Course 17 · Apologetics
Defending Scripture
Study what Christians mean when they call Scripture inspired, how the canon and the text came to us, and how to respond honestly to apparent contradictions and morally difficult passages.
Overview
This course examines the doctrine of Scripture and the common challenges to it. It begins with what the church means by inspiration and revelation, and with the different ways Christians understand the words inerrancy and infallibility. It then follows the history of the books themselves: how the canon was formed, why Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles differ, and how the text was copied and studied.
The second half takes up the hard questions. It covers alleged contradictions, difficult Old Testament passages, biblical violence, slavery in Scripture, archaeology, chronology and the relation of Scripture to science. Each topic is taught by asking what the text says, what its historical and literary setting was, and how the main Christian traditions have read it. Skeptical objections are stated in their strongest form.
The course does not assume that every difficulty has a neat solution. It teaches a method: read in context, identify the kind of writing, compare the possible readings, and say what remains unresolved. You will practice distinguishing a real conflict in the text from a conflict created by a careless reading.
By the end you will be able to give a historically informed response to a difficult passage and to explain where the traditions agree and where they differ.
Objectives
- Explain the meaning of inspiration and revelation and compare how Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians understand them.
- Distinguish between biblical inerrancy and infallibility and describe the main positions held by Christians.
- Trace the formation of the Old and New Testament canons and identify the points on which scholars agree and disagree.
- Explain why Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles contain different books and state each reason fairly.
- Describe how textual criticism works and what the manuscript evidence does and does not show.
- Apply a consistent method to alleged contradictions and difficult passages, including those on violence and slavery.
- Evaluate archaeological evidence and chronology, including the limits of what archaeology can prove.
- Describe the main Christian approaches to the relation between Scripture and science.
- Write a historically informed response to a commonly cited contradiction or difficult passage.
Course outline
Module 1 What Christians Mean by Scripture
Define inspiration, revelation, inerrancy and infallibility, and see how the traditions understand them.
Topics
- Inspiration and revelation
- Biblical inerrancy and infallibility
- Historical and literary context
Lessons
Module 2 How the Canon Was Formed
Follow the recognition of the books of the Old and New Testaments and the reasons the churches differ on the list.
Topics
- Formation of the canon
- Apocrypha and deuterocanonical books
- Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox biblical canons
Lessons
Module 3 The Text and Its Transmission
Learn how ancient manuscripts were copied, how scholars compare them, and what variation does and does not mean.
Topics
- Textual criticism
- Manuscript transmission
Lessons
Module 4 Apparent Contradictions
Develop a method for testing claims that the Bible contradicts itself, separating real tensions from misreadings.
Topics
- Alleged biblical contradictions
- Historical and literary context
Lessons
Module 5 Difficult Old Testament Passages
Study the passages that trouble modern readers, including violence and slavery, in their ancient setting and in Christian interpretation.
Topics
- Difficult Old Testament passages
- Biblical violence
- Slavery in Scripture
Lessons
Module 6 Archaeology and Chronology
Examine what excavation has confirmed, what it has challenged, and what it cannot decide.
Topics
- Archaeological evidence
- Limits of archaeological evidence
- Biblical chronology
Lessons
Module 7 Scripture and Science
Compare the main Christian approaches to the relation between the Bible and the natural sciences.
Topics
- Science and biblical interpretation
- Historical and literary context
Lessons
Module 8 Writing a Response
Practice building a clear and fair response to a difficult text and review the course as a whole.
Topics
- Alleged biblical contradictions
- Difficult Old Testament passages
- Historical and literary context
Lessons
Suggested schedule
| When | Work |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Module 1: What Christians Mean by Scripture |
| Week 2 | Module 2: How the Canon Was Formed |
| Week 3 | Module 3: The Text and Its Transmission |
| Week 4 | Module 4: Apparent Contradictions |
| Week 5 | Module 5: Difficult Old Testament Passages |
| Week 6 | Module 6: Archaeology and Chronology |
| Week 7 | Module 7: Scripture and Science |
| Week 8 | Module 8: Writing a Response |
| Week 9 | Independent assignment and self-assessment |
Readings
Required
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
A widely used guide to reading each biblical genre well. Excellent for Course 1.
How to use it: Read the chapters on the different kinds of biblical writing. Use it to practice the habit of identifying genre before drawing a conclusion.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament
A standard history of how the New Testament canon was formed.
How to use it: Read selectively for the history of how the New Testament canon was recognized. Note the points where the author says the evidence is limited.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration
The standard introduction to New Testament textual criticism, written by one believer and one skeptic.
How to use it: Read selectively on manuscripts, scribal habits and the principles scholars use to choose between variants.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The authoritative modern summary of Catholic teaching. Read it to understand what Catholics actually claim, in their own words.
How to use it: Read the section on Sacred Scripture for the Catholic account of inspiration, truth and interpretation.
