Recently, I witnessed a very animated discussion between a Scripture scholar and a religion teacher. The subject of the disputation was Biblical inerrancy. The scholar is a highly intelligent man, but a liberal. (In fairness to him, I must say that he avoids the more ridiculous ideas of biblical scholars, such as the fantastic “Q Gospel” theory.) The religion teacher is less knowledgeable than the scholar, but is not a liberal.

To protect the identity of the scholar, I shall call him “Ray,” after the notorious Raymond Brown, whom he seems to like. To protect the identity of the religion teacher, I shall call him “Tom,” after Tomás de Torquemada, the fifteenth-century Spanish Inquisitor, who he seems to like. Continue reading →