The Battle for the Bible

by Harold Lindsell

Is the Bible inerrant or not? Author Dr. Harold Lindsell answers in the affirmative-Yes, It Is! Discussing the meaning of special revelation and inspiration, Lindsell shows the Scripture's witness to itself and the historical view of inspiration and its implication. The basic fact is that a view of "limited inerrancy" has crept into evangelical Christianity. The basic problem is that a view of limited inerrancy invariably leads to concessions in matters of faith and practice. The basic need is for the church to be aware of the problem and to articulate her belief in Biblical inerrancy without fear and without compromise. Dr. Harold Lindsell leaves no doubt that the battle has been joined.

Genres: Theology, Church History, Christianity, Christian, Biblical, Nonfiction, History

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1976

Reviews

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a dangerous book. I loved it. Way to go Harold. You just insulted a Billion Christians. Oh well...

However, I totally agree with you - if the Bible isn't inerrant then throw it in the garbage. I can't be bothered with a God who makes mistakes and puts out a shoddy product.
This book is fun because it shows us how much we have to lose - and how much we've lost trying to keep the Church trained and focused on God's word (The Bible).

I'm glad i'm not about to attend Bible college again. I'd hate to have to evaluate whether every teacher properly understands the Bible and Theology. Its difficult enough just trying to figure out which local preachers are full of crap.
There's a nasty theological war all around us. Not many are up for the challenge it seems. Thanks Harold for standing your ground.
I wish I would of read this book 25 years ago.

[Christopher Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I today completed “The Battle for the Bible” by Harold Lindsell. This is a classic book and is a must read for any student of Scripture. This book provides a foundational understanding of the battles over inerrancy of Scripture and the infallibility of Scripture that arose out of the Modernist controversy in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Lindsell in 1976 was the editor of Christianity Today and was previously president and a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. Indeed, professor Lindsell is able to write a vibrant account of the battle for the authority of the Bible because he lived through it at an institution, Fuller, that fought and then lost this battle to the theological liberals.

This book answers the question, “So what? Why does the inerrancy of Scripture make a difference.” Dr. Lindsell gives many potent examples of why these foundational truths make a difference to the individual believer, to institutions of higher learning and to the church. This book is written at the popular level and is accessible to anyone who desires to read it.

If you care about the authoritative nature of Scripture, you should read this book. This book was written in 1976 but its message is relevant during our time. Every generation must defend the authority of Scripture and if you fail to understand the issues you will be ineffective on the intellectual field of battle. This book is a valuable resource and a cogent warning. Read it. You will thank me later. Happy reading.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent book throws down the imperitive disussion point of Christianity in every generation...will we follow God's word or will we compromise and be lost into the oblivion of man made religions? The Battle must be fought in every generation, in every church, and in every human heart. What you believe about the Bible will affect what you believe about everything else. This is a great read.

[Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his controversial book, The Battle for the Bible, Harold Lindsell chronicles the ongoing war within evangelicalism over the doctrine of inerrancy. Is the Bible without error in all areas, or just those pertaining to faith and practice? Rather than providing a theological defense of inerrancy as others have done, Lindsell argues from history, with example after example of denominations and seminaries that, after first rejecting inerrancy, follow a trajectory of rejecting doctrine after doctrine of the Christian faith. Read more...

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book. Underscores the importance of the doctrine of inerrancy, as well as exposes the unethical nature of liberalism. Depart from the doctrine of inerrancy and its a slippery slide to apostasy within a generation or two.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent- It could have been stronger in [1] what to do and [2] stressing Scriptural separation.

[Randy Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book the first time back in 1977 while I was in Bible College. I remember thinking then that it started out strong and became weaker as the book went along. I came to something of the same conclusion this time through, though I will have to say that I understand why the author wrote it the way that he did a bit better now. He was seeking to show the natural progression when people reject inerrancy. I found one observation that he made about the struggle in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church to be particularly interesting. He noted that one would have to admit there was some denominational politics in play. In other words, he was not trying to paint one side in white and the other in black. This is pretty much the way that it looks to have worked out in the SBC. I suppose I am uniquely qualified to see this, having gone to MABTS and not being a Southern Baptist. I do think that this also adds depth to the opinion of some of my friends like George Clark and Sam Creed. They see what has happened in the SBC as entirely a power struggle. What’s more, their side lost and they are somewhat grieved by that.

Still, I do think that this is an important book drawing together the history of the doctrine of Scripture on the issue of inerrancy. I would agree with the author that it is a watershed issue. Thankfully, there has never been a serious challenge to plenary verbal inspiration among Free Will Baptists.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not pick up this book to consider inerrancy: I've long been convinced of it. I was mostly interested in the work as a historical artifact. In the emergence of neo-evangelicalism (in contradistinction to liberalism, neo-orthodoxy, and fundamentalism), how would they draw battle lines and summarize the arguments. Lindsell's argument is well researched. The chapter on the doctrine of special revelation through church history was particularly helpful. The examples from the LCMS, SBC, Fuller Seminary, and the Briggs Trial are well-told and convincing.

At a few points, he does conflate the issues. In one spot he includes amillennialism as evidence of doctrine slippage. The section on harmonization was a little weak but it was outside the book's main argument.

[Jimmy Melnarik]

Confirmation Bias: The Book. Bereft of argument. Admittedly a book written for conservative evangelicals.

[Mensah Joel]

It is a faith emphasizing book.

[JM · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book, not to try to understand inerrancy, but to get historical perspective on one the biggest issues in post-war Evangelicalism. That being said, I came to the book as a sympathetic reader.
In many ways, it was enlightening. Lindsell does a fine job articulating the tradiitional inerrancy position. However, when he gets to showing examples of denominations and individuals leaving inerrancy, he becomes less convincing. Some examples provided obviously were rejecting inerrancy. Unfortunately, in other examples, Lindsell made a weak case that inerrancy was being rejected. This weak case rests on a few bad assumptions. The first is that the use of historical-critical method necessitates a rejection of inerrancy (p. 82, 98). Lindsell applies this logic to George Ladd unconvincingly on p. 114. Granting that the authors did editing of texts handed down to them and attempting to understand the forms and sources of the old and new documents does not mean that I reject inerrancy.
Additionally, Lindsell makes some sloppy remarks about the words of Jesus in the Gospels. He argues that those who allow for ipsissimma vox (that some phrases attributed to Jesus in the Gospels are not direct quotations) are rejecting inerrancy (p. 164). This argument for ipsissimma verba (all phrases attributed to Jesus are direct quotations) ignores ANE historiography, is particularly redundant in events recorded in every gospel, and goes against what other contemporary inerrancy proponents argue (see Geisler's Inerrancy, p. 301).
This book struggles under the problem most polemical literature suffers- majoring on a viewpoint while struggling to nuance the argument around difficulties. While it was impactful in its time, and I'm grateful for the affect it had, its reception history cannot hide the concerns the book contains.

[Demetrius Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Lindsell takes it upon himself to call out those who feign inerrancy yet harbor another view. This is his battle cry against doctrinal subversion in evangelical ranks. I appreciate Lindsell's heart, but question his tactics. I'm sure he did the best he knew how at the time and for his day.

[Mike Matiscik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good account of a sad fight.

[Andy]

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