Read online (Vatican) In the library - Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith
The classic confession of English-speaking Reformed and Presbyterian Protestantism. It is printed in Schaff’s volume of Protestant creeds; use the contents list to find it.
How to use it: Read chapter 1, on Holy Scripture, for a classic Protestant statement of its authority and sufficiency.
Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Augustine of Hippo, The City of God
A huge answer to the charge that Christianity caused Rome’s fall. It shapes Western thought on history, politics and the church.
How to use it: Read selectively for Augustine’s remarks on history and on how to read the Bible’s accounts. Use it to see an early Christian approach to difficult passages.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library
Recommended
- F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
A short classic defense of the historical reliability of the New Testament. Read it with a critical eye and compare it with newer work.
How to use it: A short older defense of the New Testament documents. Compare it with Metzger’s more cautious tone.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Origen, On First Principles (De Principiis)
The first systematic Christian theology, with a long discussion of how to interpret Scripture. Some of its ideas were later rejected.
How to use it: Read selectively on Origen’s account of reading Scripture at several levels and his remarks on difficulties in the text.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies
The first great defense of apostolic teaching against Gnostic rivals. Essential for the question of how Scripture and tradition relate.
How to use it: Read selectively for the early argument that Scripture and apostolic tradition belong together.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will
Luther’s reply to Erasmus on free will. A vivid statement of the Reformation view of grace.
How to use it: Read selectively for Luther’s argument about the clarity of Scripture.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
The most influential Reformed theology. Book IV is the best statement of the Reformed view of church and sacraments.
How to use it: Read Book 1 on the authority of Scripture and the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology
A nineteenth-century Reformed systematic theology in three volumes, freely available.
How to use it: Read the section on inspiration for a classic Reformed statement of the inerrancy position.
Volume 1 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Hermeneutics
The history of theories of interpretation, from Scripture to modern philosophy.
How to use it: Use for the philosophical questions about interpretation that underlie the course.
Read online (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) In the library - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Religion and Science
A careful survey of how science and religion have been related.
How to use it: Read for the main models of the relation between religion and science before the module on Genesis.
Read online (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) In the library
Passages in the Scripture Study
- 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching. The main text cited for inspiration, so study the meaning of the Greek word translated inspired.
- 2 Peter 1:21 Human authors spoke as moved by the Holy Spirit.
- Luke 24:44 Jesus refers to the law, the prophets and the psalms, a threefold description of the Hebrew Scriptures.
- John 10:35 Jesus says that Scripture cannot be broken, often cited in discussions of the authority of Scripture.
- Matthew 5:17 Jesus says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets, important for how Christians read the Old Testament.
- 2 Peter 3:16 The author mentions the letters of Paul alongside the other Scriptures, an early sign of the gathering of the New Testament.
- Hebrews 1:1 God spoke in many ways through the prophets and finally through the Son.
- Genesis 1:1 The opening of the Bible, central to the discussion of Genesis, genre and science.
- Deuteronomy 20:16 A command about the nations of Canaan, one of the passages discussed under biblical violence.
- Exodus 21:2 A law on the release of Hebrew slaves, discussed under slavery in Scripture.
- Philemon 1:16 Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother.
- Galatians 3:28 In Christ there is neither slave nor free. Read it alongside the other New Testament passages on slavery.
- Matthew 1:17 Matthew’s summary of the generations from Abraham to Christ, used in the discussion of genealogies.
- Luke 3:23 Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, which differs from Matthew’s and is a standard test case for apparent contradictions.
Independent assignment
A Historically Informed Response to a Biblical Difficulty
- Purpose
- To choose one commonly cited biblical contradiction or difficult passage and write a careful response that uses context, history and the interpretive traditions and admits what remains unsettled.
- Instructions
- Choose one commonly cited contradiction or difficult passage, and quote the passage or passages in the translation you will use.
- State the objection in its strongest form, as a thoughtful critic would put it, and say who has made it or where it is commonly found.
- Describe the historical setting of the passage: who wrote it, to whom, when, and in what kind of writing.
- Identify the genre and literary features, and explain how they affect the reading of the passage.
- List at least three possible readings of the passage, including at least one that the critic would accept and one from each of at least two Christian traditions where they differ.
- Evaluate each reading against the text, its context and the evidence, and state which you find most convincing and why.
- State what remains unresolved. Do not claim that the response removes every difficulty if it does not.
- Write a short statement of what your response assumes about Scripture, such as your view of inspiration, and say how the response would change if the assumption were different.
- Required sources
- At least four of the required readings.
- At least five of the Scripture passages listed for this course, or others relevant to your chosen problem.
- At least one Catholic, one Orthodox or Eastern, and one Protestant source on how the passage or doctrine is read, where such sources exist.
- Length and scope
- About 2,500 to 3,500 words, or eight to eleven pages. Keep it in your own notebook or document. Do not send it anywhere.
- Questions to address
- What exactly does the critic claim is wrong with the text?
