Dr. James M. Gray was president of Moody Bible Institute from 1904 to 1934. He argued that “The inspiration of scripture includes the whole and every part of it.” That would include the historical account of creation found in the book of Genesis.
Dr. Gray went on to state, “Furthermore, are not the historical books in some respects the most important in the Bible? Are they not the bases of its doctrine? Does not the doctrine of sin need for its starting point the record of the fall? Thus without going further, we may say, with Dr. DeWitt of Princeton, that it is impossible to secure the religious infallibility of the Bible—which is all the objector regards as necessary—if we exclude Bible history from the sphere of its inspiration. But if we include Bible history at all, we must include the whole of it, for who is competent to separate its parts?”
In other words, it is better to take the creation account in Genesis as inspired history rather than relegating it to a genre that calls into question the inspiration of God’s Word. Sadly, several professors teaching at conservative Bible colleges today disagree with Dr. Gray on this point.
In his book, Can We Still Believe the Bible, Professor Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary says that the Bible is still trustworthy with one caveat. He says we can still believe the Bible, but only if we learn to distinguish between inspired fiction and inspired history. According to some scholars, such as Professor Blomberg, the creation account found in the book of Genesis is simply fiction. But they do not want to come right out and say that portions of God’s Word are not inspired. So, they label the creation account in Genesis as “inspired fiction.” This faulty method of Bible interpretation is becoming more and more widespread in conservative Bible colleges that once held firmly to the inspiration of the Word of God. Examples such as this clearly demonstrate the need for sound principles of Bible interpretation.
Our Biblical Resource Group continues to meet once a week to address issues like this. We have developed several papers advocating the principles of consistent, literal, historical-grammatical Bible interpretation. We would appreciate your prayers as we work on new papers and revise existing papers.
Blessings,
Bob
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Was Jesus Wrong?
If I cannot believe that what the Lord said about Jonah, the creation account, and the flood is true, then it is hard to see how I can be sure that what He said about everlasting life is true. The promise of John 3:16 hinges on the trustworthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Word of God. -Selected
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. –Matthew 12:40
He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female…” –Matthew 19:4
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. – Matthew 24:38–39
