Inerrancy
Inerrancy means that the scripture is without error, whether with regard to matters of faith or history. The doctrine holds that:
1. The original copies of scripture were inspired by God to the extent that they were recorded without error with regard to all matters on which they speak.
2. The copies of scripture we have today, both of the Old and New Testaments, contain no significant transmission (copying) errors.
Over the centuries, especially during the modern era, many scholars have attacked this doctrine. So far none of the critics have stood the test of time. Some people focus on apparent contradictions in scripture, but these are merely different accounts. Others have tried to discredit the history in scripture, but up till now archaeology has never shown the biblical record to be wrong.
Textual Transmission
Textual transmission has to do with how the copies of the original Bible came down to us today many years later. No other documents in the world have been so faithfully handed down through the generations in such good original order and with such strong proof of authenticity.
Starting with the Old Testament, the Hebrew nation had a class of scholars that worked on textual copying. They worked out a systematic way of copying scripture before the old copies deteriorated. They used mathematical checks to ensure that the transmission of the text from one copy to the next was without errors.
They also had the Old Testament translated into Greek before the time of Jesus. This Greek translation is called the Septuagint, which means 70, because there were 70 qualified translators involved. Jesus often used the Septuagint when He preached. So, we not only have Hebrew copies, but also ancient Greek copies, by which we can check the authenticity of our current Bibles.
This means allegations that early Christians tampered with the Old Testament texts to insert prophecies after Jesus came are impossible. The Old Testament was already in wide circulation in different languages before Jesus came.
The oldest surviving Old Testament text until 1947 dated back to about 1,000AD. This text was copied about 1,000 years after Christ, but all texts older than that had disappeared. In the 20th Century a boy herding goats in the desert near the Dead Sea discovered many sealed clay pots in different caves containing ancient texts. These were put there by the Essenes who dwelt in the region before Christ. The texts had been preserved for more than 2,000 years due to the dry conditions.
These texts, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, contain almost every book in the Old Testament. They therefore serve as an invaluable opportunity to verify the authenticity of the Old Testament we use in our time. Inspections of the Dead Sea Scrolls, by experts, have shown that there are no significant differences between those ancient texts of the Old Testament and the one we use today.
Today we have copies of the Septuagint. We have copies of the Old Testament going back to 1,000AD. We have the Dead Sea Scrolls with copies of most of the Old Testament books dated at 100BC. We have quotations from the Old Testament in many other sources, including old New Testament manuscripts. There are no significant differences between so many copies from so many different sources.
Saturday, 21 August 2010
Friday, 20 August 2010
Sources of Theology
It has already been shown that everyone has theology – everyone thinks about God. How do we know whether what we think about God is correct? This is determined by the source of our theology. We go wrong in what we think about God when we draw on the wrong places.
So what are your sources of theology? Where do we draw our information about God from? Common sources are our own judgement, traditions, experiences, reason, culture, science, nature, testimonies, feelings, emotion, conscience, religion, a religious leader or scripture. Most often people use a mixture of these things.
What is the basis of authority in theology? Everything people say about God has a basis which they assume has authority to make it valid. It is important to know whether what we say and think about God is correct. One way to find out is to ask what the authority of our position is. Why do we believe what we believe?
In this section we explore authorities that people advocate. Traditionally, Evangelicals/Pentecostals hold that scripture is the only basis of authority, but in practice this position is not always maintained. The traditional doctrine of the authority of scripture is based on the doctrine of inerrancy. So we will first explore inerrancy and textual transmission to our current day.
So what are your sources of theology? Where do we draw our information about God from? Common sources are our own judgement, traditions, experiences, reason, culture, science, nature, testimonies, feelings, emotion, conscience, religion, a religious leader or scripture. Most often people use a mixture of these things.
What is the basis of authority in theology? Everything people say about God has a basis which they assume has authority to make it valid. It is important to know whether what we say and think about God is correct. One way to find out is to ask what the authority of our position is. Why do we believe what we believe?
