Can a Christian question the authority and infallability of the Bible?

[FrankDux]

The only thing that is fallible are your interpretations

" every knee will bow " and " every tongue will confess "

That's simply not going to happen if people still doubt the Bible is " divine "

The problem is that nobody can actually define " divinity" objectively ( true for all people ) until Christ shows up and shows us

 

[jerrygab2]

Are Bible Translation infallible? No I do not believe they are infallible, God did not do automatic writing but inspired those who wrote the separate books of the Bible. The man who wrote were not Borg from Star Trek and they could resist. Humans are very fallible. I do believe everything necessary for our salvation can be found in Scripture

 

[Albion]

They seem to forget St. Augustine of Canterbury and the divisions leading up to the Synod of Whitby!

I find that a lot of our detractors have no knowledge of the history prior to Augustine and then it's another void until Henry VIII.

 

[CrystalDragon]

I won't bother explaining the New Covenant to you. You wouldn't understand.

I know about the New Covenant, but the fact that there was a New Covenant means things had to be changed from the Old, which would seem to imply that God didn't get the Covenant right the first time.

 

[Blade]

yes.. what makes you "Christ like" is believing what you were told about Jesus.. came in the flesh died for you rose 3rd day and is the only way to the Father.

Now the word...aka Bible. Its alive... its Him. To this day for some odd reason I guess He has NEVER once said. to me "that is not my word". Yet..told me show'd me Rev 3:20, Daniel 10:9-12. Verses I had never read. Like Rev 3:20.. I was sitting in a Christian pup where a Christian band was playing and out of no where this crossed my mind "behold I stand at the door and knock".. I thought.. WOW I wonder where that is? Came right back "Rev 3:20". I thought I was just guessing.. and when I looked it up.. WOW.. I haha TRIED to go to everyone around me and show them..no one was as shocked and happy as I was.

Faith.. its your choice. Faith that man did in fact mess it up got some of wrong. Or.. Faith that GOD keep it true. Try asking HIM..He is real

 

[Ron Gurley]

ttp://bible.org/seriespage/bible-inerrant-word-god

Support for Inerrancy from the Teachings of Christ
A study of what Jesus said about the Bible reveals
not only His belief in its verbal, plenary inspiration,
but that He also believed it was inerrant.
In fact, the greatest testimony to the authenticity of the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word is the Lord Jesus.
Why is His testimony so important?
Because God authenticated and proved Him to be His own divine Son by the resurrection (cf. Acts 2:22-36; 4:8-12; 17:30-31; Rom. 1:4).
Christ not only clearly confirmed the authority of the Old Testament, but He specifically promised the New Testament.

Note what Christ taught about the inspiration of the Old Testament:

(1) Its entirety; the whole of the Bible is inspired (Matt. 4:4; 5:17-18).
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation by affirming verbal plenary inspiration when He said,
man is to live by every word (plenary) that proceeds out of the mouth of God (inspiration).
In Matthew 5:17-18, Christ promised that the entire Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, would be fulfilled, not abolished.
In fact, He declared that not even the smallest Hebrew letter..would pass away until all is fulfilled.
Christ’s point is that it is all inspired and true and will be fulfilled.

(2) Its historicity;
He spoke of the Old Testament in terms of actual history.
Adam and Eve were two human beings, created by God in the beginning, who lived and acted in certain ways (Matt. 19:3-5; Mark 10:6-8).
He spoke of Jonah and his experience in the belly of the great fish as an historical event (Matt. 12:40).
He also verified the events of the flood in Noah’s day along with the ark (Matt. 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27).
He verified God’s destruction of Sodom and the historicity of Lot and his wife (Matt. 10:15; Luke 17:28-29).
These are only a few illustrations; many others exist.

(3) Its reliability;
because it is God’s word, the Scripture must be fulfilled (Matt. 26:54).

(4) Its sufficiency;
it is sufficient to witness to the truth of God and His salvation (Luke 16:31).

(5) Its indestructibility;
heaven and earth will not pass away until it is all fulfilled. Nothing can stop its fulfillment (Matt. 5:17-18).

(6) Its unity;
the whole of the Bible speaks and witnesses to the person and work of Christ (Luke 24:27, 44).

(7) Its inerrancy;
men are often in error, but the Bible is not; it is truth (Matt. 22:29; John 17:17).

(8) Its infallibility;
the Bible cannot be broken, it always stands the test (John 10:35).

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

 

[KWCrazy]

I know about the New Covenant, but the fact that there was a New Covenant means things had to be changed from the Old, which would seem to imply that God didn't get the Covenant right the first time.

