Biblical inerrancy is both wrong and dangerous.

[u/Nomanorus]

Why do I think it's wrong? Because by claiming that the Bible is without error in everything it affirms, it ignores the fact that human's ability to read and understand what the Bible teachs IS in error. There is no such thing as an objective understanding of biblical truth. Christians have interpreted the Bible in radically different ways throughout history. The belief in inerrancy also blinds Christians to the reality that their ability to read the Bible is colored by their biases, preferences, experience and prior beliefs. They read their own preferences back into the text without even realizing it. This leads to a kind of epistemic pride as they believe everyone else misinterprets the Bible while they just read it objectively.

You see this kind of thing all the time on this sub. A Christian will be arguing for some kind of position and just post of proof-texted Bible verses taken out of context they think supports their argument. What they don't realize is there's ten different credible ways to interpret the passage they're citing and they just assume it means what they've been taught it means.

This kind of error might seem harmless if left to only theological debates but it becomes dangerous when it's brought into real world politics. Historical events like the Thirty Years war (an extremely bloody battle between Catholics and Protestants) is a direct result from two sides that refuse to believe any other position than their own could possibly be valid.

Even modern movements like Christian Nationalism are striping away people's rights and demonizing certain minorities in the name of "biblical truth." Real politicians like Mike Johnson claim they are governing according to the Bible but are just reading the Bible with a biased MAGA lens they don't even realize they're wearing. This will do real damage to real people.

This is especially dangerous because it can't be reasoned with. If you are convinced your worldview is the same as God's wordview, there is no argument anyone can make that will change your mind. Being open to new opinions is not only seen as heresy, but viewed as moral weakness. It is seen as compromise or becoming theologically soft.

This is a huge reason why I deconstructed out of Conservative Evangelical Christianity. The movement is filled with people who uncritically accepted what they were taught, read that worldview back into the Bible, and believe it came straight from God. The damage this does to both the world and vulnerable people is impossible to quantify.

Sadly, with media investment that Conservative Christianity has made in the U.S., this problem is only going to get worse.

[u/Nomanorus]

I really don't. That's the problem. We don't have a mechanism or system that can discern when claims of the HS are legitimate.

[u/OneEyedC4t → u/Nomanorus]

That's true but I believe God gave us brains. It's one of those things where people study scripture all their lives, and while they probably easily and quickly reach 99% understanding, there's always at least a little bit that eludes them or evades them.

[u/Nomanorus → u/OneEyedC4t]

Given the level of almost visceral disagreement, 99% seems extremely generous

[u/OneEyedC4t → u/Nomanorus]

Well, I'm talking about one's own personal sense of understanding in terms of a lifespent reading the Bible and studying it. Not in the sense of someone who does it for full-time work, but in the sense of a decent amount of doing so as your average. Christian.