In this section we explore authorities that people advocate. Traditionally, Evangelicals/Pentecostals hold that scripture is the only basis of authority, but in practice this position is not always maintained. The traditional doctrine of the authority of scripture is based on the doctrine of inerrancy. So we will first explore inerrancy and textual transmission to our current day.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Practical Theology
Practical theology refers to the practice of the Christian faith, either in personal life or in ministry. It is the application side of study. We apply what we have learned from scripture to practical matters in daily life. Typical modules of study in this area include marriage and family, missions, evangelism, worship, preaching, teaching, church administration and pastoral ministries.
Practical theology is vital, as we must live the Christian life and lead others to live it also. We must reach all people with the gospel and pass on all aspects of the Christian faith in our homes and churches. We must be salt and light in our nations and influence all parts of the world in which we live.
It is important to notice the order. Practical theology comes last, after a full study of scripture. Practical theology must be built upon the foundation of what God says. What we do in life must be based upon biblical truth. The danger in moving too quickly to practical theology, before a robust and adequate biblical theology, is that other foundations will be substituted into our practice from anthropology (human culture).
We must have a theoretical basis for our practice. Everybody does. We always act from a foundation of theory. If we say that theology is not spiritual or practical and is a waste of time, then we will inevitably build our practice on human ideas. We build on what God says, or we build upon what man says.
Practical theology is vital, as we must live the Christian life and lead others to live it also. We must reach all people with the gospel and pass on all aspects of the Christian faith in our homes and churches. We must be salt and light in our nations and influence all parts of the world in which we live.
It is important to notice the order. Practical theology comes last, after a full study of scripture. Practical theology must be built upon the foundation of what God says. What we do in life must be based upon biblical truth. The danger in moving too quickly to practical theology, before a robust and adequate biblical theology, is that other foundations will be substituted into our practice from anthropology (human culture).
We must have a theoretical basis for our practice. Everybody does. We always act from a foundation of theory. If we say that theology is not spiritual or practical and is a waste of time, then we will inevitably build our practice on human ideas. We build on what God says, or we build upon what man says.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Historical Theology
Historical theology is a study of church history, which looks at theological development in the church fathers, creeds and councils. It is an important field of study for all pastors. We are not the first people to study the Bible. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we should learn from those who went before us. This appears to us to be basic common sense and humility.
We should learn from history. The same errors come around every generation. We can study their consequences in history. Historical theology will show us what the church has believed and taught in the past. This will put present day beliefs in a much broader perspective. While a doctrine may be popular today, it may not have enjoyed popularity on the whole throughout church history. If not, then why?
It takes effort to gain more than a superficial view of history. Some books about the past available today have been re-edited, so in order to get a reliable historical view we have to know earlier editions. A problem occurs when we repeat what we have heard from others concerning history, without really knowing much about it.
Everybody has an historical understanding. Every person’s life style is affected by their theological view and their theological view is affected by their perceptions of history. Everybody thinks about history and our thinking is important to how we live. If history was not important, why are so many people trying to rewrite it? The attitude of let others study history and tell us their views on what happened will depreciate our Christian influence in society. We must participate in the process.
There are pragmatic comments like “Some make history, others study it”. Those who say this are more likely to make a historic shipwreck. God told us to take counsel. If we do not know where we have come from, we will not know where we are going to. We will not have the values that we learn from history.
Historical theology includes a study of those the Lord has used before us. We look at their strengths and weaknesses. We look at main historical church movements and assess their fruits and failures. We see how recent trends developed in history and understand how our current thought patterns were developed.
We also get an understanding of the debt we owe to those who stood firm in the past and this, in turn, causes us to live for future generations and not for our self. People in the past gave their lives for our benefit. We should find out why they did so, lest it be in vain as far as we are concerned.
