‘Scripture is the infallible word of God’

In his column, “American churches, Scripture get it wrong on gays and lesbians,” Oliver Thomas lays out an argument for why the church has been losing members. “Churches will continue hemorrhaging members until we face the truth: Being a faithful Christian does not mean accepting everything the Bible teaches.” While Thomas’ strategy to reject the full infallibility of Scripture may make Christianity more appealing to more Americans, he forgets the true purpose of the church, which is not to build membership but to portray truth.

At the center of Christianity is the understanding that humanity is a creation of a creator who is all-knowing and all-powerful. Morality, then, is determined not from our own reason, but by the creator. According to Christian doctrine, Scripture is the infallible word of God, and therefore, the standard of morality and truth. To reject parts of Scripture based on “things that we have learned” is to replace God with reason as the standard of morality.

Phillip Todd

Falls Church, Va.