Someone recently asked me why my first blog article was on the topic of biblical inerrancy. Why write about something that I reject? Why be negative? Why denounce something that means so much to so many Christians? Two reasons. First, this issue has plagued me for much of my adult life. I grew up in a world that demanded belief in inerrancy, both personally and professionally. When I could no longer believe in it, I felt that in some ways I had to start my life all over again. Where would I go (both personally and professionally) now that I had cut myself off from the only social world that I had ever known? So the article was a catharsis.

Second, I think that deep commitments to sacred books in the religions of the world are at the root of so many human problems. I believe that all Scriptures, including the Bible, have some truth, wisdom, and virtue in them, but they are not harmless and no book is infallible. Claims of divine revelation in the world are profound, and they cannot all be true. We all must be willing to come to terms with the humanness of our texts, and we must use our God-given reason and spirituality to discern truth and error within them.

I actually plan to write more about this topic soon.

Now you know.