I wrote (in an article on inerrancy):

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, had a ‘high’ view of Scripture. So must we.

Chris responded:

Rowland,

I find all this to be too academic (interesting comment coming from me!), and I prefer to follow Jesus in looking at the actions and behaviours of those who follow different views (ie look at their fruits).

It seems to me that most fundamentalists cannot possibly believe in an inerrant bible, simply because they do not follow what it demands. As such, they then appear to be hypocrites, and on an enormous scale.

It is difficult to know where to begin, although Mark has detailed most of this before. They do not live a communal life, sharing all they own. They do not give freely, only owning one of everything because if they have two, they should give one of them to someone who does not (forget tithing). They have not given up their wealth and left their families to follow Jesus. And so on, just from looking at Jesus teaching.

If we go back to the OT, we know that the dietary laws and circumcision were reviewed by the apostles and discarded, but there was no such abrogation for many of the other laws. How many churches refuse entry to menstruating women, or demand the use of headcoverings? How many fundamentalists have bank accounts, supporting usury, specifically condemned time and time again in both the old and new testaments (and banned in Christendom for over a thousand years, and still banned by Muslims)? How many fundamentalists shave or cut their hair? You can be sure that neither Jesus or any of the apostles did, so who negated this sign of faith in God? And how many wear clothes made from two types of fibres, another interesting restriction from the OT. How many follow the Sabbath and Jubilee laws, forgiving debts every seven years, and only working six out of seven days and years? Who cancelled these obligations for believers? – Jesus appeared to support them.

If it is by their fruits you shall know them, then I think I find it difficult to find anyone who actually believes in an inerrant bible. (I do realise that there are some churches who do all or most of this, but they are very few and far between, but I can at least respect their views).

Chris

ps I am sure we will get lots of justifications about the above, but they are just that, justifications, not a holistic view of scripture.