Overview of The Chicago Statement
on Biblical Inerrancy
So the process is not a process of ascertaining
inerrancy. It is a process of assimilating
Truth and custodianship of Truth, as Scripture is handed from the Father to the
Son to John to The Church.
“The things which you have heard from me among
many witnesses; commit these same things to faithful people, who are able to teach
others as well.” — 2 Timothy 2:2
“Your words were found, and I did eat them;
and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by
you name, O Lord God of hosts.”[1] — Jeremiah 15:16
“I [John] went to the angel [Jesus], and said
to him, ‘Give me the booklet.’ He said to
me, ‘Take, and eat it; it will make your belly bitter, yet it will be as sweet
as honey in your mouth.’ So I took the booklet
out of the angel’s hand, and ate it; it was as sweet as honey in my mouth: yet
as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.”[2] — Revelation 10:9-10
Overview
Under the guise of
discussing theorems concerning the inerrancy[3] of Scripture, The
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, hides an agenda of Biblical
Authority.[4] This statement wanders far afield from the
topic of inerrancy, including inspiration[5], infallibility[6], and a fallacious test of
orthodoxy[7]. When an afterthought of God is finally
brought into the picture, very insufficient lip service is given to the Spirit[8], when we should expect
that a discussion of authority would begin with God. Since, The Chicago Statement on
Biblical Inerrancy, is in all reality a discussion of authority, not of
inerrancy, we begin our overview here.
Authority
So what is our
chiefest and highest authority? There
are several opinions on this matter.
† Our final authority is ourself. Philosophically this is often termed, “The Man
Measure Theory:” because, in it, man is made the measure of all things. We could see this as man in aggregate rather
than in self; yet, should I happen to believe this,[9] who is better to determine
this than me. This theory ultimately
makes me god. Those who press this
theory for salvation, generally see themselves as the source of salvation.
† Our final authority is the
aggregate human race.
† Our final authority is a
select group of leaders: for example, the collegial agreement of all prelates;
or the consensus of all scientists, or the unanimous decision of a president,
with his cabinet, all of congress, and the system of courts; the vote of the
board of directors.
† Our final authority is one
leader: for example, one prelate, scientist, president, sport star, movie star,
or other idol.
† Our final authority is the
Bible.
† Our final authority is
tradition.
The Only Real and True Authority
Not one of these
opinions sees the final authority of the universe as being exclusively from the
Father proceeding only to the Son: so that, all other authorities in heaven or
on earth are subordinate to the Son, Jesus Christ, and He alone determines what
is done among angels and men.
Not one of these
opinions sees the final power of the universe as being exclusively from the
Father proceeding only to the Spirit: so that, all other powers in heaven or on
earth are dependent upon the Spirit, and He alone enforces the authority of the
Son among angels and men.
All other authorities
are delegated; all other powers are distributed according to the will of God
alone. This is not determinism: for God
wills both consequences and instruments or means. This is not a rejection of the Truth of
Scripture: for Scripture remains the principal record, yet not the only record,
of the Divine Authority and Power, as well as how it is delegated or
distributed.
Organization
When the Holy Trinity
directed Moses’ path in the wilderness with all the tribes of Israel, a great
mixed multitude of around two million people:
† God provided for each of
the thirteen tribes to select a patriarch as their own tribal or family leader.[10]
† God appointed Moses to be
the great prophet.[11] Yet Moses has no special place, except in the
memory of the people of God.[12]
† God appointed the
Israelites to be a kingdom of priests.[13] Their national task by God’s election was to
administer the Law, which they are about to receive.
† God provided for each of
the twelve tribes, excluding Levi, to select six elders per tribe.[14] These are lay offices.[15]
† God chose Aaron, a Levite,
to be the first high priest.[16] The high priests are to be chosen from
Aaron’s lineage. Ithamar, the youngest
of Aaron’s sons is appointed to head the Levites.[17]
† There is an order of
leadership from the high priest, through his sons by age, to the Levites.[18] However, this order of leadership does not
extend to or include the king or the prophet.
