The Inspired Book!

                                                    Vol. IX, No. 5, May 1996

This month's "Heritage" is from B.H. Carroll's book, Baptists and Their Doctrines (Broadman & Holman, 1995) p. 178. Carroll lived from 1843 to 1914. He was one of the most noted preachers of his time and was the founder of what is now the largest Christian seminary in the world, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth. The following paragraphs present a snapshot of his view of biblical inspiration.

"Now suppose some man meets the devil who says, "This Book is inspired only in spots," and in that way hacks the sword of the Spirit, destroying its edge, and then the devil says, "What spots? Who is to be the judge of the spots?" And the man having thus rendered unserviceable the only effective offensive weapon, is at the mercy of the devil. Another man says the Book was truth when it was written, but newer truth has come in this advanced age. That man has not a thing in the world with which to strike the devil. He is as Shakespeare, in his drama, represents Hector before Achilles, unpanoplied and unarmed.

"Whoever discounts this Book, breaks the only weapon that God has put into the hands of man with which to fight the devil. Whoever doubts a passage of it, sheathes one of its bolts of lightning. Whoever allows a doubt to creep over one of its exceedingly great and precious promises, has suffered hell to take a mortgage on his hope of eternal life. Now, I will show you directly that this is the only offensive weapon that God ever puts in the hands of a Christian with which to fight the devil; the Book, the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. Take that with you."