Biblical Inerrancy

The Bible points to the Word of God, which is Jesus (John 1). Biblatry and transforming the book into an idol.

The Chicago Declaration (1978)

The Chicago Declaration on Biblical Inerrancy was formulated by more than 200 evangelical leaders at a conference convened by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy.

Signatories included: Robert Preus, James Montgomery Boice, J.I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, and John MacArthur.

Definitions

•Infallible: Means the quality of neither deceiving nor being deceived.
•Inerrant: Means the quality of being free from all falsehood or error.

The statement states that inerrancy applies only to original manuscripts (autographs), which no longer exist.

Academic Criticism

Peter Enns

OT theologian Peter Enns strongly criticized the statement, saying: 'Much of what weighs on the CSBI can be summarized as failing to adequately reflect on the nature of inspiration.'

Clark Pinnock

The statement drew accusations of fundamentalist tones from figures such as Clark Pinnock, who in The Scripture Principle (1984) favored a 'scriptural infallibility' centered on the central redemptive message of the Bible.

Science and Scripture

Richard Wright argued: 'Chicago's important statements of inerrancy simply miss the mark in addressing the relationship between science and the Bible.'

Neo-Orthodoxy

Neo-orthodoxy, notably the theology of Karl Barth, has reconceived the Bible not as the inerrant words of God, but as fallible human testimony that encounters divine revelation.

Inspiration vs. Dictation

The Bible was written by inspired humans, in specific historical contexts. It contains the revelation of God, but also reflects the worldview of its authors (flat earth, accepted slavery, etc.).

Theological Truth

The truth of the Bible is theological and relational, not necessarily scientific or historical in all details. The goal is to lead us to Christ.

Concrete Examples of Textual Tensions

Critics of strict inerrancy often point to specific cases that challenge the application of the concept. The dating of the Quirinius census in Luke 2:1-2 presents documented historical difficulties: Quirinius ruled Syria only from 6 AD, but Luke's account places the birth of Jesus in the period of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC. The accounts of the death of Judas Iscariot offer another clear case: Matthew 27:3-8 describes Judas hanging himself, with the priests buying the field with the thirty returned coins; Acts 1:18-19 describes Judas personally purchasing a field where he fell and had his bowels spilled out—irreconcilable details on a literalist reading. Defenders of inerrancy respond that the doctrine applies only to original autographs (which no longer exist). Critics respond that this argument is logically circular: positing inerrancy in inaccessible documents is unfalsifiable. In the end, inerrancy functions more as a hermeneutic presupposition — a stance of faith — than as a hypothesis verifiable by historical-critical methodology.