Past church creeds and early church councils are important. The early Nicaea council of 325AD, made up of independent church leaders from all over the world, addressed important issues of the day. Its theology is not a local or isolated expression. Every Bible student should be familiar with the major church creeds, such as the Nicene, Apostles and Athanasian creeds. These are available in book stores and on the Internet.
If our teaching today is contrary to any of these creeds, then it is likely there is a problem with our teaching. These creeds are not inspired like scripture, but neither are they to be taken lightly. The creeds afford us the opportunity to reflect on scripture. We do not fellowship just with our own generation, but also with those before us. This is vital study.
The Westminster Confession was formulated over a 10 year period with leaders from many nations, whom God used in significant ways, who sought to stay in tune with scripture and with historical positions in the church. The confession became the basis for much of the revival that occurred in the 17th – 19th Centuries.
Many in early 20th Century Pentecostalism claimed they did not need history. They claimed to have no historical connections. This was partly due to the restorationist nature of the movement, believing that all history except the original church in Acts was wrong. While they were correct to avoid liberal theology, they were not correct to think they had it all. They had taken on more traditional baggage than they realised.
We should learn from history. The same errors come around every generation. We can study their consequences in history. Historical theology will show us what the church has believed and taught in the past. This will put present day beliefs in a much broader perspective. While a doctrine may be popular today, it may not have enjoyed popularity on the whole throughout church history. If not, then why?
It takes effort to gain more than a superficial view of history. Some books about the past available today have been re-edited, so in order to get a reliable historical view we have to know earlier editions. A problem occurs when we repeat what we have heard from others concerning history, without really knowing much about it.
Everybody has an historical understanding. Every person’s life style is affected by their theological view and their theological view is affected by their perceptions of history. Everybody thinks about history and our thinking is important to how we live. If history was not important, why are so many people trying to rewrite it? The attitude of let others study history and tell us their views on what happened will depreciate our Christian influence in society. We must participate in the process.
There are pragmatic comments like “Some make history, others study it”. Those who say this are more likely to make a historic shipwreck. God told us to take counsel. If we do not know where we have come from, we will not know where we are going to. We will not have the values that we learn from history.
Historical theology includes a study of those the Lord has used before us. We look at their strengths and weaknesses. We look at main historical church movements and assess their fruits and failures. We see how recent trends developed in history and understand how our current thought patterns were developed.
We also get an understanding of the debt we owe to those who stood firm in the past and this, in turn, causes us to live for future generations and not for our self. People in the past gave their lives for our benefit. We should find out why they did so, lest it be in vain as far as we are concerned.
Past church creeds and early church councils are important. The early Nicaea council of 325AD, made up of independent church leaders from all over the world, addressed important issues of the day. Its theology is not a local or isolated expression. Every Bible student should be familiar with the major church creeds, such as the Nicene, Apostles and Athanasian creeds. These are available in book stores and on the Internet.
If our teaching today is contrary to any of these creeds, then it is likely there is a problem with our teaching. These creeds are not inspired like scripture, but neither are they to be taken lightly. The creeds afford us the opportunity to reflect on scripture. We do not fellowship just with our own generation, but also with those before us. This is vital study.
The Westminster Confession was formulated over a 10 year period with leaders from many nations, whom God used in significant ways, who sought to stay in tune with scripture and with historical positions in the church. The confession became the basis for much of the revival that occurred in the 17th – 19th Centuries.
Many in early 20th Century Pentecostalism claimed they did not need history. They claimed to have no historical connections. This was partly due to the restorationist nature of the movement, believing that all history except the original church in Acts was wrong. While they were correct to avoid liberal theology, they were not correct to think they had it all. They had taken on more traditional baggage than they realised.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Systematic Theology
Systematic theology is the next stage. It is bringing together all our findings from our previous exegetical studies. We systemise, or synthesis all the key passages we looked at, into a whole or complete statement on the topic that we are studying. This is where we make general conclusions on the theology of the subject.
