All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)  

I read this and think immediately how this passage has been used repeatedly to claim that the Bible is “infallible” and “inerrant.”  

There are many different frameworks through which people understand the Bible, even for one person over the course of their life, things can change. One of these frameworks is biblical inerrancy, or some variation of that, but it is by no means the only one.  

This is firmly my own opinion, but I think thisparticularframework can use the Bible in a way it was not meant to be used – as a history book (more precise than any other history book), or a science textbook(more accurate than any other). There is a danger here, I believe, of straying into “biblioidolatry” - making the Bible an idol.  

The Bible is, as I understand it, somehow, mysteriously, written by many flawed human beings in different times and places, with different perspectives and objectives, but still somehow inspired by God (a mystery perhaps on par with the Incarnation or the Trinity) is more exciting than that. The Scriptures are worth wrestling with, interrogating, questioning from many different angles, and encountering the Spirit of God in the process.  

Reading the Bible intentionally, knowing what framework we are using to approach it, what interpretive key we are using to evaluate whether an interpretation is any good or not is important. Maybe there is even a key in this passage form 2 Timothy. I would hope that we approach and use Scripture ‘so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.’  

Whatever your framework might be, maybe think of dropping by our new Bible Study on Wednesdays at 7pm to wrestle, and hopefully be blessed, by these ancient stories of our faith.  

Thanks be to God!

CG+