Article Review:”Dissolving the Inerrancy Debate: How Modern Philosophy Shaped the Evangelical view of Scripture

In his article, “Dissolving the Inerrancy Debate: How Modern Philosophy Shaped the Evangelical view of Scripture” John Perry seeks to dissolve the controversy issue of evangelical biblical inerrancy. He attempts to show how postmodern philosophy has caused theologians to reassess biblical inerrancy.

Perry begins by magnifying the fact that there are passages of scripture that “contradict without undermining the authority of the entire bible.”[2] He moves through the article defining the essence of what inerrancy models. Perry rests on the premise that modern philosophy caused Christians to view inerrancy differently than before. Refuting Nancy Murphy’s[1] writing of philosophy minimizing “theologians claims”, Perry in contrast then claims that philosophy actually plays a role in “overstating the significance of inerrancy.”[1] Perry’s belief stemmed on the fact that he thought that the Bible was strong enough to stand on its own foundation and inerrancy stood alongside as a further foundation.

Perry makes a convincing argument that a statement can be truthful but at the same time not be factual. He thus makes a case for the definition of truth to really drive home the answer to the questions of inerrancy. He supposes the truth is not lock in the foundation of information but in the authority of the text. Wilson sums the article up with” biblical authority is centered in the community of disciples… Before the watching world, the church is called to live in such a way the authority of scripture is displayed..

 Bibliography

1)Murphy, Nancy. Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Angenda. Valley Forge: Trinity, 1996.

2) Perry, John. “Dissolving the Inerrancy Debate: How Modern Philosophy Shaped the Evangelical View of Scriputre.” Journal of Christian Theological Research, 2001