Lesson 7 - Divine Inspiration of the Bible

Question 1

What is historical biblical criticism and what challenges does it present to orthodox Christianity?

Answer 1

1. ) Historical Biblical Criticism is historical analysis of the Bible that is done by mainstream biblical scholars
   - - reports to neutral, scientific, objective approach to the Bible
   - - When you apply it, it leads to skeptical conclusions and objections to the Christian faith
2. ) Challenges
   - - Professional historians have to approach documents from neutral perspective
   - - Proper historical method must leave aside any theological assumptions
   - - When that neutral historical method is applied to the Bible, historians conclude that it is not historically reliable

Question 2

What are orthodox Christian responses to those challenges?

Answer 2

1. ) It is impossible to conduct any academic study from a neutral perspective
2. ) The methodology of historical biblical criticism is not neutral. It is based on methodological naturalism.
   - - They just assume their worldview and don’t try to prove it.
3. ) The Christian worldview entails a distinctively Christian historical method that takes the existence of God and the divine inspiration of the Bible as presuppositions.

Question 3

How would a presuppositionalist approach proving that the Bible is divinely inspired?

Answer 3

The authority and inspiration of the Bible is an integral element of the Christian worldview, which alone can make sense of the human experience.

a. ) We need to have a theistic worldview to make sense of the world and the biblical Christian worldview is the only viable theistic worldview.
b. ) Not just any God will do
- - Have to have a personal absolute God
- - “If you’re going to throw out the Bible then you’re throwing out the only credible divine revelation we have, and ultimately then you are throwing out God too.”

Conclusions

1. ) God exists as personal Absolute
2. ) If God exists, we would expect him to talk to us
3. ) The Bible (canon) is the only viable candidate for a special verbal revelation from God
4. ) Therefore the Bible is a special verbal revelation from God
5. ) Therefore, the Bible is divinely inspired and authoritative.

Question 4

What are the stages of a presuppositionalist approach of proving the Bible is divinely inspired?

Answer 4

1. ) Basic verbal revelation: God has spoken
2. ) Basic verbal revelation in the Bible: God has spoken in the Bible
3. ) Whole Bible is the basic verbal revelation: God has spoken in the whole Bible

Question 5

How does a presuppositionalist approach proving that the Bible is divinely inspired differ from classical/evidentialist approach?

Answer 5

Presuppositionalists use classical/evidentialist material as supplemental rather than main argument.

• • Theological Unity
• • Theological Profundity
• • Predictive Prophecy
• • Archaeological Evidence
• • Scientific Evidence
• • Psychological Realism
• • Spiritual Impact
• • Practical Benefits.