† God selects the entire
tribe of Levi, in lieu of the death of the firstborn, as the priestly
tribe. Thus the Levites are as dead men,
devoted only to God. All of the work of
the Tabernacle and Temple belongs to the Levites exclusively. They are to be city dwellers only. The task that we commonly overlook is that of
the scribe, the vast majority of whom must have come from Levi: because no one
else was allowed to touch the Tabernacle Book of the Law. Hence Levi is no longer treated as a normal
tribe.[19]
† As subordinate priests,
each of the three families of Levi: Gershon (or Gershom), Kohath, and Merari is
in charge of specific tabernacle duties.[20]
Transition
Around 200 BC the
Hebrew Bible is officially translated into Greek under the direction of the
Jewish Sanhedrin.[21] This makes the Jewish religion commonly
Greek, rather than Hebrew. Jews will
only return to the common use of Hebrew after 90 AD, predominantly after 500,
when the work of the Masoretes begins.
This return to Hebrew was evidently motivated by jealousy over the
success of Christian evangelists using the Septuagint. The bitterness of Jews against Christianity,
first seeking to murder Paul,[22] raged on for centuries,
even coming to open war.[23]
Reorganization
When Jesus comes his
acts of governance follow the general path of Moses.
† Jesus selected thirteen
Apostles to replace the Israelite Patriarchate: He chose twelve at first: Andrew,
and Simon Peter, James, and John b Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew
b Levi, James b Alphaeus, Judas Labbaeus b Thaddaeus, Simon b Canaan, and Judas
b Iscariot. Jesus replaced Judas b
Iscariot with Matthias after his ascension.
Much later, as one born out of due time, Jesus called Paul.[24]
† God appointed The Church
to be a kingdom of priests when Israel renounced[26] that task. Yet, The Church is not only priests, but also
prophets and kings.[27]
† Jesus selects seventy (plus
two) more disciples to replace the Israelite Sanhedrin.[28] These are lay offices, as they were in the
Old Testament.
† Jesus is our eternal High
Priest; He has no successor. He is also
our great prophet, the New Moses;[29] and our great king, great
David’s greater Son.[30]
† Everything about Jesus
governance shows that He intends to replace decadent Israel in the flesh with
The Church, which is to be organized as a kingdom, continuing the pattern of
spiritual Israel.[33]
While we could
continue this discussion of the organization of The Church, as well as God’s
delegation of authority and distribution of power within it: we leave this remainder
for others to resolve in another place, we ourselves have only one question at
this point. Where is this organization
today? Such organization was quite
visible in ancient Israel; how can we see it now?
Process
When the Holy Trinity
brought Israel away from Egypt, their experiences were memorialized in three
main feasts: Pesach or Passover, Shavuot or Weeks, and Sukkot or Tabernacles. These three feast also foreshadow the life of
The Church.
Pesach or Passover or
Pascha remembers the bloody sacrifice of Jesus and His glorious
resurrection. This is the cornerstone of
our salvation. However, this Jesus
baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Shavuot or Weeks or
Pentecost remembers the birth of The Church as the new nation, the new kingdom
of God, the true continuation of spiritual Israel. The worship of spiritual Israel is the icon
or type of the worship of The Church: many of our worship patterns are just
continuations of the worship patterns found in the Old Testament Church.
Sukkot or Tabernacles,
the baptism with fire, reminds us that God’s rest into which we anticipate
entering, is only entered after a lifetime of hardship and struggle. Let no one think that Christian life is an
easy life.[35]
Other Ideas
First. There is an idea floating around that the
Spirit flows from the mutual love between the Father and the Son.
If we mean by this
that the Spirit did not descend from heaven at the side of the Father, until
Christ had ascended and was enthroned: so that the coming of the Spirit signals
the loving reception of the Son at the Father’s right hand: we have no
problem. The Scripture teaches this
plainly.[36] Of course, the entire life of the Son as God-man
was lived out of love and obedience to the Father in the power of the Spirit.[37] However, this idea leaves the door open that
the Spirit’s love for Father and Son is not coequal, or at least less than
coequal, which is contradictory with much of Scripture and several creeds.
If we mean by this
that the Spirit proceeds in essence from the Father and the Son, then we have a
clash that cannot be supported from Scripture, and seriously divides The Church
today.
If we mean by this
that the Father and Son have a love relationship, not unlike husband and wife;
so that the Spirit is the love child of that relationship, then we have come
dangerously close to reducing this idea to blasphemy. No matter how many doctors of The Church
maintain such a notion, it cannot be made true.
Such a picture of authority and power must not be believed.
Second. There is another idea floating around that
the Blessed Virgin, Mary is the third person of the Trinity. This is clearly blasphemous. Those who maintain that this is a Christian
teaching are slandering The Church; they are being intellectually dishonest;
they should cease and desist. This
means, among other things that Al-Quran cannot be equated to the Bible in
value; Islam cannot be equated to Christianity.
