The perhaps most fundamental aspect of our Christian faith is the place of the Bible as an authority. It makes claims (or propositions) that certain events occurred. It contains teaching for us to adhere to. It claims to have been written over a long period of time by many different 'inspired' authors to have content relating to the beginning of all as far as we are concerned and to the future end. Within it, it claims that God has spoken in history and contains the actual words of God in many cases. It describes the many failings of man and a particular people. It also claims spectacular events or miracles that defy the 'natural order' of things. The incarnation, of God being born, teaching face to face, being rejected and crucified and of rising to break the barrier of death. To break out from just one group of people to be offered to the whole world of people and together with God Himself through the Holy Spirit to lead us into an new way of being.
That's a wonderful claim but can we trust all that?
After all the content was written variably thousands of years ago. Surely in the intervening centuries we have learnt many things and have a greater understanding of the makeup of the physical world and of mankind? Can we accept the assertions of the bible as truth? I suppose the central issues is perhaps the role of reason is all of this. Whereas one would reason out the world within and subject to the authority of the bible, the growth of the Enlightenment and Modernism placed reason in the seat of power leading to it application within Christianity as liberal theology. This became prevalent particularly in Germany and exported to America as theologians moved. Christian teaching became interpreted by way of modern knowledge and science. Religious experience became irrational and it took a wild leap of faith to participate.
However rationality was not all it promised to be and post modernity asserts that there is no truth, and so called 'historical' records cannot verified.
All of this had an affect upon how the content of the bible has been studied, and the approach of theologians.
CASE 1: Limited Authority
Tom Kennar has a Jesus only view towards biblical authority and has a post modern concept of truth. He is outspoken on this issue. Read more on this page here.
Case 2 : Biblical Inerrancy
It is has been argued that the the doctrine of inerrancy was invented in the 19th century in Princeton. However it is to be noted that doctrines arise when there is a need: the rise of liberal theology was the spur for the clarification, in the same way the earlier creeds were created. The notion of biblical truthfulness was assumed throughout the history of the church. Jesus himself quoted scripture whcih implied its words were trustworthy. Read an article here about the Statement of Biblical Inerrancy.
Case 3 : KJV (KIng James Version) only
Some of the claimants for the King James version as being the only acceptable version of the Bible assert that other versions are tainted by liberal Protestant or Roman Catholic agendas and more modern translations are tainted.
A local example is the Providence Baptist Church, Northampton who say "We use the King James Authorised version of the Bible as we believe it is the most accurate English translation that presently exists,"
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