As I said, you don't understand.
The wages of sin are death. The enemies of Lord deserved nothing less.
The nation of Israel more or less followed God, except when they didn't. Because they did follow God they were hated by people with the same mindset as the ones who want to wipe them off the face of the earth now.

So picture this. A tribe of people who follow God are surrounded by people like ISIS who want them destroyed. When told to destroy them completely, the Israelites failed. The children of the fallen came back to kill large numbers of the Israelites. God knew best. By leaving enemies on the battlefield and disobeying God their sin of disobedience led to the death of many Israelites.

So let me ask you. How many ISIS fanatics should we leave in the battlefield to kidnap, rape and murder more children?

Salvation came to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. Previous to that there were things that had to happen. For one thing, there had to be enough commonality of language for the word to get out about Jesus. This enabled His followers to spread the word to all parts of the world, which His followers are still doing today. Now the wages of sin are still death but salvation comes much easier and no sacrifice is needed. Because of that, the consequence for rejecting salvation can be not just death, but the Hell fire.

 

[least]

ttp://bible.org/seriespage/bible-inerrant-word-god

Support for Inerrancy from the Teachings of Christ
A study of what Jesus said about the Bible reveals
not only His belief in its verbal, plenary inspiration,
but that He also believed it was inerrant.
In fact, the greatest testimony to the authenticity of the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word is the Lord Jesus.
Why is His testimony so important?
Because God authenticated and proved Him to be His own divine Son by the resurrection (cf. Acts 2:22-36; 4:8-12; 17:30-31; Rom. 1:4).
Christ not only clearly confirmed the authority of the Old Testament, but He specifically promised the New Testament.

Note what Christ taught about the inspiration of the Old Testament:

(1) Its entirety; the whole of the Bible is inspired (Matt. 4:4; 5:17-18).
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation by affirming verbal plenary inspiration when He said,
man is to live by every word (plenary) that proceeds out of the mouth of God (inspiration).
In Matthew 5:17-18, Christ promised that the entire Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, would be fulfilled, not abolished.
In fact, He declared that not even the smallest Hebrew letter..would pass away until all is fulfilled.
Christ’s point is that it is all inspired and true and will be fulfilled.

(2) Its historicity;
He spoke of the Old Testament in terms of actual history.
Adam and Eve were two human beings, created by God in the beginning, who lived and acted in certain ways (Matt. 19:3-5; Mark 10:6-8).
He spoke of Jonah and his experience in the belly of the great fish as an historical event (Matt. 12:40).
He also verified the events of the flood in Noah’s day along with the ark (Matt. 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27).
He verified God’s destruction of Sodom and the historicity of Lot and his wife (Matt. 10:15; Luke 17:28-29).
These are only a few illustrations; many others exist.

(3) Its reliability;
because it is God’s word, the Scripture must be fulfilled (Matt. 26:54).

(4) Its sufficiency;
it is sufficient to witness to the truth of God and His salvation (Luke 16:31).

(5) Its indestructibility;
heaven and earth will not pass away until it is all fulfilled. Nothing can stop its fulfillment (Matt. 5:17-18).

(6) Its unity;
the whole of the Bible speaks and witnesses to the person and work of Christ (Luke 24:27, 44).

(7) Its inerrancy;
men are often in error, but the Bible is not; it is truth (Matt. 22:29; John 17:17).

(8) Its infallibility;
the Bible cannot be broken, it always stands the test (John 10:35).

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Amen!

Many people want to say they believe in God. But do they believe God? He has given us his infallible word, and while we may not have perfect translations, we know that we have extremely accurate translations.

Some say, "Well, I believe this part," or, "I don't believe that part." Do you really believe God? And what does this say about your faith? For,

"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Let us set aside the notion that God's word is errant in any way. God's word is truth: believe it!

 

[1stcenturylady]

Are Bible Translation infallible? No I do not believe they are infallible, God did not do automatic writing but inspired those who wrote the separate books of the Bible. The man who wrote were not Borg from Star Trek and they could resist. Humans are very fallible. I do believe everything necessary for our salvation can be found in Scripture

My question is do we have everything He wrote? I think yes we do, but not all of them are in our current Bibles. I hunger for EVERYTHING He inspired, and that is why I also refer to the Epistle of Barnabas.

