Today, biblical inerrancy seems to be a non-issue, even though years ago it was the stated reason why the fundamentalists decided to move on the institutions of the Southern Baptist Convention in a takeover. An interesting note about this old book review that I found buried on my computer: My father and I both had Dr. Ralph Smith as a professor of Old Testament. Thirty years apart!

December 1, 1992
Basic Old Testament
Dr. Ralph Smith

Beegle, Dewey M. The Inspiration of Scripture. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1963. 223pp.

THE AUTHOR

Dewey M. Beegle was born on January 17, 1919, in Seattle, Washington. He is an ordained minister of the Free Methodist Church. He received degrees from Seattle Pacific College, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Johns Hopkins University. He has worked as an elementary teacher, an inspector in the United States Immigration Service and an associate professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at the Biblical Seminary in New York where he now serves. Beegle has also done excavation, study, and travel in the Near East. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, American Academy of Religion, American Oriental Society, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew. He has written two books, God's Word Into English and The Inspiration of Scripture. Beegle has also been a contributor to several professional journals. (1)

THE SUMMARY

This book deals with an encompassing issue and few direct solutions. In Christian life and thought, there are few areas which do not lead back to the issue of the inspiration of Scripture. Especially in light of recent developments in Evangelical Protestantism, revelation and authority must be reexamined in light of new information. The basic purpose of this book is to make such a reexamination.

Chapter one reviews the problem of method. In claiming that the Bible is inspired, most Christians mean either that this is the result of God revealing Himself or that without God's intervention the Bible would never have come into existence. Here, there are two types of reasoning which can be used, deductive and inductive. For sound results, induction should precede deduction. Four views of inspiration are listed: intuition, illumination, dictation, and dynamic.

Chapter two deals with the issue of inspiration and the autographs. An attempt is made to consult Scripture on this issue. The autograph of Jeremiah is examined, as well as the important verses of II Timothy 3:16-17. Efforts are also made to discover the theological value of the autographs as well as an effort to answer the question of why the "original" autographs persisted.

Transmission, translation and inspiration are dealt with in chapter three. The author contends that the transmission of Biblical material has many more implications for the doctrine of inspiration than many scholars acknowledge. Source material is discussed as well as the manuscripts, and more specifically the relationship of the Septuagint to the New Testament materials.

In chapter four, Beegle contends with the difficult issue of inerrancy and the phenomena of Scripture. In the interest of truth, he purports that there needs to be some careful consideration of the phenomena of Scripture that has relevance in the concept of Biblical inerrancy. Most of the chapter deals with some problem texts which cast doubt on the inerrancy of Scripture. These are Jude 14, Jude 9, II Kings 15:27, 18:1, Genesis 5, Acts 7:4, Acts 7:15-16, Galatians 3:17, Mark 14:30,72, and I Corinthians 3:19.

The issue in chapter five is verbal inspiration. This view considers inspiration as extending to the individual words of Scripture. Beegle reveals how inspiration could be of the person, of the book, of the idea, or of the truth. The inability of language to absolutely communicate ideas concludes the chapter.

Chapter six deals with the issues surrounding plenary inspiration and the canon. The idea of inerrancy is tied to the "verbal plenary." According to this view, every word of the Scriptures is equally inspired. The author reveals the many problems in relation to the duplicities in the text, the trivialities, the prophets, the book of Esther, the Song of Songs, the book of Ecclesiastes, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Beegle concludes the chapter by saying that the sufficiency of the redemptive message is not marred by these "problems," and therefore, there is no need to justify every word within the canon.

The topic of tradition and inspiration fills the pages of chapter seven. An attempt is made to approach the problem of inspiration from the history of doctrine. There is a mention of Philo, the Early Church Fathers, the Later Church Fathers, the Reformation, the Post-Reformation and the Modern Period. In confidence, Beegle purports that with few exceptions the church has boasted both the human and the divine character of Scripture.

The issue at hand in chapter eight is the relationship between revelation, inspiration and existentialism. The reaction of classical "liberal" theologians appears to be in opposition to both traditionalism and liberalism. Soren Kierkegaard is regarded as the "spearhead" of this new approach. The New-Reformation thought of Karl Barth is also mentioned. In the end, this new theology is a reminder that "if revelation and inspiration are to be complete, they must be actualized in the lives of the persons."

Chapter nine is concerned with revelation, inspiration and doctrine. A very strong emphasis is placed upon the practical out-workings of one's doctrine. There is a natural conflict between the apparent degrees of inspiration and the relation of the types of truth.

Revelation, inspiration and fact is the focus of the tenth chapter of Beegle's book. The crucial issue is one's estimate of fact and history in Scripture. The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is historical fact. Christianity is indeed a historical faith. The Bible is to be taken seriously, in a spirit of humility and obedience. The Bible is, truly, the record of God's self-disclosure to mankind.

In chapter eleven, the issues of inerrancy, doctrine, security and authority are addressed. Located inside the ideas of inerrancy is the concern to protect God's honor which is rooted in the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. Inerrancy is projected as being both protection and a barrier. The question is raised addressing whether to combine salvation with acceptance of Biblical inerrancy. Christians serve a risen, living Lord, not a static creed.

Chapter twelve, the epilogue, concludes by reminding the reader that God has disclosed Himself in "many and various ways," and God's primary act is saving His people through His Son, Jesus Christ. There does appear to be different levels of inspiration and different forms of the same divine truth. However, the central truth is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, without whom and through whom we would have no hope. Beegle correctly states, "if the Holy Spirit is willing to authenticate the message of very fallible servants, how much more authenticate will be the extant manuscripts and translations."

THE CRITIQUE

In his book, The Inspiration of Scripture, Beegle adequately confronts the issue which today threatens to tear the Southern Baptist Convention asunder. Though not a Southern Baptist himself, Beegle appears to understand the tension which can arise when two equally committed Christians disagree on the issue of inspiration. Clearly, this is not an issue which has only one answer. Scripture itself does not attempt to discuss the mechanics of inspiration, it simply states that it is inspired.

Why? Why has a once committed, loving and diverse denomination divorced over such an unimportant issue compared to the scope of the Great Commission? The Southern Baptist Convention seems to have forsaken its primary commitment to missions and education, replaced brotherly love with "governmental" distrust and destroyed the diversity which once gave it strength. Hearts must turn in repentance and seek once again the ultimate Will of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Indeed, Ben Philbeck was correct when he stated, "within a fellowship which is ultimately ruled by God, there is ample room for disagreements over goals, methods and even doctrine." (2)

ENDNOTES

(1) "Beegle, Dewey Maurice," Contemporary Authors (ed. James M. Ethridge. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1969), 5-8:90.

(2) B.F. Philbeck, Jr., "1-2 Samuel," in The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 3, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), 11.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ethridge, James M., ed. Contemporary Authors. "Beegle, Dewey Maurice". Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1969. 5-8.

Philbeck, Jr., B.F. "1-2 Samuel." The Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol.3, ed. Clifton J. Allen, 1-145. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970.