Inerrancy is Imperative

Today in my historical theology class, we learned about Quenstedt. He was a man who held firmly to the doctrine of inerrancy. Here's a brief sketch of this man and his belief:

J. A. Quenstedt (1617 – May 22,1688)
(See Bromiley, Historical Theology, 318 ff.)

o Wrote Theologia Didactico-Polemica sive Systema Theologicium

o Along with other Lutheran scholastics, he systematized the doctrine of Scripture:

o Inspiration extends to everything recorded in Scripture, even the historical and what seems trivial

o Inspiration is verbal: “The Holy Spirit not only inspired the content and sense, or the meaning of the words . . . but the Holy Spirit actually supplied, inspired, and dictated [**by dictation, Quenstedt is not referring to the modern theory - which is wrong - that the writers were merely and only the writers of Scripture. In other words, that they were simply "mechanical devices."] the very words and each and every term individually (I, 72).

o The meaning is not inspired without the words.

o Inspiration extends to the autograph as well as to copies, if “they were faithfully transcribed from them [autographs] so that not only the sense but also the words were exactly the same “(1,206).

o The plenary and verbal inspiration of scripture leads naturally to its inerrancy.

§ If the biblical authors were moved by the Holy Spirit of truth, “it follows that they could under no condition make mistakes in their writing, and no falsification, no error, no danger of error, no untruth existed or could exist in their preaching or writing” (1,77).

o Inerrancy extends to words as well as content.“there is no error, even the slightest, either in content or words” (1,77).

§ “Every single word . . . is most true, whether it relates to doctrine, ethics, history, chronology, typography, or onomastics” (1,77).

“Whatever fault or untruth, whatever error or lapse of memory, is attributed to the prophets or apostles is not imputed to them without blaspheming the Holy Spirit who spoke and wrote through them” and who “cannot be ignorant of anything, forget anything, . . . cannot deceive anyone, neither can he lead anyone into offence or error” (1.80).

o Scripture is self-authenticating (1 Thess. 2:13) and does not need the Roman church to guarantee its authority. It is the operation of the Holy Spirit by which “we clearly perceive in our hearts the majesty and holiness and truth of the word” (1.88.92-93).