AFFIRMATIONS 1. The Bible is fully inspired. 2. The Bible is inerrant as long as it is properly interpreted within the genre it was written.
INSPIRATION Spire: Latin Breath Inspire: To breath into something Expire: To breath out of something. To remove breath from something
PARADIGM SHIFTS WITH THE BIBLE 1) Communicating the Bible idol free. 2) Watching our tone 3) Admitting our limitations
PARADIGM SHIFTS WITH THE BIBLE 4) The Bible is not a static record of what God is. It is a dynamic progressive revelation of what men thought God was at the time that was such a giant leap forward to a greater understanding of God that He gave it life by breathing on it (inspiration) 5) Always consider Historical Arc before interpreting scripture.
Complexity In the Bible you find: 1) God speaking 2) People thinking God is speaking when He isn t. 3) People curse when God is blessing 4) People act with heroic obedience
Complexity In the Bible you find: 5) People act with heartbreaking disobedience 6) Tragic atrocities Sodom, Jephtha, etc 7) God s behavioral plan 8) Descriptions of events God was happy about
In the Bible you find: Complexity 9) Descriptions of events that happened. 10) Parables and fictional stories to make a moral, life point, or explain the meaning of an event.
In the Bible you find: Complexity 12) Authentic expressions of where people were at the time it was written. 13) People s observations Like Jesus is full of Beelzebub 14) Different opinions for different authors
Why is the Bible under attack? 1) Static Appropriation 2) Genre Confusion 3) Lack of consideration of historical arc
Solutions 1) The Bible is not a static record of God. The Bible is a dynamic progressive revelation of God leading to the final revelation of God in the Risen Christ.
Solutions 2) The Bible was written by 40 different people over approximately 1000 years in different eras and genres. What the original author intended to communicate to his original audience should be heavily considered when interpreting scripture.
Solutions 3) We have to always consider historical arc before we draw conclusions about the scripture in question.
Historical Arc Examples Deuteronomy 21 Unknown God Bethesda Dirty Sponges White Washed Tombs The Gates of Hell
Historical Arc Examples Stones Crying Out Writing in the Dirt Why would you ever chop off a man s ear? Let the dead bury the dead Sounding the Trumpets Why did the blind man start stripping?
Historical Arc Examples Why 30 pieces of silver Folded face cloths in tombs Ananius and Saphira The Blessed Sidonite Woman The creation account Why do the gospels tell contradictory stories?
Historical Arc Examples Why do the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles differ so much when speaking of the same event?
Historical Arc Examples Why all the contradictory commands? Can God not make up His mind? Turn the other cheek Go the extra Mile Heaven Hell
Historical Arc Examples Rubbish Dumps White Robes and Gold Crowns Rending the Garments Casting aside Garments Binding and Loosing Let the dead bury the dead?
Historical Arc Examples Good eyes and bad eyes Yokes Shaking dust off the feat Clean and Unclean Tassels on garments
Historical Arc Examples What did Moses see when he saw God s backside?
10 When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, 11 if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails
13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her. Deuteronomy 21:10-14
18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.
21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! Psalm 137:8