This is no basis of authority.
Third. There is yet another idea floating around
that Jesus as God does not have a distinct Divine will from His distinct human
will as man. This view maintains that
Jesus does not have two wills, one Divine and one human, which are always in
agreement with each other. We hope that
this is a misunderstanding of semantics.
The Father, Son, and Spirit each have wills: because they are persons. Jesus has a second human will: because His
humanity is a complete and perfect human person. Nevertheless, these four wills are always in
agreement, so it is not incorrect for us to speak of the One Will of God, which
is always in One universal aggregate agreement: four wills in aggregate
agreement expressing the identical Will of God.
The Scripture repeatedly invites The Church to join in this agreement:
which is why The Church speaks with One Voice throughout Scripture. Authority does not stand on disagreement and
division.
Fourth. Another very old idea, is actually a battle
cry. We don’t need more internecine
church battles, do we? Why do we need a
battle cry, even if it is theologically correct? A very few groups claim that this battle cry
says what it never has said historically: that sola scriptura means scripture
without tradition. For this to be true,
we would have to abandon the study of Church History. None of the Reformers believed any such
thing. Nevertheless, this false
understanding is popularly taught and widely believed. What can we say; false rumors are easily
spread. If we look carefully at the
facts, we find that Catholic and Orthodox documents both say the same
thing. Since there is no longer any real
fight over sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura, what use have we for a
battle cry. The Church is divided badly
enough. The need of the hour is for the
churches to figure out how to come together, while avoiding all of Satan’s
wicked deceptions, especially Pharisaism and Sadduceeism. Real authority has no need of a battle cry.
Fifth. A newer notion seeks to replace sola gratia,
sola fide, sola scriptura with sola love.
This idea takes its cue from, “God is love[38].” Very frequently this is pictured as love
without propitiation; without either the pain of Jesus’ blood drenched cross,
or the glory of His resurrection; without precious price. Other ideas of love reduce this notion to
meaningless romantic sentimentalities.
We get the idea that this notion really means, “Love is God,” which is
no foundation for authority.
The only real
Authority is God Himself.[39] If there is any sola in this era, it must be
sola Spirit: for it is exclusively the power of the Spirit that enables The Church
to pray to the Father, and obey the authority of the Son.
Conclusion
The Chicago Statement on
Biblical Inerrancy is not about inerrancy of Scripture at all. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
is really about authority. What is your
source of authority?
Jesus established a government. Where is your government?
Jesus made an ancient process of
life into its full reality. What is your
reality?
[1] Jeremiah
explains that the cause of is joy is being called by God’s name. He knows that he is God’s child.
[2] Scripture
is sweetness in the mouth, joyousness in the heart, yet raging bitter sickness
in the stomach because of the sins of the human race.
[3] Inerrancy.
Articles 10 (Even thought this is the
keystone article on inerrancy, the word inerrancy is used only once in the last
phrase.), 11, 12 (plus inerrant 1x), 13 (2x), 15, 16 (2x), 19 (2x): a total of
12 uses.
[4] Authority.
Articles 1 (plus authoritative 1x, 2
(3x), and 19 (the words, grave consequences): a net of 5 uses. However, note the most prominent position in
the first two articles indicating that this is the true topic of discussion.
[5] Inspiration.
Articles 4, 6 (2x), 7 (3x), 8, 9, 10,
11, 15: a total of 11 uses. Yet note,
the critical substitution of inspiration for inerrancy in Article 10.
[6] Infallibility.
Articles 11, 12, 19: 3 uses.
[7] Orthodoxy.
In Article 19, the word orthodoxy is not
used; yet, the intent of the test in the words, grave consequences, is clear
enough. These words imply absolute
authority as a decider of orthodoxy, hence all who deny, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, are judged to be heterodox, with prejudice,
equivalent to anathema.
[8] Spirit.
Article 7, 12 (spiritual) 17 (2x): a net
of 4 uses.
[9] Let
me be very clear. I absolutely do not
believe this.
[10]
There were thirteen tribes, rather than twelve: for Joseph receives the double
blessing of Israelite leadership, which is symbolized in the elevation of both
of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to their father’s status as tribes of
Israel. Israel blesses Ephraim, the
younger son, thus he is expected to take leadership in Israel; yet not as a
king, nor as a priest, nor as a prophet.
