Inspiration

This is classic treatise on the inspiration (and inerrancy, although the authors do not use the term) of the Bible. Hodge and Warfield present the doctrines in a concise and carefully nuanced manner. Hodge and Warfield are staunch conservatives on the doctrine of Scripture, but they are anything but naive in their approach. Hodge's and Warfield's seminal defense of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture appeared first as an article in the Princeton Review in 1881. "After almost 100 years this article in its main positions has hardly aged," writes Roger R. Nicole in the introduction. "It is a tribute to these two scholars that in their defense of the doctrine and in their grasp of its implications" they were so incisive "that an evangelical in the latter part of our century may wholeheartedly assent to what they said." Hodge defines inspiration, states the presuppositions of the doctrine, discusses the genesis of Scripture, and gives an extensive and balanced description of inspiration as plenary and verbal. Warfield considers the proof of the doctrine, then explains the presuppositions by which critical objections must be evaluated. He extensively discusses alleged errors in Scripture -- with respect to historical or geographical statements, internal discrepancies, and the application of the Old Testament by New Testament writers. Warfield asserts that no proven error is found and shows how some of the most difficult cases can be resolved. Appendixes (including two short articles by Warfield reprinted for the first time) and indexes have been added to this edition. - Back cover.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.