A group of evangelical scholars has taken the first step to more clearly state its support of biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error.
Members of the Evangelical Theological Society, who gathered for their annual meeting Nov. 17-19 in San Antonio, adopted a resolution that further explains the group's two-sentence “doctrinal basis” that declares the Bible is inerrant.
“The case for biblical inerrancy rests on the absolute trustworthiness of God and Scripture's testimony to itself,” reads the resolution, which was approved by a 4-to-1 margin.
“A proper understanding of inerrancy takes into account the language, genres, and intent of Scripture. We reject approaches to Scripture that deny that biblical truth claims are grounded in reality.”
It also states that members should refer to the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, created in 1978, as a further explanation of the group's stance.
James Borland, secretary-treasurer of the society, said the resolution will be discussed over the next year and is likely to be considered at the group's 2005 meeting as a change to the organization's bylaws.
“Some wondered what our original statement meant because it was so brief and so this was to help clarify that,” he told Religion News Service.
The action followed a meeting last year in which two scholars were almost ousted as members after declaring their support of open theism-the belief that God can “change his mind” depending on the actions of humans. Some society members thought the position of those scholars violated the group's commitment to inerrancy.
Religion News Service