Steve and Rob are friends who are discussing the meaning of life. Steve is convinced the purpose is to simply do good, be happy, and leave the world a better place than it was before you were born. Rob generally agrees with his friend, and he prods Steve for clarity over what it means to be good, what happiness is, and what the world “should” look like.
In the end, they agree their disagreements flow from a big difference in their epistemology (ep-iss-ta-maw-lo-gee), or, “how you know what you know.” Steve believes that we each determine our own truths, so long as they don’t do harm to others around us. Rob is a Christian who believes the Bible is the final authority and measure of truth. In his frustration about Rob’s continual mention of the Bible, Steve expresses, “What even IS the Bible? It’s just a book, and it’s not even trustworthy. People made it up and threw it together, stop talking about the Bible!”
According to a joint-study of Barna Group and American Bible Society’s on The State of the Bible,
- 80% of Americans consider the Bible sacred literature.
- 1/3 of Americans claim to read the Bible at least once a week.
- 62% have a desire to read the Bible more frequently.
- 50% of American Christian Millennials believe it is the Word of God and has no errors (some verses were meant to be taken figuratively, and not every verse is literal)
- 27% of American Millennials who are not Christians believe the Bible is a dangerous book which promotes oppression.
- 19% of American Millennials who are not Christians believe the Bible is completely outdated and has no relevance to life today.
The impact of the Bible on history cannot be disputed. But what is the Bible? Is it any different from other books? And is the Bible trustworthy?
The purpose here is not to persuade anyone new that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but to clarify historic Christian teaching about what the Bible is.
Living Theologically 