Systematic means holistic, not in the sense of including knowledge from non-inspired sources (other than scripture), but holistic in the sense of including all the biblical data from all the books of the Bible. In systematic theology, we get the total overall picture on the subject.
This process of systematic theology assumes scripture does not contradict itself when we compare one passage with another. It assumes that God is consistent in His revelation of Himself and His revelation is sensible. God does not reveal Himself in different ways that are conflicting. In scripture there is a consistent revelation of His nature and person.
This presupposition in Bible study is due to the claim of scripture: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine…” (2 Tim 3:16). Jesus took scripture as historical and literal and interpreted it by its plain intention (Mk 10:5-9). The doctrine of scripture, meaning that scripture is God inspired, reliable and has a common sense meaning, is throughout the Bible: Matt 26:56, Luke 24:27, John 13:18, John 19:28, Acts 17:11, 1 Cor 15:3, Gal 3:8, 22, 2 Pet 3:16.
Ezra demonstrated how scripture should be read in its plain sense (Neh 8:8). In Hebrew thought, God’s revelation is supposed to make sense and be understood by its plain historical and grammatical meaning. In Ezra’s example we see plain exegetical and expositional teaching. Expositional means teaching verse by verse from the plain meaning of the passage.
Deut 6:4 says, “The Lord our God is one Lord”, (in Hebrew meaning the Lord is unity) showing there is one revelation from God, which is not self-contradictory. This means our interpretation of scripture should make sense. It is a matter of God’s integrity. He says what He means. He is not leading us astray. He wants us to understand.
If the Bible contradicted itself, that is, did not mean what is said, or could be given several meanings of equal value, then any genuine teaching from scripture would be impossible. It would also mean that any duty on our part, in understating or living truth, would be meaningless.
The commandments “you shall not lie, steal, or commit adultery” are meaningless if we can give a different meaning to them. They assume objectivity in knowledge, a standard of truth that is external to our self, by which we shall be judged. Truth is not culturally relative. There is a universal standard given by one God.
Systematic theology goes by the principle of the analogy of faith. This principle states that scripture has one meaning, one message and one faith. It is not contradictory. James Packer said it like this:
Scripture must interpret scripture. The scope and significance of one passage is to be brought out by relating it to others. Our Lord gave an example of this when He used Gen 2:24 to show that Moses’ Law of divorce was no more than a temporary concession to human hard-heartedness (Matt 3:8 and Deut 24:1).
The Reformers termed this principle the analogy of Scripture. The Westminster Confession states it thus: “The infallible rule of interpretation of scripture is the scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture, it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.”…the various inspired books are dealing with complementary aspects of the same subject.
In theology we start by examining each passage independently and then relate them together for a common meaning. If the scripture is sensible then this process does not lead to contradiction. God intends us to employ all our faculties, mind and spirit, by His guiding grace.
There are mysteries in scripture, at least to the human mind and there are limitations to our knowledge on the context of some of the passages, particularly given our individual learning at any time, but God nevertheless makes its intended message plain to us, as we study it in humility and diligence, guided by the Holy Spirit.
In studying both exegetical and systematic theology there are sources that we should utilize. These include original language lexicons, biblical commentaries and theological dictionaries. We do not have to agree with all the content of these sources, but can benefit from the expertise of people in their own field, whenever they are correct and helpful.
Systematic means holistic, not in the sense of including knowledge from non-inspired sources (other than scripture), but holistic in the sense of including all the biblical data from all the books of the Bible. In systematic theology, we get the total overall picture on the subject.
This process of systematic theology assumes scripture does not contradict itself when we compare one passage with another. It assumes that God is consistent in His revelation of Himself and His revelation is sensible. God does not reveal Himself in different ways that are conflicting. In scripture there is a consistent revelation of His nature and person.
