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Randal Rauser

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inerrancy

A Logically Valid But Unsound Argument for Biblical Inerrancy

February 3, 2020 by Randal

Here is my attempt to articulate a logical argument in support of inerrancy. By “inerrancy”, I refer here to the view that the affirmations of all human authors are true. I should stress that this is not a view I hold and I have little sympathy with this argument. But be that as it may, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, inerrancy, inspiration

When conservative Christians confuse their interpretation of the Bible with the Bible

October 27, 2019 by Randal

Yesterday, I tweeted the following observation: Many Christian conservatives profess to defend the inerrancy of Scripture when, in fact, they are defending the inerrancy of their interpretation of Scripture. In order to appreciate the reasoning of the conservative Christian, we should begin by unpacking the assumption that there is a commonsense way to interpret a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: fundamentalism, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration

Why belief in divine inspiration commits the reader to wrestling with Scripture

June 14, 2019 by Randal

We begin with a tweet from Brian Zahnd: “Biblical inerrancy” is an empty signifier. Why? Because an inerrant text still has to be interpreted. Then you run into the problem of pervasive interpretive pluralism (to borrow a phrase from Christian Smith). Plenty of people agree on inerrancy and disagree on everything else!” Next, we have a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: biblical inspiration, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration

Does inerrancy apply to the human authors of the Bible?

November 21, 2018 by Randal

This morning I posted a tweet on inerrancy which prompted a reply from the philosopher Paul Franks. I thought it was an interesting Twitter exchange and worth repeating here. After compiling our tweets, I’m a bit surprised at how long it is too. I have not bothered to flag or correct the typos that appear in […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration, Paul Franks, revelation, theology

Is the Exodus as important to Christian belief as Jesus’ resurrection?

March 25, 2018 by Randal

When I was growing up, I learned to read biblical narratives as historically reliable accounts of past events. Whether the issue was the death and resurrection of Jesus, the curious maritime journey of Jonah, the Exodus from Egypt, Samson’s killing a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass, or Adam and Eve talking to […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, bibliology, inerrancy, inspiration, revelation

Are Angels and Demons Part of an Obsolete Biblical Worldview?

January 6, 2018 by Randal

In his book The Biblical Cosmos (which I just reviewed here), Robin Parry points out that the Bible is written against the backdrop of an ancient cosmology which we no longer accept in the modern world. For example, biblical writers assume a flat earth and a three-storied universe with heaven located physically above the earth. They assume […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: angelology, Bible, biblical cosmology, biblical inspiration, biblical worldview, demonology, inerrancy, worldview

Inerrancy: Still Hazy After All These Years

October 26, 2017 by Randal

I grew up in a Pentecostal fundagelical church where we prided ourselves on taking Scripture seriously. That meant, among other things, a commitment to literal interpretation. From a literal six days of creation to a literal thousand year millennium, we took Scripture in what we believed to be the natural sense. And that meant reading […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, biblical inspiration, evangelicalism fundagelicalism, fundamentalism, inerrancy

Does Wintery Knight believe the sun orbits the earth?

October 19, 2015 by Randal

Yesterday I challenged an anonymous blogger who calls him/herself “Wintery Knight” (henceforth “WK”) on his/her anonymous defense of the Rebellion Thesis (the claim that all atheists are actively and sinfully suppressing their natural knowledge of God). Wintery Knight’s Ad hominem Rebuttal Sadly, WK responded less like a bold knight fighting for truth than an insecure lord defending his […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration, Wintery Knight

42. Peter Enns on Inerrancy and the Bible

April 9, 2014 by Randal

At the beginning of his book Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman tells the story of his conversion to conservative Christianity as a young man. And then he relays how, over the next several years, his faith in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible was gradually taken apart as he confronted the full range of human […]

Filed Under: Podcast, Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, inerrancy, inspiration, interview, Peter Enns, scripture, theology

The Bible and the Moral Artist Principle: A response to Jason Thibodeau

March 23, 2014 by Randal

In “God and Gus Van Sant: Two morally irresponsible artists?” I provided a rebuttal to Jason Thibodeau. Jason had made the following claim in response to my Americana Omnibus illustration: “If I was an editor of the American Omnibus and I came across passages in which I (and/or other editors) were depicted as commanding/approving of/bringing […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, biblical violence, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration, Jason Thibodeau

Reading the Bible informed by conscience

November 15, 2013 by Randal

In “A review of “God or Godless”, inerrancy, and begging the question” I defended myself against a reviewer of God or Godless who opined that I had made a “major mistake” in my theology by rejecting the doctrine of inerrancy. I pointed out that I don’t reject inerrancy, though I do reject indefensible articulations of […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, general revelation, hermeneutics, inerrancy, inspiration, Martin Luther, moral perception, natural law

A review of “God or Godless”, inerrancy, and begging the question

November 13, 2013 by Randal

The “Christian Apologetics Alliance” website just published a review of God or Godless. The review is written by a fellow named Clinton Wilcox (for more on Clinton click here). It would seem that Clinton liked the book for he finds it to provide a good overview to the twenty topics it addresses, and he appreciates […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: God or Godless, inerrancy, inspiration, review

14. Do pastors know what to do with the Bible? An interview with Pastor Tyler Williams

September 11, 2013 by Randal

I have known Tyler Williams for many years as a friend, colleague, and professor of Old Testament, first at Taylor University College and then, since 2009, at King’s University College in Edmonton, AB. However, since July of this year Tyler has taken on a new role as the head pastor of my home church, Greenfield Baptist […]

Filed Under: Podcast, Podcast-The Tentative Apologist, The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, inerrancy, inspiration, Tyler Williams

Errant statements in an inerrant book

February 19, 2013 by Randal

Last week I received the following comment/question from Bryan: I’m a former Christian fundamentalist who abandoned Christianity for agnosticism/atheism when I found biblical inerrancy to be untenable (i.e the findings of evolution, biblical criticism, etc). But for some Christians, like you (and Thom Stark, whose book I’ve just finished) this doesn’t seem to be a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Bible, inerrancy, inspiration, revelation

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