- What kind of writing is this, and what did it mean to its first readers?
- Which readings are possible, and which depend on a doctrine of Scripture?
- What does the manuscript or archaeological evidence add, if anything?
- What difficulty remains after my response?
- Expected output
- A written response with the objection stated fairly, the historical and literary context, at least three readings compared, a conclusion and a statement of remaining difficulties.
- How it will be evaluated
- It states the objection fairly and in its strongest form.
- It places the passage in its historical and literary context.
- It considers more than one reading and represents the traditions accurately.
- It uses evidence correctly and does not overstate what archaeology or manuscripts show.
- It admits what remains unresolved.
- It separates what the text says from what the writer assumes about Scripture.
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Harmonizing the passages by inventing details that the text does not give.
- Weakening the objection so that it is easier to answer.
- Ignoring genre and reading ancient narrative as modern reporting without argument.
- Quoting a verse alone without the surrounding passage.
- Claiming that archaeology proves more than it can.
Knowledge check and self-assessment
What is the difference between revelation and inspiration?
Revelation is God making himself or his purposes known, whether through events, persons or words. Inspiration concerns the writing: the way God is understood to have guided the human authors so that the resulting text is his word for the church. Not all revelation is written, and Christians differ on how exactly God worked through the human authors, for example by stressing the authors’ own voices or by stressing divine control of the words.
What is the difference between inerrancy and infallibility?
Both are terms used to describe the trustworthiness of Scripture, and their meanings are debated. Infallibility is often used for the claim that Scripture does not fail to accomplish its purpose, which is to teach saving truth. Inerrancy is often used for the stronger claim that Scripture contains no error in anything it affirms. Christians differ on the scope of the claim and on how to interpret passages in light of genre, so a student should check how each author defines the word.
Why do Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles differ?
Catholics and Orthodox include books, often called deuterocanonical, that survive in Greek and were used in the early church, such as Wisdom and Sirach. Most Protestants follow the Hebrew canon recognized in Judaism and place those books in an Apocrypha or omit them. The Orthodox canon includes some additional books beyond the Catholic list. The disagreement concerns who has authority to decide the canon and which early practice is the better guide.
How was the New Testament canon formed?
The process was gradual. Paul’s letters and the four Gospels were widely read in the churches by the second century. Lists of accepted books appear from the second to fourth centuries, and Athanasius gave a list of the 27 books in 367. No single council created the canon at one moment; the church recognized books that were already in use and judged by apostolic origin, wide acceptance and consistency with the faith. Some books, such as Hebrews and Revelation, were debated for a time.
What is textual criticism, and what do the variants in the manuscripts show?
Textual criticism is the study of copies of a text to work out the most likely original wording. The New Testament has thousands of Greek manuscripts and many differences among them. Most differences are small, such as spelling or word order, and a few affect the meaning of a passage. Scholars disagree on a small number of important passages. The evidence shows that the text is well attested, but it does not show that every word is certain.
Describe a sound method for testing a claimed contradiction.
First, read both passages in full context and ask who wrote them, when and for what purpose. Second, identify the genre and what the author intended to claim. Third, check whether the two statements really conflict or only differ in detail, emphasis or selection. Fourth, consider the possible readings, including those the critic would accept. Fifth, state honestly if a tension remains. A method that always finds a solution is not testing the claim.
How should a reader approach the passages on slavery in the Bible?
Start by understanding slavery in the ancient Near East and the Roman world, which differed in many ways from the later race based slavery of the Atlantic world. Compare the laws in the Old Testament with those of neighboring societies, read the New Testament passages in context, and consider how Christians later used or opposed them, including the arguments of Christian abolitionists. The passages raise serious moral questions that Christians have answered in different ways, and honesty requires stating the difficulty.
What can archaeology establish about the Bible, and what can it not?
Archaeology can confirm the existence of places, rulers and customs, and it can show how ancient people lived. It sometimes challenges traditional dates or readings. It cannot prove theological claims such as divine inspiration or miracles, and the absence of a find does not prove an event did not happen. Results are also interpreted differently by scholars, so a careful student separates the physical find from the conclusion drawn from it.
Judge your own progress
- When you finish the modules, answer the knowledge questions from memory, without notes. Aim for 70 percent or better; if you score lower, reread the relevant module and try again.
- Write your response (the independent assignment). Wait three days, reread it, and mark every place where you assumed an answer instead of arguing for it.
- Check your work against the evaluation criteria in the assignment. Rate each criterion as strong, adequate or weak and write one sentence on how you would improve each weak one.
- Return to the key ideas of the course after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. At each point, explain aloud the difference between inspiration and inerrancy, and describe the method for testing a claimed contradiction.
- You can explain the main terms and the main historical steps without notes.
- You can state the three traditions’ views on canon and Scripture so that a member of each would recognize them.
- Your response to a difficult passage is fair, contextual and honest about what remains unresolved.