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Authority

All the words in the Bible are God's words

Why does the Bible have authority?

There is only one true God who is the Creator and ruler of everything He created.

How does God speak to humans?

The one true God speaks to humans through the Bible.

Why is the Bible our highest authority?

Because the Bible is the Word of the one true God.

Sufficiency

The Bible contains everything necessary for faith.

Does sufficiency mean the Bible teaches everything about everything?

No. The Bible does not teach things like how to drive or what color your car should be.

Is the Bible our only source of wisdom?

No. The Bible says there are other sources of wisdom.

What are examples of things the Bible doesn't explicitly tell us?

Who to vote for or where to go to college.

What should you do if you want to know God's will for your life?

Look to the Bible because it is God's Word and has authority over us.

Why is the Bible relevant even to non-Christians?

Because Christians believe it is God's Word and that its truth and authority apply to everyone.

Inerrancy

The original writings of Scripture do not contain anything false

they are free from error.

Autographs

The original writings of Scripture written by the biblical authors.

Manuscripts

Copies of the original autographs or copies of other manuscripts.

Infallible/Limited Inerrancy

The Bible is error-free when it speaks about doctrine or theology but may contain historical errors.

Neo-Orthodoxy (inerrancy)

The Bible is a book about God's miraculous works recorded by fallible humans and contains errors.

Only a Man-Made Book

The Bible is a man-made book that contains errors.

Why does it matter if the Bible has errors?

If you cannot trust it in little things it becomes difficult to know why you should trust it in the big things.

Could you trust the Bible's spiritual teachings if it had historical errors?

No because errors could make its other teachings difficult to trust.

What is an implication of believing the Bible is God's Word and inerrant?

We submit ourselves to the Bible because it has authority over us.

Inspiration

The words of Scripture originally came from God.

Verbal Plenary Inspiration

Every word of the Bible is God-breathed

the Bible contains the exact words God intended the human authors to write.

Dual Authorship

The Bible has both a divine author and human authors.

What does dual authorship mean?

When we read the Bible we are reading what a divine author wrote through human authors.

Implication

A logical conclusion or deeper meaning suggested by a text even when it is not directly stated.

Dictation Theory

God literally dictated what He wanted the human authors of the Bible to write.

Limited Inspiration

God inspired the authors but allowed them to make historical errors while not allowing doctrinal errors.

Neo-Orthodoxy (inspiration)

The Bible is not literally the Word of God but becomes the Word of God when God uses it to speak to an individual.