Inspiration and Incarnation (1)

I am currently re-reading a book by Peter Enns, Incarnation and Inspiration: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament.  Mr. Enns has given me the gift of words, phrases and analogies which explained conclusions I had already come to but I was unable to accurately articulate. I tried writing one post to explain those conclusions. Right now it is in draft form on my computer because it is too dense and too wordy to post as a blog. One day it may form the basis of a longer article or a chapter in a book.

What I have decided to do instead is to have you join me on my return journey through Enns book.* This will take place over the next few posts–a book review of sorts. However,  I will also include references to other scholars' articles, blogs and books, and provide you with the appropriate references/links. All of these scholars are trying to answer the same questions.

• How can we understand "that all scripture is God-breathed" when there are obvious historical, literary, theological and moral difficulties in the various biblical texts we possess? 
• Do those problems mean that God was not involved in authoring/directing the books that make up the Bible today? 
• Or, is there another way to conceive of divine inspiration that will provide greater clarity for Jesus followers today?  

I have re-read the Preface to Enns' book–actually "Preface to the Second Edition" and "Preface to the First Edition." I am reading from the Kindle Edition so I am unable to provide page numbers, but I will reference chapters and sections within those chapters where possible. In the second edition preface, Enns states, 

"I wrote Inspiration and Incarnation firmly and self-consciously in support of a “progressive inerrantist” or “genre inerrantist” point of view. Those who subscribe to this view affirm inerrancy in different ways, but they all agree that inerrancy is not to be equated with literalistic readings of Scripture... Instead, I would explain inerrancy as an expression of faith and trust in God, that whatever the Bible does, no matter how it might or might not fit into preconceived categories, reflects the “free pleasure of God.” Thus, things like historical inaccuracies, myth, and theological diversity in Scripture are not errors needing to be explained away or minimized but, paradoxically, embraced as divine wisdom."

Enns' point is that the biblical texts that most Christians consider to be "God-breathed" are also written, copied, edited and translated by human beings. These human beings did their authorial, editorial and translation work at a time, a place and in cultures that are quite different from our twenty-first century Western culture. God's breathing into scripture did not remove the human factor. Nor does divine inspiration negate the fact that these texts had to relate first and foremost to the audience to whom these messages were originally directed. In a nutshell–and far too simplistically–the "Incarnational Model" of inspiration acknowledges the human component of these texts without denying divine direction. 

If you have read the Bible at all, especially the texts of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, then surely you have had questions or even concerns about what they convey regarding the nature of the Israelite God, i.e., Yahweh. The things he is reputed to have commanded and seemingly condoned and/or the words and actions of those faithful followers who reputedly were doing Yahweh's will, are at times astounding and at times disturbing. Yet many Jesus followers today are afraid to raise these questions/concerns. Modern conservative Christianity, for the most part, has equated raising these issues with doubt and doubt is the antithesis of faith. We have difficulty living with our doubt and certainly do not want to be seen by our fellow Christians as "struggling" in our faith. So we stay silent, yet conflicted. We struggle to read those parts of the biblical texts that raise questions/concerns and thus we become stagnant in our spiritual growth. Is there a remedy for this quandary in which many faithful followers of Christ find themselves? 

I will end this post with a quote for Enns' "Preface to the First Edition"–a conviction with which I fully agree and encourage all who seek to follow, or are following, Jesus to embrace:

"I believe with all my heart that honesty with oneself is a central component to spiritual growth. God honors our honest questions. He is not surprised by them, nor is he ashamed to be our God when we pose them. He is our God, not because of the questions we ask (or refrain from asking), but because he has united us to the risen Christ. And being a part of God’s family is ultimately a gift to us, not something to be obtained by us. God has freed us in Christ and made us his children. And, as all children do, we ask a lot of questions."

In all of life, we need to have the more noble character of the Bereans...

I am convinced that we can only have an authentic faith when we engage in "faithful questioning." 

*Note: Enns, Peter. Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.