The question of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures is one of great
importance.
If the Bible is a divine revelation, if it contains the actual word
of God, and nothing but the word of God, then it is folly to doubt any
statement it contains.
If the Bible is merely the work of men, if it contains only the words
of men, then, like all other human work, the Bible is fallible, and must
submit to criticism and examination, as all fallible human work must.
The Christian Religion stands or falls by the truth of the Bible.
If the Bible is the word of God the Bible must be true, and the
Christian Religion must be true.
But, as I said before, the claim for the divine origin of the Bible has
not been made by God, but by men.
We have therefore no means of testing the Bible's title to divine
revelation other than by criticism and examination of the Bible itself.
If the Bible is the word of God--the all-wise and perfect God--the Bible
will be perfect. If the Bible is not perfect it cannot be the word of a
God who is perfect.
The Bible is not perfect. Historically, scientifically, and ethically
the Bible is imperfect.
If the Bible is the word of God it will present to us the perfect God as
He is, and every act of His it records will be perfection. But the Bible
does not show us a perfect God, but a very imperfect God, and such of
His acts as the Bible records are imperfect.
I say, then, with strong conviction, that I do not believe the Bible to
be the word of God; that I do not believe it to be inspired of God; that
I do not believe it to contain any divine revelation of God to man. Why?
Let us consider the claim that the Bible is the word of God. Let us,
first of all, consider it from the common-sense point of view, as
ordinary men of the world, trying to get at the truth and the reason of
a thing.
What would one naturally expect in a revelation by God to man?