Which approach to biblical inerrancy do you find most compelling (see details)?

Question

In spite of the singularity often shown, The Church has several doctrinally defensible stances on the infallibility of scripture:

1. The Bible is entirely the word of God, that every word is written as God inspired it to be, and that Jesus is the culmination of God's work in bringing human beings to him.

2. The Bible is the inspired word of God, and through it we learn how God has worked through thousands of years. Jesus is the culmination of God's work, and the Bible provides a reliable resource for learning what Jesus taught. However, some parts of the Bible reflect what humans thought more than what God thought.

3. The Bible describes how people have perceived God in their culture and may through metaphor help us learn about God. Jesus is God's ultimate communication with humans, and the 4 gospels teach a lot about Jesus, but he may be largely unknowable. The Bible, therefore, must be tempered by personal experience, reason, and tradition.

All are widespread in Christianity.

I fail to see how this question could have received a thumbs-down rating from anyone.

Answer 1

The only one that can make any sense to a thinking 21st century person is the third one, especially since the Old Testament is supposed to be part of the Bible, and to proclaim that all the prescribed atrocities against e.g. homosexuals or adulteresses are inspired by a divine being who is supposed to be a loving father is downright ludicrous and takes a lot of explaining away.

Sadly, a lot of Christians, especially US protestants, seem to subscribe to the first one.

Answer 2

I believe that everything in the Bible is God's word. However, I do not believe all of God's words are in the Bible. I have read many other works that have the same design and concepts that are not in the King James Version of compilated scripture. Just one example among many is the Book of Enoch. In the Book of Enoch which has been dated by archeologist to at least 200-500 BC describes the circuit of the earth as being around the Sun, indicating that the sun as the center of the universe was known thousands of years before Capernicus. Also, this book describes the length of the months, days, and years of a calendar to the specification realized 2000+ years later by science. It was considered scripture by Jews and early christian groups. But this is just one of the reasons for my belief

Answer 3

Option 2 is probably closest, in my opinion. Any time there is a human element involved, there are errors. Just compare an automated manufacturing plant with a manual manufacturing process. Manual work introduces error and personal preference.

Answer 4

1

2 & 3 are popular excuses to avaoid following any of it.

Answer 5

1

however all is not to be taken as literal context,