 

[Steve Petersen]

ttp://bible.org/seriespage/bible-inerrant-word-god

Support for Inerrancy from the Teachings of Christ
A study of what Jesus said about the Bible reveals
not only His belief in its verbal, plenary inspiration,
but that He also believed it was inerrant.
In fact, the greatest testimony to the authenticity of the Bible as God’s inspired and inerrant Word is the Lord Jesus.
Why is His testimony so important?
Because God authenticated and proved Him to be His own divine Son by the resurrection (cf. Acts 2:22-36; 4:8-12; 17:30-31; Rom. 1:4).
Christ not only clearly confirmed the authority of the Old Testament, but He specifically promised the New Testament.

Note what Christ taught about the inspiration of the Old Testament:

(1) Its entirety; the whole of the Bible is inspired (Matt. 4:4; 5:17-18).
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation by affirming verbal plenary inspiration when He said,
man is to live by every word (plenary) that proceeds out of the mouth of God (inspiration).
In Matthew 5:17-18, Christ promised that the entire Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets, would be fulfilled, not abolished.
In fact, He declared that not even the smallest Hebrew letter..would pass away until all is fulfilled.
Christ’s point is that it is all inspired and true and will be fulfilled.

(2) Its historicity;
He spoke of the Old Testament in terms of actual history.
Adam and Eve were two human beings, created by God in the beginning, who lived and acted in certain ways (Matt. 19:3-5; Mark 10:6-8).
He spoke of Jonah and his experience in the belly of the great fish as an historical event (Matt. 12:40).
He also verified the events of the flood in Noah’s day along with the ark (Matt. 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27).
He verified God’s destruction of Sodom and the historicity of Lot and his wife (Matt. 10:15; Luke 17:28-29).
These are only a few illustrations; many others exist.

(3) Its reliability;
because it is God’s word, the Scripture must be fulfilled (Matt. 26:54).

(4) Its sufficiency;
it is sufficient to witness to the truth of God and His salvation (Luke 16:31).

(5) Its indestructibility;
heaven and earth will not pass away until it is all fulfilled. Nothing can stop its fulfillment (Matt. 5:17-18).

(6) Its unity;
the whole of the Bible speaks and witnesses to the person and work of Christ (Luke 24:27, 44).

(7) Its inerrancy;
men are often in error, but the Bible is not; it is truth (Matt. 22:29; John 17:17).

(8) Its infallibility;
the Bible cannot be broken, it always stands the test (John 10:35).

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Which Hebrew Bible did Jesus consider inerrant? The only manuscripts from his era that have survived are the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

[Ron Gurley]

The OT covenants/promises were CONDITIONAL with Nation Israel...IF you do X, Y will happen. Many remain unful filled because God is not finished with Israel...YET!

The NT NEW Covenant is UNCONDITIONAL...based only on Jesus the Christ and what He DID FOR YOU.

Punishment for Disobedience...Part of the OT "old covenant" with God's Chosen People under the Mosaic Law

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
So choose life in order that you may live,
you and your descendants,

But read on through the NT...

Jesus the God-Man fulfilled the Mosaic Law in his coming and ministry,He clarified, corrected, added, subtracted relative to the OT "Law",...etc

The NEW Covenant!...substitutionary atonement.

Matthew 26:28
for this is My blood of the (NEW!) covenant, which is poured out FOR many FOR forgiveness of sins.
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples,
and said, “Take, eat; this is (represents) My body.”

Mark 14:24
And He said to them, “This is My blood of the (NEW!)covenant, which is poured out FOR many.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them,
and said, “Take it; this is (represents) My body.”

Luke 22:20
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup which is poured out FOR you is the NEW covenant IN My blood.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creature;
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.

God disciplines and trains those whom he loves...just like my earthly father.

2 Peter 1: 21b (NASB)...men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

 

[toLiJC]

I never know if I'm posting in the correct place....that's my disclaimer and I'm sticking to it.

Say one believes in One God, One Creator and also Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God and even uses and reads the Bible but sees the Bible as a useful tool as well as other ancient writings without giving it a place of uncontested infallibility.

Understanding that man has a sin nature and throughout history has exhibited the ability to manipulate, maim, murder and steal in order to procure what he wants, how do we know the Bible is really the only source available through which God would speak?

Is a Christian who doesn't hold to the infallibility of the Bible still considered a Christian?

Scripture doesn't make our faith infallible by itself, but we are the ones that can keep our faiths infallible, while Scripture is just an aid to the practice of faith and is designed to be used principally by true preachers/prophets/witnesses of the true God

Blessings

 

[spockrates]

Quite ambiguous. While I strongly believe God loves and blesses the Bible literalists who believe in the infallibility of the Scriptures, and indeed they may be justified in that belief, I myself see that ambiguity as our Achilles heel when it comes to understanding.

