Copyright © 2014 Derek James Brown All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. A THEOLOGICAL REASSESSMENT AND REFORMULATION OF THE CHICAGO STATEMENT ON BIBLICAL INERRANCY IN LIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS _________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary _________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _________________ by Derek James Brown May 2014 APPROVAL SHEET A THEOLOGICAL REASSESSMENT AND REFORMULATION OF THE CHICAGO STATEMENT ON BIBLICAL INERRANCY IN LIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS Derek James Brown Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Gregg R. Allison (Chair) __________________________________________ Stephen J. Wellum __________________________________________ Thomas J. Nettles Date_____________________________ To Amy, “you surpass them all.” To Jim and Helen Brown, to honor you is my privilege and joy. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... viii PREFACE ............................................................................................................................x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION: FACTORS LEADING TO THE CSBI .................................1 Thesis ..................................................................................................................5 Methodology .......................................................................................................5 Outline .................................................................................................................7 Historical Survey of the Doctrine of Inerrancy ...................................................8 Early Church Fathers ..................................................................................9 Middle Ages ..............................................................................................14 The Reformation .......................................................................................17 Post-Reformation and Modern Period ......................................................21 A Divide Emerges: Evangelicals and the Doctrine of Inerrancy, 1960-1977 ..............................................................28 Fuller Theological Seminary ....................................................................32 Biblical Authority, ed. Jack B. Rogers ......................................................40 Conclusion ........................................................................................................43 2. POST-CSBI DEVELOPMENTS ...........................................................................49 Rogers and McKim The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible ..................50 Contemporary Developments ...........................................................................55 iv Chapter Page Peter Enns: Reassessing Old Testament Genre and Diversity ...........................................................................57 Kenton Sparks: Integrating Critical Studies into an Evangelical Doctrine of Scripture .....................................................63 A. T. B. McGowan: Positing a Third Position Between Errancy and Inerrancy ........................................................77 Craig Allert: Articulating Inerrancy in Light of Canon Formation .............................................................91 Carlos Bovell: Contending for a Post-Inerrantist Mindset ..................................................................102 N. T. Wright: Moving Beyond the Bible Wars ........................................111 Stanley Grenz: Forming a Doctrine of Scripture in Light of Postmodernism ..............................................................115 Conclusion ......................................................................................................123 3. CSBI REASSESSMENT AND REFORMULATION PART 1: ARTICLES I-V.....................................................................................126 Article I – The Source of Scripture’s Authority .............................................127 Article II – The Scope of Scripture’s Authority .............................................140 Article III – Scripture and Revelation .............................................................146 Additional Article: The Personal Nature of Revelation .........................151 Article IV – The Adequacy of Human Language for Divine Revelation ...............................................................................154 Article V – Scripture as Progressive Revelation .............................................158 Additional Article: The Bible as Story ...................................................161 Conclusion ......................................................................................................164 4. CSBI REASSESSMENT AND REFORMULATION PART 2: ARTICLES VI-XIII ..............................................................................167 v Chapter Page Article VI – The Nature and Extent of Inspiration .........................................168 Article VII – The Definition and Mode of Inspiration ....................................174 Additional Article: Providential Preparation of the Authors ..........................................177 Article VIII – The Human Authorship of Scripture ........................................181 Article IX – The Definition of Inerrancy ........................................................185 Article X – Inerrant Autographs .....................................................................189 Article XI – Inerrancy and Infallibility ...........................................................205 Article XII – The Extent of Inerrancy .............................................................213 Additional Article: The Diversity of the Biblical Discourse .................................................................222 Article XIII – Truthfulness and the Phenomena of Scripture .........................236 Conclusion ......................................................................................................244 5. CSBI REASSESSMENT AND REFORMULATION PART 3: ARTICLES XIII-XIX ...........................................................................247 Article XIV – The Unity of Scripture .............................................................248 Additional Article: Inerrancy and Worldview ..........................................252 Article XV – Inspiration, Accommodation and Jesus’ View of Scripture ...................................................................255 Article XVI – The History of the Doctrine of Inerrancy ................................261 Additional Article: Inerrancy and the Validity of Doctrinal Development ...................263 Article XVII – The Internal Testimony of the Spirit ......................................265 Article XVIII – The Interpretation of Scripture ..............................................271 vi Chapter Page Article XIX – The Spiritual Significance of These Doctrines ........................276 Conclusion ......................................................................................................281 6. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................284 Summary of Reassessment and Reformulation .................................................285 Suggestions for Further Research ......................................................................292 Conclusion .........................................................................................................295 Appendix 1. COMPLETE LIST OF REVISED CSBI ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL ..............................................297 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................305 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANE Ancient Near East ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers CD Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics CEJ Christian Education Journal CSBH Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics CSBI Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy EPS Evangelical Philosophical Society ETS Evangelical Theological Society ICBI International Council on Biblical Inerrancy JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JPT Journal of Pentecostal Theology MT Majority Text NA27 Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th ed. NDBT New Dictionary of Biblical Theology NDT New Dictionary of Theology NPNF Nicene- and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series SBJT Southern Baptist Journal of Theology SBET Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology SJT Scottish Journal of Theology Summa Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica viii Them Themelios Journal TMSJ The Master’s Seminary Journal TR Textus Receptus TrinJ Trinity Journal UBS4 The Greek New Testament, United Bible Societies, 4th ed. WCF Westminster Confession of Faith WTJ Westminster Theological Journal ix PREFACE The doctrine of inerrancy is something to which I have given regular reflection ever since I trusted Christ fourteen years ago. Almost immediately upon my conversion, by God’s mysterious providence, I was introduced to a host of troubling issues related to the authority and truthfulness of Scripture. My introduction to the Bible’s various “problems” and “inconsistencies”