A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
About the Author
Harold Lindsell served as vice-president and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and professor at Columbia Bible College, and at Northern Baptist Seminary. He also served for a time as the editor of Christianity Today.
Introduction
In this book, Lindsell calls the evangelical church to engage in a defense of biblical inerrancy. He presents historical sketches to show that many people and groups within evangelicalism are rejecting inerrancy, and he charts out the theological implications for this rejection. Lindsell argues that the issue of inerrancy is the major theological issue for evangelicalism today and that it will be disastrous if the church does not stand for the truth and defend the entire trustworthiness of Scripture as a whole, and in all of its parts.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Inerrancy an Evangelical Problem
Chapter 2 Inerrancy a Doctrine of Scripture
Chapter 3 Infallibility in the Church
Chapter 4 The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod Battle
Chapter 5 The Southern Baptist Convention
Chapter 6 The Strange Case of Fuller Theological Seminary
Chapter 7 Other Denominations and Parachurch Groups
Chapter 8 Deviations That Follow When Inerrancy is Denied
Chapter 9 Discrepancies in Scripture
Chapter 10 How Infection Spreads
Chapter 11 The Conclusion of the Matter
Summary
Chapter 1: Inerrancy an Evangelical Problem
The doctrine of Scripture is fundamental since the Bible is the basis for all of our religious knowledge. Special revelation is necessary for salvation, and there would be no Christian faith without it. To the question as to whether or not the Bible is trustworthy, three answers can be given: It is not at all trustworthy, it is totally trustworthy, or it is partially trustworthy. The consensus of church history has been that the Bible is entirely trustworthy—it is infallible and inerrant. Fundamentalists and evangelicals have held this view, but now some evangelicals are moving away from it and introducing qualifications.
It is possible to have a faulty doctrine of Scripture and still be saved, but there are many problems that attach to an insufficient view of the Bible. The biblical authors accepted other parts of Scripture as entirely trustworthy. Since many denominations, schools, and churches hold to creeds and statements of faith that affirm inerrancy, it is unethical to sign these statements and deny the doctrine. One’s doctrine of Scripture is often a test case for fidelity to the orthodox understanding of other doctrines. We need to be irenic, but peace cannot be maintained at the expense of truth. When inerrancy is denied, other doctrines will be doubted or denied as well. This great issue of infallibility needs to be discussed openly today, and ad hominem attacks need to be avoided. . . .
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