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1 Peter 3: 15: Four Arguments For Inerrancy

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There is a great need for all Christians to be able to back up and defend the very material that they center their lives upon- to be able to explain why they study the word and how they can believe it to be authoritative. In 1 Peter 3:15, Christians learn the necessity of being able to defend ones faith. The ability to do so lies in having a solid understanding of foundational topics such as biblical authority, inspiration, and inerrancy. This essay will deal with such topics and give implications for how a Christian is to live their life based on these concepts. To begin, biblical authority must be defined. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “Authority is the right and power to command, enforce laws, exact obedience, determine, …show more content…
Inerrancy defined by Elmer Towns states, “That which God revealed and inspired (the Bible) is accurate, reliable, authoritative, and without error”. The first argument for inerrancy is the Biblical argument. This argument states that one should believe in inerrancy because the Bible teaches its own inerrancy. The scriptures repeatedly teach that God cannot lie (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18). Therefore, if the Bible is God’s inspired word, then it has to be without error. While critics claim that the Bible never explicitly says that the Bible is inerrant, this doctrine is taught implicitly all throughout scripture. The next argument for inerrancy is the historical argument. This argument states that the church has historically believed in the inerrancy of Scripture, and thus it is a doctrine with long-standing support in tradition.5 The Epistemological argument basically states that if you deny inerrancy, you have no sure foundation for knowledge at all.5 Lastly, the slippery slope argument states that if you give up inerrancy, you will begin to give up more and more of the Christian faith until you end up denying central doctrines of the Christian faith.5 This argument is least supported by individuals who do not affirm inerrancy; however, multiple instances prove this argument to be

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