Inspiration of the Bible

The Bible asserts extraordinary claims concerning its contents. It claims to be the inspired word of God. This entails the idea that God guided or influenced in a direct manner the men who wrote the Bible such that the words written are those that God intended to have written. Furthermore, the Bible claims to reveal God's actions, messages, and will. The purpose of this essay is to describe a method by which you can determine for yourself with a high level of confidence whether the Bible is truly the inspired word of God.

The question of biblical inspiration can be resolved by thoughtful examination of the Bible's contents. The first step is to read and study the Bible. Next, you must make a judgment concerning the Bible's message by answering the following question. Is the Bible's message 'true and good' or is it 'false and evil'? An answer of 'true and good' means the Bible, based on your informed judgment, is the inspired word of God. In contrast, an answer of 'false and evil' means the Bible, based on your informed judgment, is not the inspired word of God.

The individual interested in resolving the question of biblical inspiration must be personally involved in the effort. Personal examination of the Bible's content allows one to make an informed judgment. There is a big difference between reading the Bible and reading someone's comments about the Bible. Depending upon another person's judgment is unsatisfactory since there is no way to reliably know beforehand that the other person will come to the same conclusion as you would. Another person's judgment is unsuitable as a substitute for your own. Thus, a personal examination of the Bible combined with personal judgment is essential.

Is the Bible's message 'true and good' or is it 'false and evil'? This question arises from a simple analysis that begins with the following question. Is the Bible the inspired word of God? Let's examine the two possible answers, namely yes and no. Consider first the case that the Bible truly is the inspired word of God. Since it is readily accepted that God is both truthful and good, it follows that the message He inspired would take on these same characteristics. Thus, if the Bible is the inspired word of God, the Bible's message would be true and good. Next, consider the alternative case that the Bible is not the inspired word of God. In that case, God did not guide the men who wrote the Bible. The claims of inspiration would therefore be false. Likewise, the claims to reveal God's will, actions, and message would also be false. Since the Bible would not be what it claimed to be, the Bible would be a book of deceit and lies. Furthermore, it should be clear that anyone who falsely makes such claims, possibly deceiving some people, is clearly doing an evil and wicked thing. Regardless of their intentions, such men would be imparting great harm to those who believed their false message. Thus, the Bible's message would be evil. If the Bible were not the inspired word of God, the Bible's message would be false and evil.

When judging the Bible's message for truthfulness and goodness, it is important to recognize that two of the four possible combinations can be ruled out immediately. One of these is that the Bible is false and good. This judgment would claim that the Bible is not the inspired word of God but that its message is good. This is a popular point of view, but makes little sense when examined. As we noted above in the case of the Bible being uninspired, its message would be deceitful and full of lies. It would falsely claim to represent God and therefore could not be good. A second possible combination that can be ruled out is that the Bible is true and evil. A much smaller group takes this position which is incompatible with a good God. God, the creator of all that is seen, is good since he has provided us with everything we have.

The tremendous contrast between the two possible conclusions should increase one's confidence in the judgment. A message from God would be absolutely true. An uninspired message that claims inspiration would be a tremendous falsehood. A message from God would be absolutely good. An uninspired message that claims inspiration would be tremendously evil inflicting great harm on those that put their hope and trusts in its false message.

The characteristics of the Bible provide a wealth of content that makes deception difficult. The Bible is composed of many books written by different men (~40) with diverse backgrounds over many hundreds of years (perhaps 1500 years or more). The Bible discusses many different subjects and historical events covering thousands of years. It contains commands on how life should be lived, stories and teachings that form a highly inter-related message, and a tremendous number of details. It becomes increasingly difficult to conceal lies as the number of people and details involved increase in number.

It may help to provide a few suggestions on how to approach your study and assessment of the Bible's message. Take your time and make final judgments only after sufficient study and meditation. In your attempt to understand the Bible's message, take into account the context of the passage and reconcile the scriptures with one another. What appears to be a contradiction can arise due to a number of causes other than a false message. You should expect to encounter difficult to understand passages. Write down questions that you have concerning the Bible's message. A good starting point is a study of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

An all-powerful God can deliver a message to man such that its source is clearly from God. The process of resolving the question of biblical inspiration is simple but depends upon your personal involvement and effort.

Leo P. Voegtli, mailto:[email protected], April 17, 1999, revised May 15, 1999

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Page last updated on 12-Mar-04.

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