the inerrancy of the Bible

with the hubbub surrounding the release of the movie the Da Vinci Code, biblical inerrancy is definitely something that has been on my mind. there's a lot that i don't know, and that kinda scares me. i like having all the answers. i suppose that's one reason why i was intentionally boycotting the whole Da Vinci Code phenomenom. i didn't want to open a can of worms that i couldn't handle. but after getting an update about how Campus Crusade for Christ was going to ride the media wave of this movie and use it to share the gospel, my mind was changed. this is a great opportunity to engage people in spiritual discussions, but i digress.

i've been reading sangi's dialogue with his friend about biblical inerrancy. i haven't fully reached a conclusion yet, but i do agree with them that biblical inerrancy isn't something that's left for the the academics to 'squabble over'. it's something for the average christian to think about as well. after all it's the foundation of our faith. but the Washington Post biography of the author bart erhmann really shakes me up. evangelist gone agnostic after studying the inerrancy of the Bible.

but if the Bible and therefore the gospels were made up by a bunch of unschooled, poor, crude smorgasbord of men ranging from fishermen to tax collectors why would they amongst many others be willing to die tortuous deaths for a LIE? and how would these first century uneducated country bumpkins with the exception of the apostle paul "make up" a religion that could radically change an entire person? i'm talking about the 180 degree changes in former murders and former criminals. i'm talking about the psychological and emotional healings of horribly abused people. i'm talking about the ability to forgive and to love a nazi officer that held you captive at concentration camp.....

yet why is it that radical, fundamentalist, "gung-ho", evangelical christians like erhmann and templeton can lose their faith? a part of me wonders "could this be me"? it's interesting how they both have cited the troubles of the third world (i.e. masses of people dying) as playing a part in losing their belief in a caring God.

i study the troubles of the third world day in, day out. has something been lost on me? but it seems to me that the problems of the third world just proves the depravity of men and the need for a Saviour even more.

humanly the problem of world hunger can be solved. we have enough food to feed the entire world a few times over, but do we? no. why? because of political agendas. of both developing and developed countries. translation? self-interest/selfishness. it's the same story with HIV/AIDS, malaria, and everything else you can think of. the problem can be solved, but it's not because of some party's selfish ambition. for example there could be a cure for malaria, but pharmceutical companies don't put the effort and the resources into finding one because there's no profit to be made from the anti- malaria market. it makes me want to cry, but deep down this same selfishness resides in everyone of us.