I know of no devout Jew or Christian who does not just sort of ignore those passages in the Bible that we no longer wish to obey--I have cited a few in this thread and have yet to have anybody acknowledge them. All pick and choose those passages they wish to be authoritative and shrug off those that might put such passages into a different perspective.

And it isn't only the literalists who tend to do that I think.

How many times have Christians admonished their brethren that we are to be our brother's keeper? And that is based on Genesis 4.9: Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Looking at this through 21st century eyes, it is an impertinent response, as well as a lie, saying that he is not responsible for his brother.

But if we look at it through the eyes of the ancient ones, a 'keeper' is the tender of the flocks, the shepherd who directs where they go, what they eat, where they sleep or in other words is their overlord or master.

Is that how we think of people when we suggest it is our responsibility to be their 'keeper'? It wouldn't be such a noble virtue would it.

Cain in fact was most likely stating that he had no such authority over his brother and was expressing respect for his brother even as he lied about what he had done.

Fascinating! Never saw that one as ambiguous, until now. Thank you.

I suppose some Christians might say, "Why worry? The unimportant things of scripture might be easy to misinterpret, but the main things are the plain things. They're easy to understand."

Yet, I'm not so sure that's the case. I mean, one main thing is the meaning of Jesus' words at his last supper, when he held up the bread and said, "This is my body." (Matthew 26:26). Catholics tell me he meant this:

"This is my [actual] body."
​

Evangelicals tell me he meant this:

"This is [a symbol of] my body."
​

I say I just don't know. His words are ambiguous to me, so how can I know whether I should be a Catholic or an Evangelical or something else?

 

[noam burde]

I never know if I'm posting in the correct place....that's my disclaimer and I'm sticking to it.

Say one believes in One God, One Creator and also Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God and even uses and reads the Bible but sees the Bible as a useful tool as well as other ancient writings without giving it a place of uncontested infallibility.

Understanding that man has a sin nature and throughout history has exhibited the ability to manipulate, maim, murder and steal in order to procure what he wants, how do we know the Bible is really the only source available through which God would speak?

Is a Christian who doesn't hold to the infallibility of the Bible still considered a Christian?

"Can a Christian question the authority and infallibility". God is not a some totalitarian dictator.
we can do whatever we want. that's one of, if not the, most important reason he put us on earth.
to give us opportunity to choose what to do by our self.
any person of any background should question everything that matters. including what he was he is used to.
anyone that don't do that is no deferent from a muslim/hindu/ateist.
just happened to be born to Christian parents.
which is not something he chose. and derfore not to his/hers credit.

 

[Albion]

I know about the New Covenant, but the fact that there was a New Covenant means things had to be changed from the Old, which would seem to imply that God didn't get the Covenant right the first time.

Or it did indeed serve during the time prior to the coming of the Messiah and Savior. I think we can safely consider that event to have been an important milestone in God's plans for mankind.

 

[Steve Petersen]

The OT covenants/promises were CONDITIONAL with Nation Israel...IF you do X, Y will happen. Many remain unful filled because God is not finished with Israel...YET!

The NT NEW Covenant is UNCONDITIONAL...based only on Jesus the Christ and what He DID FOR YOU.

Punishment for Disobedience...Part of the OT "old covenant" with God's Chosen People under the Mosaic Law

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
So choose life in order that you may live,
you and your descendants,

But read on through the NT...

Jesus the God-Man fulfilled the Mosaic Law in his coming and ministry,He clarified, corrected, added, subtracted relative to the OT "Law",...etc

The NEW Covenant!...substitutionary atonement.

Matthew 26:28
for this is My blood of the (NEW!) covenant, which is poured out FOR many FOR forgiveness of sins.
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples,
and said, “Take, eat; this is (represents) My body.”

Mark 14:24
And He said to them, “This is My blood of the (NEW!)covenant, which is poured out FOR many.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them,
and said, “Take it; this is (represents) My body.”

Luke 22:20
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup which is poured out FOR you is the NEW covenant IN My blood.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creature;
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.

God disciplines and trains those whom he loves...just like my earthly father.

2 Peter 1: 21b (NASB)...men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The NT is indeed unconditional and given to Israel and Judah (cf. Jeremiah 31)

Contrary to your opinion, God is NOT finished with Israel

Jeremiah 31: 31"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 3 4And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."35 Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
36 "If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever."
37 Thus says the Lord:
"If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord."
35 Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
36 "If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever."
37 Thus says the Lord:
"If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord."

 

[Foxfyre]

Fascinating! Never saw that one as ambiguous, until now. Thank you.

