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The first deductive justification is that the Bible claims to be inspired by God (for instance "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness"{{Bibleref2c|2Tim|3:16|NIV|2 Tim 3:16}}) and because God is perfect, the Bible must also be perfect and, hence, free from error. For instance, the statement of faith of the [[Evangelical Theological Society]] says, "The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs".<ref>[http://www.etsjets.org/?q=about About the ETS], [[Evangelical Theological Society]] web site</ref>
Supportive of this is the idea that God cannot lie. W. J. Mcrea writes:<blockquote>
The Bible then makes two basic claims: it asserts unequivocally that God cannot lie and that the Bible is the Word of God. It is primarily from a combination of these facts that the argument for inerrancy comes.<ref>McRea, WJ, ''A book to die for'', Clements publishing, 2002.</ref></blockquote>And Grenz has: <blockquote>
Because God cannot lie and because scripture is inspired by God, the Bible must be wholly true. This syllogism may be valid for establishing inerrancy, but it cannot define the concept.<ref>Grenz, SJ, ''Theology for the community of God'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000</ref></blockquote> Also, from Geisler:<blockquote>Those who defend inerrancy are deductivists pure and simple. They begin with certain assumptions about God and the scriptures, namely, that God cannot lie and the scriptures are the Word of God. From these assumptions, inerrantists deduce that the Bible is without error.<ref>Geisler, N.L., ''Inerrancy'', Zondervan, 1980, p. 271.</ref></blockquote>
A second reason offered is that [[Jesus]] and the apostles used the [[Old Testament]] in a way that assumes it is inerrant. For instance, in {{Bibleref2|Galatians|3:16}}, [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] bases his argument on the fact that the word "seed" in the Genesis reference to "Abraham and his seed" is singular rather than plural. This (as claimed) sets a precedent for inerrant interpretation down to the individual letters of the words.<ref name="Bible 1984">"Bible, Inerrancy and Infallibility of", by P. D. Feinberg, in ''[[Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]]'' (Baker, 1984, Ed. W. Elwell)</ref>
{{quote|Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds", as (referring) to many, but (rather) to one, "And to your seed", that is, Christ.{{Bibleref2c|Gal|3:16}}}}
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=== Inductive justifications ===
Wallace describes the inductive approach by enlisting the [[Presbyterian]] theologian [[Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield]]:
<blockquote>In his ''Inspiration and Authority of the Bible'',<ref name="Warfield 48">{{cite book|last1=Warfield|first1=Benjamin|authorlink=Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield|editor1-last=Craig|editor1-first=Samuel|others=with introduction by [[Cornelius Van Til]]|title=The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible|edition=1st|publisher=Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company|location= [[Phillipsburg, New Jersey|Phillipsburg]], [[New Jersey]]|isbn=978-0-87552-527-3|oclc=223791198|year=1948}}</ref> Warfield lays out an argument for inerrancy that has been virtually ignored by today's evangelicals. Essentially, he makes a case for inerrancy on the basis of inductive evidence, rather than deductive reasoning. Most evangelicals today follow E. J. Young's deductive approach toward bibliology, forgetting the great articulator of inerrancy. But Warfield starts with the evidence that the Bible is a historical document, rather than with the presupposition that it is inspired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bible.org/article/my-take-inerrancy|title=My Take on Inerrancy|author=Daniel B. Wallace|publisher=bible.com|accessdate=17 November 2010| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20101120210148/http://bible.org/article/my-take-inerrancy| archivedate= 20 November 2010 <!-- DASHBot -->| deadurl= no}}</ref></blockquote>
==== Inspiration ====
In the [[Nicene Creed]] Christians confess their belief that the Holy Spirit "has spoken through the prophets". This creed has been normative for Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and all mainline Protestant denominations except for those descended from the non-credal [[Stone-Campbell movement]]. As noted by [[Alister E. McGrath]], "An important element in any discussion of the manner in which scripture is inspired, and the significance which is attached to this, is 2 Timothy 3:
People who believe in inerrancy think that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God.<ref>
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