Liberalism is the belief that the Bible contains errors. It denies the infallibility of Scripture, which it very troubling. While being a heresy itself, it also opens up the door for other heresies. Bonhoeffer wrote on page 73 of Christ the Center,
”The Bible remains a book like other books. One must be ready to accept the concealment within history and therefore let historical criticism run its course. But it is through the Bible, with all its flaws, that the risen one encounters us. We must get into the troubled waters of historical criticism. Its importance is not absolute, but neither is it unimportant. Certainly it will not lead to a weakening, but rather to a strengthening of faith because the concealment within the historical belongs to the humiliation of Jesus Christ.”
When speaking of the creation account, Bonhoeffer claimed it was in error. He said,
“Here we have before us the ancient world picture in all its scientific naïveté. While it would not be advisable to be too mocking and self-assured, in view of the rapid changes in our own knowledge of nature, undoubtedly in this passage the biblical author stands exposed with all the limitations caused by the age in which he lived. The heavens and the seas were not formed in the way he says: we would not escape a very bad conscience if we committed ourselves to any such statement.” (Creation and Temptation, page 27)
The sinlessness of Jesus is essential for the atonement. Without being sinless, His sacrifice would be insufficient and He would no longer be a perfect sacrifice. In fact, He would also cease to be God! To claim otherwise is a heresy I call Peccatheism. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Peccatheist. This can be read in Christ the Center page 109, where he claims,
“The sinlessness of Jesus fails if it is based upon the observable acts of Jesus. His acts take place in the homoioma sarkos. They are not sinless, but ambiguous. One can and should see both good and failure in them.”
~Brandon Hines, Pulpit and Pen
No comments:
Post a Comment