This presupposition in Bible study is due to the claim of scripture: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine…” (2 Tim 3:16). Jesus took scripture as historical and literal and interpreted it by its plain intention (Mk 10:5-9). The doctrine of scripture, meaning that scripture is God inspired, reliable and has a common sense meaning, is throughout the Bible: Matt 26:56, Luke 24:27, John 13:18, John 19:28, Acts 17:11, 1 Cor 15:3, Gal 3:8, 22, 2 Pet 3:16.
Ezra demonstrated how scripture should be read in its plain sense (Neh 8:8). In Hebrew thought, God’s revelation is supposed to make sense and be understood by its plain historical and grammatical meaning. In Ezra’s example we see plain exegetical and expositional teaching. Expositional means teaching verse by verse from the plain meaning of the passage.
Deut 6:4 says, “The Lord our God is one Lord”, (in Hebrew meaning the Lord is unity) showing there is one revelation from God, which is not self-contradictory. This means our interpretation of scripture should make sense. It is a matter of God’s integrity. He says what He means. He is not leading us astray. He wants us to understand.
If the Bible contradicted itself, that is, did not mean what is said, or could be given several meanings of equal value, then any genuine teaching from scripture would be impossible. It would also mean that any duty on our part, in understating or living truth, would be meaningless.
The commandments “you shall not lie, steal, or commit adultery” are meaningless if we can give a different meaning to them. They assume objectivity in knowledge, a standard of truth that is external to our self, by which we shall be judged. Truth is not culturally relative. There is a universal standard given by one God.
Systematic theology goes by the principle of the analogy of faith. This principle states that scripture has one meaning, one message and one faith. It is not contradictory. James Packer said it like this:
Scripture must interpret scripture. The scope and significance of one passage is to be brought out by relating it to others. Our Lord gave an example of this when He used Gen 2:24 to show that Moses’ Law of divorce was no more than a temporary concession to human hard-heartedness (Matt 3:8 and Deut 24:1).
The Reformers termed this principle the analogy of Scripture. The Westminster Confession states it thus: “The infallible rule of interpretation of scripture is the scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture, it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.”…the various inspired books are dealing with complementary aspects of the same subject.
In theology we start by examining each passage independently and then relate them together for a common meaning. If the scripture is sensible then this process does not lead to contradiction. God intends us to employ all our faculties, mind and spirit, by His guiding grace.
There are mysteries in scripture, at least to the human mind and there are limitations to our knowledge on the context of some of the passages, particularly given our individual learning at any time, but God nevertheless makes its intended message plain to us, as we study it in humility and diligence, guided by the Holy Spirit.
In studying both exegetical and systematic theology there are sources that we should utilize. These include original language lexicons, biblical commentaries and theological dictionaries. We do not have to agree with all the content of these sources, but can benefit from the expertise of people in their own field, whenever they are correct and helpful.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Biblical Theology
Biblical theology means studying scripture one passage at a time. This is also called exegetical theology, taking one passage and interpreting it exegetically. Theological education begins with the study of exegesis and hermeneutics, teaching students the principles of interpreting passages of scripture, to serve as the tools of their work. These are basic essential skills for any believer and for any future pastor.
When we study a subject in the Bible, we start by finding the main passages that relate to that subject. We take each passage, one at a time and look at the meaning of that passage. Each passage must be studied apart from the other passages, on its own merits, or in its own context. In this first step we do not use one passage to interpret another passage. We compare passages later.
We interpret the passage by its plain intention, not allegorically (figuratively). The passage is interpreted by plain common sense and not by looking for a hidden or spiritual meaning. There are figurative passages in the Bible, especially in the prophets, but these are intentional in that they relate to Christ. We are not free to interpret scripture figuratively otherwise.
There are different genres of scripture. A genre is a type of literature. For example, there are the poetic and apocalyptic styles and the historical narrative. Apocalyptic is a type of prophetic literature, like Revelation. Each genre has principles for interpreting it. It is wrong to interpret symbolic language literally and wrong to interpret literal language symbolically. We always look for the scripture’s stated intent.
