Barneyisfat

I love the Bible. I veiw it as a beautiful piece of living, breathing art. I believe that God inspired (very) fallible humans to write what He had placed on their hearts. I believe the words of Jesus - the red letters - I take everyone of them as a source of hope, life, and liberty. Without them I would be completely lost. I consider the law that which points us to our own brokeness. The prophets point us to Him who can heal our brokeness. The poetry and wisdom help us to live out our lives in a Godly fashion. The writings of Paul show how the early church dealt with division - that they met and prayed and argued and loved and fought and loved and re-stated and then compromised or split. The prophecy stands to show us that it's not over, yet. There's more to come.

Now for the liberal part that could get me expelled from TFC. I believe in (and love) an errant Bible. A perfectly errant Bible. Not that the Bible is wrong, really, but that people make mistakes. God only ever used one perfect person and he never wrote anything down (except in the sand). God used fallible people to do everything else - everything recorded in the Bible. These people had ups and downs - doubts, fears, and moments of triumph. Why would we believe that they couldn't make a mistake while writing the Bible for God.

I believe that everything in the Bible is useful for teaching. Sometimes our lives only serve as a warning to others. God shows how his people have messed up and sinned, but we often idolize their lives. Paul gives his own opinion and even sometimes teaches a practical teaching for the people of his day that doesn't apply to us today - we try and live those out even though they don't fit our cultural context and muddle the message of Christ. Some churches still don't allow women to preach because of a cultural teaching of Paul.

The Bible does contradict itself. Who showed up to the tomb first? Try and figure that one out. It doesn't matter to me. I feel that a piece of art can still be perfect and have contradictions. When you view the Bible simply as a textbook there is no room for error. If the Bible has a contradiction that means that our faith has to fall to pieces and we all have to become anarchistic athiests and tear our clothes. When you see the Bible as art and truth and life ... well, the contradictions are beautiful. I can't explain this feeling any better (much to the dismay of the moderns I am surrounded by who can only live their lifes in absolutes.)

The Bible is not part of the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There are three parts - the Bible is a joint effort between God and man. That can only be fallible.

So that's my liberal confession today. I believe in a perfectly errant Bible ordained and orchestrated by a perfect God given to a very imperfect people. Praise God.