Inerrancy (was: Why YEC?)

From: pruest@pop.dplanet.ch
Date: Wed Aug 29 2001 - 11:09:55 EDT

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    Gordon Brown wrote:
     
    > If we agree with the YEC claim that equates inerrancy and YEC, then it
    > seems to me that we are unwittingly promoting YEC in the Christian
    > community.
    >
    > Benjamin Warfield, famous as a defender of inerrancy, who introduced the
    > use of the word inerrancy to describe his position, was not a YEC. James
    > Orr, one of the main contributors to The Fundamentals, was not a YEC. The
    > International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, although tolerant of YEC, was
    > perceived as being uncomfortable with the YEC position since it gave
    > critics of YEC the major role in its discussion of science.
    >
    > The current YEC flood theory has a lineage traceable to Ellen G. White's
    > writings. To defend this, YEC's have resorted to giving very bizarre
    > interpretations to scripture passages that appear to conflict with their
    > theory. This is not the approach that one usually associates with
    > inerrancy.
    >
    > Given that some of the strongest proponents of inerrancy reject YEC, it
    > seems that to equate inerrancy with YEC involves exchanging their
    > understanding of what that term means for a caricature of it.
    >
    > Gordon Brown
    > Department of Mathematics
    > University of Colorado
    > Boulder, CO 80309-0395
    >
    > On Mon, 20 Aug 2001 PHSEELY@aol.com wrote:
    >
    > > My experience with YEC's is that they have felt uneasy about "not believing
    > > the Bible." In reality, they have been so indoctrinated and emotionally taken
    > > with the extra-biblical doctrine of an "absolutely inerrant Bible" that this
    > > is what they really find peace with when they become YEC's.

    Gordon,

    thank you for this much needed correction regarding biblical inerrancy!
    Generally, it tends to be confused with a naive literalism. By the way,
    some of the authors of the Fundamentals did not reject evolution, while
    holding to biblical inerrancy.

    Peter

    -- 
    Dr Peter Ruest, <pruest@dplanet.ch>
    CH-3148 Lanzenhaeusern, Switzerland
    Biochemistry - Creation and evolution
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Creative providence in biology (Gen.2:3):
    "..the work which God created (in order) to (actively) evolve it"
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