Giving me that “I’ve got you stumped” look, the deacon folded his arms and tried to make me sweat. “Do you believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God? What do you think of 2 Timothy 3:16?” I had interviewed well so far but wondered if my answer would cause me problems.
What Does the Bible Say About Itself?
He probably didn’t like it very much when I avoided his chosen scripture and went to another one–Psalm 17:7-11 (NRSV). I told him I didn’t use words like inerrant or infallible but preferred to use the psalmist’s language.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
According to the psalmist, the law, decrees, precepts, commandments, and ordinances of God (presumably, The Bible, but we’ll talk about that in a bit) aren’t infallible or inerrant. Those fighting words have been used as a litmus test for orthodoxy for far too long. Instead, the psalmist says these writings are perfect, sure, right, clear, pure, true, righteous, and desirable. The purpose of these writings is to revive the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes, and to warn. Even though I agreed with everything the psalmist said about holy scripture, I don’t think I impressed him with my answer. Mostly because I didn’t use his scripture or play his game.
But I don’t want to be a politician and divert the conversation entirely. To be fair, we need to look at 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NRSV):
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Not the Bible as We Know It
If my first answer didn’t please him, my second answer would have caused him to vote against me (if I had actually given this answer). Paul’s word to Timothy was specifically about “the sacred writings,” but we must remember that at the time, the Bible had not been canonized. He definitely isn’t talking about any New Testament scriptures, as the Gospels and Epistles were still being written. The Hebrew scriptures were copied and collected in synagogues as individual scrolls, not gathered into a single book called the Old Testament. So these few verses that fundamentalists use to claim inerrancy and infallibility don’t even refer to the Bible as we know it.
Is the Bible Perfect?
Don’t get me wrong–I believe that the Bible is perfect–like a great work of art. But that doesn’t mean it is without error. The Bible does what it’s supposed to do–inspire faith. It’s not intended to be a history book, science text, or even an instruction manual. It may have stray brush strokes and even factual inaccuracies, but it does perfectly communicate what the human authors intended to say about their experience of the divine.
All Writing is God-Breathed
Now I want to zero in on two words used by the author of 2 Timothy. Verse 15 says Timothy learned the ἱερὰ γράμματα (hiera grammata) or “sacred writings/letters/learning.” Whatever the specific books the author was talking about, we know that they were considered holy. But the writer doesn’t use the same term in verse 16, which says that all γραφὴ (graphē), or “scripture/written word” is inspired by God. It’s as if he’s saying, “I know you grew up reading the sacred scriptures,” but then wanted to remind Timothy that “all writing is God-breathed, and useful.”
This doesn’t mean that all writing is holy in its content. But it does recognize that all human knowledge that is useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, comes from God. These verses in 2 Timothy never claim any special authority for the Bible as we know it today, because such a book did not exist at the time this passage was written. Just the opposite, it clearly states that all writing comes from God. It’s only when we translate γραφὴ as “scripture” instead of the simpler word “writing” that this passage makes any remarkable claim at all.
I realize this position wouldn’t win me any popularity contests–which is exactly what I was trying to do when the congregation voted to call me as pastor. So, it was best to keep this opinion to myself. But the truth is the Bible never claims the Bible to be inerrant or infallible, and 2 Timothy 3:16 never says that the Bible (which didn’t exist at the time) is God-breathed. If you want to smell God’s breath in writing, you must look in every library and all over the internet–because God has breathed on and through all of us. All human knowledge is inspired by God, and useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. When we understand this, we’ll have a better relationship with this book we call the Bible.
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