JesusAndTheWrittenWord

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Question on Preachers Believing the Inspiration of the Bible

A good friend of mine shared an e-mail from his mother with me concerning my article on “Jesus and The Written Word.” I recommend that you read the article before continuing with this section. I am personal friends with both this man and his mother and hold them in high regard.

Here is the e-mail:

"I am really puzzled by Larry's reliance on one person's 'survey' to make such a blanket statement as if the survey was, itself, the word of God! Who in the world is Jeffrey Hadden? How did he survey '10,000 American clergy? Phone? Mail? I don't mean to be 'sour grapes', but even the so-called 'no' answers seem preposterous. Every Lutheran pastor I have known well (9 of them) relied on the Bible for all of their teachings!"

Here is my response:

The survey by Jeffery Hadden is neither surprising nor alone in terms of other carefully conducted, scientific polls. Many previous polls have shown these same results with the trend towards the rejection of scripture on the increase. No long standing religious group is immune from these departures.

There is no more conservative, long standing group that historically has affirmed the inerrancy of the Bible than the Southern Baptist among the mainline denominations. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church and later attended a conservative Southern Baptist college, Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama. My freshman Old Testament teacher did his doctorial thesis on Second Isaiah. He did not believe that Isaiah wrote the book of Isaiah nor did he believe that Daniel wrote the book of Daniel. He told the class that the writer of Matthew in the New Testament misquoted Isaiah on the virgin birth of Christ and he boldly proclaimed there was no such prophecy. These views are very common among professors in all well established seminaries among the mainline churches.

These departures in the Lutheran Church are also documented along with the apostasy in the other mainline churches from numerous sources. I bought an out of print book this summer called “The Battle for the Bible” by Harold Lindsell that carefully and fully documents these changes in beliefs. This book is very specific to the struggle within the Lutheran Seminaries. Anyone who really wants to know these things can easily know what has happened.

The sad thing I have found is that those in the pews have no idea what their preacher believes. Often there are preachers that intentionally hide their personal beliefs using deceptive words allowing others to think they have full confidence in the scriptures when they really do not. Most people want to believe the best about their clergy and as a result they do not ask the hard questions they need to ask. They also tend to turn a deaf ear to those within their own denomination who try to document and warn about these things.

There are certain doctrinal tendencies that would also allow one to see the underlying views of others concerning the Bible. When you begin to see compromise with the world on moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion, or doctrinal issues such as the role of women, then you are seeing men who no longer believe in the authority of God’s written word.

I am giving some links to other articles about these matters. Please note that other well respected survey groups bring out the exact same trends that Jeffery Hadden found.

One last thought on my personal experience. I found, like your mother found, that the preachers I came to know well in the Baptist church all believed in the inerrancy of the scriptures. It was not until years later that I learned that they were in fact a minority, and that minority was growing smaller, especially in terms of the views of the newer generations of preachers.

I rejoice that we (you, your mother and I) can stand together on the fact of the perfection of the scriptures. I encourage your mother as well as others to do more research. Both of you know me personally and I welcome any correction or clarification that I need to make. However on this subject I strongly believe the survey is accurate and true.

Here are the promised links along with some additional quotes:

Two-Thirds of Evangelicals Doubt Jesus' Words Regarding Salvation Thru Him Alone

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/232005g.asp

National Test Reveals Christian Students Lack A Biblical Worldview

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/articles/christianstudents.shtml

Additional Quotes:

"MORE AND MORE ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS HISTORICALLY COMMITTED TO AN INFALLIBLE SCRIPTURE HAVE BEEN EMBRACING AND PROPAGATING THE VIEW THAT THE BIBLE HAS ERRORS IN IT. This movement away from the historic standpoint has been most noticeable among those often labeled neo-evangelicals. This change of position with respect to the infallibility of the Bible is widespread and has occurred in evangelical denominations, Christian colleges, theological seminaries, publishing houses, and learned societies" (Harold Lindsell, former vice-president and professor Fuller Theological Seminary and Editor Emeritus of Christianity Today, The Battle for the Bible, 1976, p. 20).

"WITHIN EVANGELICALISM THERE ARE A GROWING NUMBER WHO ARE MODIFYING THEIR VIEWS ON THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE SO THAT THE FULL AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE IS COMPLETELY UNDERCUT. But is happening in very subtle ways. Like the snow lying side-by-side on the ridge, the new views on biblical authority often seem at first glance not to be very far from what evangelicals, until just recently, have always believed. But also, like the snow lying side-by-side on the ridge, the new views when followed consistently end up a thousand miles apart. What may seem like a minor difference at first, in the end makes all the difference in the world ... compromising the full authority of Scripture eventually affects what it means to be a Christian theologically and how we live in the full spectrum of human life" (Francis Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, 1983, p. 44).

George Barna, president of Barna Research Group, reported that a study exploring the religious beliefs of the 12 largest denominations in America highlights the downward theological drift that has taken place in Christian churches in recent years. The study found that an alarmingly high number of church members have beliefs that fall far short of orthodox Christianity. ONLY 41 PERCENT OF ALL ADULTS SURVEYED BELIEVED IN THE TOTAL ACCURACY OF THE BIBLE. Only 40 percent believed Christ was sinless, and only 27 percent believed Satan to be real.

Of the Baptists surveyed 57 percent said they believed that works are necessary in order to be saved, 45 percent believed Jesus was not sinless, 44 percent did not believe that the Bible is totally accurate, and 66 percent did not believe Satan to be a real being. Barna said, "The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy."

What Christians really believe

A book by George A. Marsden, "Reforming Fundamentalism" quotes a survey of student belief at one of the largest Evangelical seminaries in the US. The poll indicated that 85% of the students "do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture."

This book also lists the results of a poll conducted by Jeffery Hadden in 1987 of 10,000 American clergy. They were asked whether they believed that the Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God in faith, history, and secular matters: 95% of Episcopalians, 87% of Methodists, 82% of Presbyterians, 77% of American Lutherans, and 67% of American Baptists said "No."

The Barna Research Group reported in 1996 that among American adults generally: 58% believe that the Bible is "totally accurate in all its teachings"; 45% believe that the Bible is "absolutely accurate and everything in it can be taken literally."

"Support dropped between that poll and another taken in 2001. Barna reported in 2001 that: 41% of adults strongly agrees that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches."

"Seminary students, future pastors and leaders in the church, show very little support for the inerrancy of the Bible position. What does that foretell about the future of the church? Undoubtedly, just as the poll results show in the 1996 - 2001 time frame, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS INERRANT WILL DROP."

Questions will always be a part of a heart that is seeking God. A Biblical faith will recognize the awesome vastness of the knowledge of God and one’s constant need to learn. There is no place for the “know it all” when standing in the presence of an omniscient God.

Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. (1 Cor 8:1-3 NKJV)

The scriptures are filled with examples of men who asked questions that resulted in their salvation as well as a greater knowledge of God Himself. A Eunuch from Ethiopia found a very important answer to a question he had:

“So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.” (Acts 8:30-31 NKJV)

I am thankful that you have come to “sit with” us at this page. My question for you in your Bible study is this: “Do you understand what you are reading?” Please fill out the following form with your Bible question.

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