500
enlightenment gave rise to intense philosophical and biblical criticisms most bible professors in most secular universities examine the bible from an atheist worldview
some Christians affirmed these criticisms but tried to save Christianity Schleiermacher (1822): feeling of absolute dependence; entering into Christ’s perfect God consciousness
Albrecht Ritschl (1852): kingdom of God = community of brotherly love (focus on Jesus’ ethics not miracles)
Adolf Harnack (1886): fatherhood of God, brotherhood of man, worth of each soul, love rather than law
Walter Rauschenbusch (1917): social gospel movement—focus on humanitarian needs
other Christians dug in and fought the criticisms John Locke (1695) published The Reasonableness of Christianity
William Paley (1802) early proponent of intelligent design
Charles Hodge (1874) defended infallibility and attacked Darwinism
Fundamentalist Movement (1910)
In 19th and 20th centuries the liberals and conservatives fight it out major denominations split (Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans)
as universities go liberal and biblical conservatives leave and start new schools 1806 Harvard splits to form Andover Theological Seminary
1908 Lyman Stewart started BIOLA; he’s the man who funded the 1910 “The Fundamentals”
1929 Princeton splits to form Westminster Theological Seminary
1976 Liberty University Founded as Lynchburg Baptist College by Jerry Falwell
1978 Regent University Founded as Christian Broadcasting Network University by Pat Robertson
four types of bible scholars today
non-religious (majority)
liberal Christians (mainline denominations)
evangelicals
Catholic/Orthodox
views of inspiration (list all 6 and describe for quiz)
skeptical view (entirely a human creation, containing truth and error) the authors of the bible interpreted their experiences and told stories on the basis of what they believed God was and had done.
mixed view (partially of human origin, containing truth and error) God inspired some parts of the bible but not others
typically the parts of the bible rejected are those that conflict with present day views of morality, history, and science
limited inspiration (partially of divine origin, containing truth and error (but not doctrinal)) the bible holds authority with regard to belief and practice, but not with regard to history or science
infallible but not inerrant
inerrant (of divine origin, containing truth only) superintendence view: God had worked with those who wrote the bible, giving them experiences and understandings such that when they came to write, they communicated the truths/concepts God wanted (though not exact words)
superintendence plenary verbal view (every word is exactly what God wanted)
dictation view: God dictated the exact words he wanted written even if the writer didn’t understand them, making God the sole author and everyone else mere secretaries
views 1-2 put the reader over the text, at least part of the time
views 3-4 put the reader under the text, all of the time
if you are over the text, you have a say in whether or not what it says is correct
if you are under the text, when the bible disagrees with what you think, you are wrong and it is right
furthermore, depending on your view for inspiration, you will have a different methodology when it comes to forming bible doctrines
for this class we assuming the bible is true as it relates to doctrine (compatible w/ views 3 and 4)
this is necessary to do biblical theology as opposed to liberal theology (ex. of Ehrman saying each gospel author had a different christology!)
principles of biblical theology
Ask God for help to illuminate scripture through his spirit.
Be willing to change if the preponderance of the biblical evidence turns out to challenge what you currently believe. The truth has nothing to fear.
Don’t insist on figuring everything out. It’s better to live with uncertainty when it comes to a particular doctrine or practice than to force yourself to adopt a position that you know is flawed.
Collect all the verses on the subject. This is best achieved by reading through the entire bible with your particular doctrine in mind. Alternatively, the internet or bible software can aid you in gathering the relevant texts.
Take into consideration the history of redemption. In other words, don’t insist that something must remain unchanged from an earlier part of the bible to a latter section.
Work to arrive at a position that has the greatest explanatory scope.
Include others in your study. Invite criticism of your position. Iron sharpens iron (Prov 27.17).
Figure out how to live this out today. What good are your beliefs if you don’t apply them to life?
—— Links ——
See other episodes in this Theology Class
Find more Restitutio classes here
For more on correct bible study, listen to Interview 28: Exegetical Fallacies with Jerry Wierwille or these on bible interpreation
Learn about the Atlanta Bible College
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