Biblical inerrancy: Difference between revisions

Although in these verses, Jesus and the apostles are only referring to the [[Old Testament]], the argument is considered by some to extend to the [[New Testament]] writings, because {{Bibleref2|2Peter|3:16|NIV|2 Peter 3:16}} accords the status of scripture to New Testament writings also: "He (Paul) writes the same way in all his letters...which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other scriptures".{{Bibleref2c|2Peter|3:16|NIV|2 Pet. 3:16}}<ref>[http://beta.biblestudytools.com/mybst/default.aspx?type=library&contentid=88104&category=REF Bible, Inspiration of] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.istoday/20120707082535/http://beta.biblestudytools.com/mybst/default.aspx?type=library&contentid=88104&category=REF |date=2012-07-07 }}, by Nigel M. de S. Cameron, in "''Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology''", Edited by Walter A. Elwell, Baker, 1996</ref>

Even if the bible is inerrant, it may need to be interpreted to distinguish between what statements are metaphorical, and which are literally true. [[Jeffrey Burton Russell|Jeffrey Russell]] writes that "Metaphor is a valid way to interpret reality. The 'literal' meaning of words – which I call the overt reading – is insufficient for understanding reality because it never exhausts reality." He adds: <blockquote>Originating in Evangelicalism, the Fundamentalists affirmed that the Bible is to be read "literally" or overtly, leading some to reject not only physicalist evolution but even evolution science and to deny that life developed over billions of years. Evangelicals tended to believe in the "inerrancy" of the Bible (though they defined that term variously), a view that sometimes could unhelpfully turn the Bible into an authority on science and history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=httphttps://archive.org/details/paradisemislaidh00russ_0|title=Paradise mislaid|date=November 19, 2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|via=Internet Archive}}</ref></blockquote>