The Problem of Divine Inspiration

Tonight, I am grappling with the concept of the Bible being the inspired Word of God, and how to translate the message of the Gospel into a real, working model for today. Or does it need translation? I've often wondered if the need to "update" the Scripture is born out of our culture of immediacy in which if something doesn't translate into 15 second sound bites or requires additional thought, we lose interest.

For myself, part of the allure of the Scripture is that I need to constantly be reading it, studying it, learning the historical context, and hashing it out through real life experience in order to comprehend the small amount that I have so far. Every time I reread a passage, it seems, I find a new angle to see it from. I'm not saying the context or validity changes, I just may notice something I hadn't previously caught onto.

The other problem is one of absolutes. I, among many people, have a hard time accepting absolutes, because believing something to be absolutely true requires a level of obedience unheard of in our modern age. Thus, I have to ask if we question the Truth of Scripture simply because we cannot accept what it asks of us. Do we feel God is wrong when He points out sin? Or when he uses an appointed speaker to do the same? Are we so intellectual that we can match God in a contest of wills?

The older I get, the more I do believe that the Scripture is inerrant. Some may call this foolish. Others may call it idiocy. But I believe God already called that this reaction would happen, in saying that he would use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

If the Scripture doesn't cause you to want to pursue love out of obedience, to abhor sin as separation from the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit, to give to those less fortunate than you, to support the mission of the Church (that is, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ), then I fear the point is already lost. My life apart from Christ, without the guidance of Scripture, is nothing. It is waiting to die. It is filling a time sheet of meaningless, happy ignorance. Yet, obedience breeds contentment. So, I will continue to read, to study and to pursue obedience though I fail at every turn. This is my life and my mission: to know God and to see others come to know Him as well.