How that leadership will work out remains to be seen. Genesis 48; Numbers 7:2
[11]
Exodus 7:1; Numbers 11:29; Deuteronomy 34:10
[12] 1
Chronicles 23:14
[13] Exodus
19:6
[14]
Although, this explanation is not absolutely certain, our reasoning is
this. The Levites are priests who do not
need representation, they are already at the center of government and worship;
these 72 are laymen, not priests. The
total is 70 or 72, which does not distribute equally over thirteen: thirteen
tribes with five elders amounts to only sixty-five; twelve tribes with six
elders amounts to seventy-two. The
tribal patriarch, plus six elders, provides a complete ruling body of seven. These 72, rounded to 70, are the prototypical
Sanhedrin. The following discussion of
Sanhedrin appears to draw its conclusions by ignoring the Torah.
[15]
Judging by the work they are called to do, these are also the first
Judges. They, acting as Moses helpers,
are to explain, interpret, rule, and judge the issues of the people from
Scripture, the Law of Moses; thus they reduce the workload on Moses.
Elsewhere, we have called the spiritual gift associated with
these actions, secondary revelation (bath kol), or interpretation.
What we see in the Book of Judges are most likely the reports
or records of the elected chiefs of Judges, or else the most notable or prominent
among the judges: very likely seventy-one other judges were doing less notable
work at the same time, all the time.
Thus Israel is being governed by a system of judicial councils, culminating
in the Great Council or Sanhedrin.
How did Deborah become a judge? Torah provides for daughters to inherit the
station and property of their fathers if no male heir is living (Numbers 26:33;
27:1, 7; 36:2, 6, 10-11; Joshua 17:3; 1 Chronicles 7:15). Deborah is also said to have prophetic gifts,
which we take to be associated with secondary revelation (Judges 4:4-5, 9-10,
14; 5:1, 7, 12, 15).
[16]
Exodus 28
[17] Exodus
6:23; 38:21
[18] Aaron’s
son, Eleazar is chief of the chief of the Levites. Numbers 3:32
[19]
This brings us back to twelve tribes.
Levi will have no place in the Sanhedrin, because all of the Levites are
already priestly leaders. Numbers 2:33; Deuteronomy
18:1; Joshua 13:33
[20] Numbers
3:25, 36; 4:4, 15, 27-28, 33, 37; 10:17, 21
The Aaronid hypothesis has no basis in fact; it is simply the
fabrication of deceived and wicked minds.
[21]
Around 200 BC, this body, the Sanhedrin, is still intact: for 70 elders are
reported to supervise the new Greek translation, named the Septuagint (70) in
their honor. We must not treat this as a
ransom number; rather, it is an indicator that the new Greek translation is an
official act of the Jews.
[22] Acts
23:12
[23] Ironically,
the Jews wish to see themselves as the victims, rather than the primary perpetrators
of such violence. Yes, Christians struck
back when they should not have….
[24] Matthew
10:1-4; Acts 1:23. 26; Acts 9:1-30; 13:9; 1 Corinthians 15:8
[25] Luke
24:27, 44-49; Acts 6:2
[26] John
1:11
[27] Numbers
11:29; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17; Revelation 1:6; 5:10
[28] It
is not the precise number (70, 71, or 72) which is significant. We claim that the words, The Great Council (Matthew
5:22, and many other verses), Sanhedrin, and The Seventy are exactly equivalent
synonyms. Nothing is done without the approval
of the Sanhedrin, The Great Council. Luke
10:1, 17
[29] Hebrews
3:1-6
[30] 1
Kings 1:37 (where Solomon is a type of Christ); Matthew 22:45; Mark 12:35; Luke
20:41, 44
[31] 1
Corinthians 12
[32] Romans
6:3-4; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12
[33] Matthew
3:9; 21:19-20, 43; Mark 11:21; Luke 3:8; Romans 2:28; Ephesians 2:11; Philippians
3:3; Colossians 2:11
[34]
Acts 1:8; 3:12; 4:7, 33; 6:8; 10:38
[35] Luke
19:14, 27; 23:31; John 15:18-19; 1 Corinthians 4:8; Galatians 5:11; 6:12; Philippians
1:29; 1 Timothy 4:10; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:12; 3:12; Hebrews 11:1-12:17; 1 John
3:13; Revelation 7:17; 21:4
[36]
John 7:39
[37] Matthew
3:16; 4:1; Luke 4:1, 14
[38] 1
John 4:8, 10
[39] Psalm
46:10; Isaiah 45:23; Romans 3:19; 14:11; Philippians 2:10
[40] If you
have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please
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No rights are reserved. They are designed
and intended for your free participation.
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