As listeners to my podcast will know, I have begun undergraduate studies online at Liberty University, working toward a Bachelor of Science in Religion—Biblical and Theological Studies. This has (hopefully understandably) reduced my blog and podcast output, both here and at http://www.rethinkinghell.com, which I was already struggling to balance with a full-time secular career and growing family. I do have an interview recorded for an upcoming episode of the Theopologetics podcast, which I’ll publish soon, and I’ll be moderating a Christological debate in August, but to keep the blog alive in the meantime, as well as in the future between podcast episodes, I’ve decided to publish some of my coursework.

I submitted the following short essay on the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture a couple of months in a first semester course in theology. I won’t reproduce the assignment instructions or grading rubric, except to say that it was required to consist of between 600 and 800 words, and to be primarily based upon articles in the second edition of the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, published in 2001 by Baker Academic. Naturally, then, I was limited to the extent I could explore, consider, and respond to arguments against my view, which is that Scripture is, indeed, inerrant. Please keep that in mind, as well as that this fulfilled a requirement of an undergraduate theology course, not one at the graduate or postgraduate levels. Continue reading →