I suppose some Christians might say, "Why worry? The unimportant things of scripture might be easy to misinterpret, but the main things are the plain things. They're easy to understand."

Yet, I'm not so sure that's the case. I mean, one main thing is the meaning of Jesus' words at his last supper, when he held up the bread and said, "This is my body." (Matthew 26:26). Catholics tell me he meant this:

"This is my [actual] body."
​

Evangelicals tell me he meant this:

"This is [a symbol of] my body."
​

I say I just don't know. His words are ambiguous to me, so how can I know whether I should be a Catholic or an Evangelical or something else?

Agree.

Which is another reason not to get bogged down in the minutiae and small stuff when it comes to the scriptures. You can make a case for almost anything by 'proof texting' or plucking this verse or that verse out of the whole and holding it up as evidence.

But if you consider the whole context of passages or the whole of the Bible, there is a whole lot that is open to interpretation.

Basically the whole of the Bible assures us:
--God created everything that exists.
--God's creation was perfect until sin screwed it up.
--We all suffer from the accumulative sin of all who have gone before us as well as that which we commit. (Why bad things happen to good people.)
--The entirety of the Bible is a recitation of creation, sin, judgment/consequences, redemption.
--God, as Jesus, lived on Earth to show us that God loves us and show us something of the eternal life that we will know with Him.
--God is with us now.
--Our response is to repent of our sins, accept God's grace, love God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and to treat others as we want them to treat us. Upon this hangs all the Law and the prophets.
--All the rest is important as it helps us understand something of God's truth and will for us and how to best obey Him, but is unimportant as dictates of Law and is subject to interpretation.

However, it is really interesting and worthwhile to study.

 

[dhh712]

I never know if I'm posting in the correct place....that's my disclaimer and I'm sticking to it.

Say one believes in One God, One Creator and also Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God and even uses and reads the Bible but sees the Bible as a useful tool as well as other ancient writings without giving it a place of uncontested infallibility.

Understanding that man has a sin nature and throughout history has exhibited the ability to manipulate, maim, murder and steal in order to procure what he wants, how do we know the Bible is really the only source available through which God would speak?

Is a Christian who doesn't hold to the infallibility of the Bible still considered a Christian?

A Christian is someone who believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ for their sins period. Only God knows whether you do or not. Whether they hold to the infallibility of the Bible... honestly, I don't see how you can be a Christian and not believe that. I mean, if you think some part of the Bible have been corrupted by man or written just by corrupted man, then what are you going to believe? You'll just trust that the important parts are true? What is your basis for that belief? That calls into question the most important part of the Bible, that Jesus was raised from the dead. What if that part's made up? Your realize then your faith is in vain then and you may as well live for the world and get the most you can out of it.

It just doesn't make sense to me how you can trust your whole soul to our Heavenly Father if what you base it on may not be true. Seems that that kind of faith could be shaken pretty easily. If your world is torn apart by disaster, are you just going to say, "well, gee, I hope that part that the Lord works to good all things for those that love him is a true part of the Bible." Or, "that Jesus person that's written there better be the true part! Or all this is for nothing!"

And if you throw out the Bible, then what are you going to go by? Then you are going by something made up by man--either by others or whatever you contrive up in your own mind. Based on how screwed up people can be, I'd really not want to go that route.

 

[rjs330]

Sure we can question the Bible. But the real question is why would you want to as a believer? Why would a believer want to believe that the bible is fallible? If all scripture is profitable for truth, reproof, etc. Then it can't be fallible can it? How can it be profitable if it's wrong?

Secondly if it is fallible we have to be able to have an idea how to determine which parts are and which parts are not. That in and of itself is fallible since man is deciding what criteria to use to determine the fallible or infallible parts.

Thirdly did not the majority of believers come to faith because of the teaching or preaching or witnessing of other believers who shared the gospel with them? What if the message of the gospel is the fallible part? What if John 3:16 is fallible? What if what was written in the gospels about what Jesus claimed is fallible? Maybe the whole message of salvation is a fallible message. After all it was written down and if it was written it could be fallible.

So often it sounds so intellectual and open minded to accept that the Bible could be a fallible book like any other. But it actually diminishes the message of salvation and the preaching of the word, for any passage that is taught or read or referred to could be one of those passages that is not correct.

It's not intellect or open mindedness that God proclaims. He said his foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom. To proclaim we are so smart that we can challenge the scriptures based on our wisdom is foolishness to God.

 

[surrender1]

Is a Christian who doesn't hold to the infallibility of the Bible still considered a Christian?

Yes.