When one of the foremost progressive Protestant preachers of the day cites your academic paper — at length — in a sermon at one of the most-watched annual gatherings of the year, you should be prepared for a sudden influx…
Belief in a literal interpretation of the Bible at all-time low among Americans, Gallup reports
While response to recent Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religious liberty and gun control have shown how widely out of step conservative evangelicals in America are from the rest of the population, there’s fresh data showing a similar gap on…
Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist
Like many Christians, Bill Thomason was raised to view the Bible as the inerrant word of God derived from pristine, original manuscripts penned by the individuals actually credited with authoring them. “I grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church believing…
Why biblical inerrancy should be a litmus test
Editor’s note: One of the blessings of engaging with a variety of young theologians as writers for BNG is allowing room for differing opinions. Despite the perception of some, our contributors are not all cut from the same cloth. And…
How the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy became a litmus test
“Do you affirm the doctrine of inerrancy as articulated in the Chicago Statement?” demands Denny Burk, professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tweeting his line in the sand to defend what he thinks are attacks against historic orthodoxy by the ever-so-dangerous…
History shows ‘integrity’ and ‘inerrancy’ don’t go together
“Integrity” is an interesting word. It is a powerful word. It can be an elusive word. The president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary wrote in a 2020 piece that was published in the Baptist Standard not long after he arrived…
Slavery, race and biblical authority: Before we claim the Bible is ‘inerrant,’ let’s confess that we aren’t
Albert Mohler’s hermeneutic of biblical inerrancy led him 25 years ago to reaffirm a scriptural mandate for slaves to dutifully ‘submit’ to their masters in whatever era or culture slavery might exist. His repentance regarding slavery, albeit delayed, is a lesson for all of us.
Why a biblical inerrancy-based bill in the Texas Senate matters
Texas Senate Bill 17 raises serious questions. This year’s Bible-impacted legislation is intended to protect people of faith from the LGBTQ “agenda.” Fifty years ago, the debate involved a similar “biblical” and “legal” response to civil rights for African Americans.
SBC president who said God hears only Christian prayers dead at 79
Bailey Smith, the former Southern Baptist Convention president best known for saying God does not hear the prayers of a Jew, died Jan. 14 after a 21-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Smith, 79, was the youngest man ever elected SBC…