Rehabilitating Inerrancy in a Culture of Fear

Synopsis: The notion that the Bible is inerrant in everything it teaches is something those with conservative upbringings are conditioned to take for granted. However, after being exposed to scholarship in biblical studies and other disciplines, some draw the unexpected conclusion that inerrancy as a doctrine is in dire need of serious revamping. Unfortunately, inerrantist politics and culture are making the constructive, restorative process impossible to intitiate. In Rehabilitating Inerrancy in a Culture of Fear, Carlos Bovell offers a synoptic overview of the issues to be addressed if inerrancy is to survive as a viable bibliological option. Endorsements: "Bovell unveils his positive agenda: rehabilitating a robust doctrine of Scripture in a context marked by suspicion and fear. By exposing hidden assumptions, unclear concepts, and sloppy reasoning, Bovell sketches out some of the necessary conditions for this rebuilding task. You need not agree with all of his prescriptions to benefit immensely from his perceptive diagnoses. The last chapter on Old Princeton alone is worth the price of the book " –Stephen Taylor Associate Professor of New Testament Biblical Seminary (Pennsylvania) "Bovell argues compellingly that commitment to the authority of Scripture does not require that one affirm the doctrine of biblical inerrancy . . . I was particularly impressed with his argument that the employment of speech act theory, to understand the relation between what the human writers of Scripture say and what God says by way of those writers, undermines rather than supports inerrancy as a way of understanding the Bible as God's word." –Nicholas Wolterstorff Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia "In order to rehabilitate inerrancy, Bovell makes a bold and thoughtful plea for evangelicals to realize the important hermeneutical issues of culture, history, and tradition within the biblical texts themselves. Books like this one tend to engender a reactionary response within evangelicalism. My hope is that a consideration of the themes herein will occur so that a responsible dialogue can occur for the good of the Church." –Craig D. Allert Chair of Religious Studies Trinity Western University "Inerrancy has been at the center of a long-standing controversy within evangelical Christianity that shows no signs of settling down. In this volume Carlos Bovell continues to raise important questions about the concept that cannot be ignored as the debate over inerrancy heats up again. In so doing, Bovell has made a significant contribution that must be reckoned with by those who are concerned about the nature and authority of the Bible in evangelicalism." –John R. Franke Theologian in Residence, First Presbyterian Church, Allentown, Pennsylvania General Coordinator, The Gospel and Our Culture Network "In more cases than not, it is fear–not a pursuit of the truth–that stands behind evangelical debates about the Bible and inerrancy. Bovell elucidates this problem and, by laboring to address it, helps us move forward in our quest to carry on a civil, informed theological discussion about God's written word." –Kenton L. Sparks Professor of Biblical Studies Eastern University Author Biography: Carlos R. Bovell is a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary and the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto. His other books include Inerrancy and the Spiritual Formation of Younger Evangelicals, By Good and Necessary Consequence: A Preliminary Genealogy of Biblicist Foundationalism, and (editor) Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Authority of Scripture.