Biblical or exegetical theology involves looking at the literary (grammatical), cultural and historical contexts of each passage, as well as the original language, whether Hebrew or Greek. Exegetical theology is inductive, which means that we move from the particular to the general. We look for actual, particular, evidence of meaning within the passage and do not start with general ideas about a doctrine.
If we are studying a topic on the Holy Spirit, we might have a passage in Ezekiel, a passage in John and several other passages. It is important that we complete every relevant passage, or our study will not consider all that the Bible has to say about the issue. When we have completed each individual passage, we are ready to move onto the next stage.
When we study a subject in the Bible, we start by finding the main passages that relate to that subject. We take each passage, one at a time and look at the meaning of that passage. Each passage must be studied apart from the other passages, on its own merits, or in its own context. In this first step we do not use one passage to interpret another passage. We compare passages later.
We interpret the passage by its plain intention, not allegorically (figuratively). The passage is interpreted by plain common sense and not by looking for a hidden or spiritual meaning. There are figurative passages in the Bible, especially in the prophets, but these are intentional in that they relate to Christ. We are not free to interpret scripture figuratively otherwise.
There are different genres of scripture. A genre is a type of literature. For example, there are the poetic and apocalyptic styles and the historical narrative. Apocalyptic is a type of prophetic literature, like Revelation. Each genre has principles for interpreting it. It is wrong to interpret symbolic language literally and wrong to interpret literal language symbolically. We always look for the scripture’s stated intent.
Biblical or exegetical theology involves looking at the literary (grammatical), cultural and historical contexts of each passage, as well as the original language, whether Hebrew or Greek. Exegetical theology is inductive, which means that we move from the particular to the general. We look for actual, particular, evidence of meaning within the passage and do not start with general ideas about a doctrine.
If we are studying a topic on the Holy Spirit, we might have a passage in Ezekiel, a passage in John and several other passages. It is important that we complete every relevant passage, or our study will not consider all that the Bible has to say about the issue. When we have completed each individual passage, we are ready to move onto the next stage.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Two Steps
There are two steps in interpreting scripture. The first is seeing what it meant then. The second is applying that today. When we rush over step one, to piously (devotionally, pragmatically) get to step two, we corrupt the gospel message and bring others into bondage to religion. The other pitfall is not getting to step two at all. We must get the true gospel and then apply it to today.
When the Old Testament was written it was not written to us, but to those under the law. John the Baptist and Jesus did not speak to 21st Century Pentecostal/Evangelicals, but to 1st Century Jews. When Paul wrote his epistles he wrote to the Jewish/Hellenist world of his time. Understanding that day is vital in understanding the message.
Some claim that understanding the Bible is just a matter of having the right attitude of heart, loving Jesus, praying and being led by the Holy Spirit. These are necessary, but they do not replace the need to read the Bible properly. God in His love gave a message to people when the Bible was written. But if we misinterpret that message, then it has lost its intended value for us.
It is when we have the original meaning that we can move to the second step – applying the original message to our own life and circumstances today. Application, or practical theology, comes second. An honest, open and thorough biblical study comes first.
When the Old Testament was written it was not written to us, but to those under the law. John the Baptist and Jesus did not speak to 21st Century Pentecostal/Evangelicals, but to 1st Century Jews. When Paul wrote his epistles he wrote to the Jewish/Hellenist world of his time. Understanding that day is vital in understanding the message.
Some claim that understanding the Bible is just a matter of having the right attitude of heart, loving Jesus, praying and being led by the Holy Spirit. These are necessary, but they do not replace the need to read the Bible properly. God in His love gave a message to people when the Bible was written. But if we misinterpret that message, then it has lost its intended value for us.
It is when we have the original meaning that we can move to the second step – applying the original message to our own life and circumstances today. Application, or practical theology, comes second. An honest, open and thorough biblical study comes first.
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