In answer to the idea that the doctrine of inerrancy is just a recent innovation of Christian fundamentalism, one can read John Woodbridge's Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982), but I would also like to show a few quotes from our fellow fundies that are in accord with my recent post arguing that most, if not all, Christian orthodox teachers throughout history would have been considered fundamentalists in the sense that liberals/errantists use it.
And Trypho said, 'Being shaken by so many Scriptures, I know not what to
say about the Scripture which Isaiah writes, in which God says that He
gives not His glory to another, speaking thus 'I am the Lord God; this
is my name; my glory will I not give to another, nor my virtues.'And I
answered, 'If you spoke these words, Trypho, and then kept silence in
simplicity and with no ill intent, neither repeating what goes before
nor adding what comes after, you must be forgiven; but if[you have done
so] because you imagined that you could throw doubt on the passage, in
order that I might say the Scriptures contradicted each other, you have
erred. But I shall not venture to suppose or to say such a thing; and if
a Scripture which appears to be of such a kind be brought forward, and
if there be a pretext[for saying] that it is contrary[to some other],
since I am entirely convinced that no Scripture contradicts another, I
shall admit rather that I do not understand what is recorded, and shall
strive to persuade those who imagine that the Scriptures are
contradictory, to be rather of the same opinion as myself." Justin Martyr
"Therefore they[the followers of Artemon's heresy] have laid their hands
boldly upon the Divine Scriptures, alleging that they have corrected
them...But how daring this offense is, it is not likely that they
themselves are ignorant. For either they do not believe that the Divine
Scriptures were spoken by the Holy Spirit, and thus are unbelievers, or
else they think themselves wiser than the Holy Spirit, and in that case
what else are they than demoniacs?" Hippolytus
"And he who has believed the Word
knows the matter to be true; for the Word is truth. But he who has
disbelieved Him that speaks, has disbelieved God."
It will naturally fall after these, after a cursory view of theology,
to discuss the opinions handed down respecting prophecy; so that, having
demonstrated that the Scriptures which we believe are valid from their
omnipotent authority, we shall be able to go over them consecutively,
and to show thence to all the heresies one God and Omnipotent Lord to be
truly preached by the law and the prophets, and besides by the blessed
Gospel. Many contradictions against the heterodox await us while we
attempt, in writing, to do away with the force of the allegations made
by them, and to persuade them against their will, proving by the
Scriptures themselves."
Clement of Alexandria
"What sort of truth is that which they patronize, when they commend it
to us with a lie? Well, but they actually treat of the Scriptures and
recommend (their opinions) out of the Scriptures! To be sure they do.
From what other source could they derive arguments concerning the things
of the faith, except from the records of the faith?" Tertullian
"I am not, I repeat, so ignorant as to suppose that any of the Lord's
words is either in need of correction or is not divinely inspired."
"The error, neither of parents nor ancestors, is to be followed; but the
authority of the Scriptures, and the government of God as our teacher." Jerome
"For it cannot be remotely possible that the authority of the Scriptures should be fallacious at any point."
"I have thought it my duty to quote all these passages from the writings
of both Latin and Greek authors who, being in the orthodox Christian Church
before our time, have written commentaries on the divine oracles, in
order that our brother, if he hold any different opinion from theirs,
may know that it becomes him, laying aside all bitterness of
controversy, and preserving or reviving fully the gentleness of
brotherly love, to investigate with diligent and calm consideration
either what he must learn from others, or what others must learn from
him. For the reasonings of any men whatsoever, even though they be orthodox Christians, and of high reputation, are not to be treated by us in the
same way as the canonical Scriptures are treated. We are at liberty,
without doing any violence to the respect which these men deserve, to
condemn and reject anything in their writings, if perchance we shall
find that they have entertained opinions differing from that which
others or we ourselves have, by the divine help, discovered to be the
truth. I deal thus with the writings of others, and I wish my
intelligent readers to deal thus with mine."
"For we walk by faith, not by sight; but faith will start
tottering if the authority of Scripture is undermined; then with faith
tottering, charity itself also begins to sicken."
"Your design clearly is to deprive Scripture of all authority, and to
make every man’s mind the judge what passage of Scripture he is to
approve of, and what to disapprove of. This is not to be subject to
Scripture in matters of faith, but to make Scripture subject to you.
Instead of making the high authority of Scripture the reason of
approval, every man makes his approval the reason for thinking a passage
correct."
"What sort of a man this Nathanael was, we prove by the words which
follow. Hear what sort of a man he was; the Lord Himself bears
testimony. Great is the Lord, known by the testimony of John; blessed
Nathanael, known by the testimony of the truth. Because the Lord,
although He had not been commended by the testimony of John, Himself to
Himself bore testimony, because the truth is sufficient for its own
testimony."
"Let us treat scripture like scripture, like God speaking; don’t let us
look there for man going wrong. It is not for nothing, you see, that the
canon has been established for the Church. This is the function of the
Holy Spirit. So if anybody reads my book, let him pass judgment on me.
If I have said something reasonable, let him follow, not me, but reason
itself; if I’ve proved it by the clearest divine testimony, let him
follow, not me, but the divine scripture."
"[There would be the] most disastrous consequences
must follow upon our believing that anything false is found in the sacred
books. That is to say that the men by whom the Scripture has been given to
us and committed to writing put down in these books anything false. If you
once admit into such a high sanctuary of authority one false statement, there
will not be left a single sentence of those books, which, if appearing to
anyone difficult in practice or hard to believe, may not by the same fatal
rule be explained away as a statement, in which intentionally, the author
declared what was not true." Augustine
"Nothing false can
underlie the literal sense of Scripture." Thomas Aquinas
"'The Scriptures have never erred." Martin Luther
"Nay,
if there be
any mistakes in the Bible there may well be a thousand. If there is one
falsehood
in that Book it did not come from the God of truth." John Wesley (I
guess this means that the three legs and fourfold principle was
originally meant to function off the idea that there was an inerrant
source of authority the others could play off of).
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