Below, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, discusses the new book, Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy, to which he contributed, with Towers book review editor Matt Damico.

MD: Why is this book necessary?

RAM: Well, on the one hand, it’s necessary because the issue of inerrancy is never a settled issue; it’s never going to go away. It comes part-and-parcel with the modern world. Modernity itself presents a set of issues that are going to have to be answered one way or another. Thus, we’ll land either in the affirmation of inerrancy or in some other place. I think inerrancy continues to be a defining issue for what evangelical integrity requires.

Also, there is utility in a five, or multiple-view book like this. Zondervan’s been doing this for some time, other publishers have had a similar format. I found, as a theology student when they first started coming out, that these were very helpful ways to get at issues, some better than others. I do not believe this one accomplished all that I had hoped it would accomplish, by means of having multiple views, but I still think it’s good to have a debate in a book.

I knew, when I took this assignment, that I would be the “heavy.” I knew that up front, so I knew that most reviewers of this book from some evangelical circles would be quite critical. I knew that when I took up the responsibility because they’re already critical of the Chicago Statement [on Biblical Inerrancy].

Also, I fault several of my co-authors for failing actually to deal with what the book was supposed to be about, and that is the Chicago Statement. Some of them, quite cleverly, avoided actually dealing with some of the issues that the book was supposed to be about. So, with every one of these projects, there are satisfactions and frustrations, but I hope this serves the cause of Christ and the church well, and I still very much want people to read it.

MD: What do you mean when you use the term “inerrancy”?

RAM: Vocabulary is always a problem. That’s true in international diplomacy; it’s true in labor contracts; it’s true in the making of legislation; and it’s true in theology as well. That’s why, for instance, the Chicago Statement emerged in the 1970’s at a specific moment when definition was badly needed.

This book is not just about inerrancy; it is specifically addressed to the Chicago Statement and revisiting that question. I believe the Chicago Statement very accurately described inerrancy. There are new issues to be addressed, but I would not take away anything the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy achieved with that.

MD: Some people accuse the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy of being too modernistic. How well do you think the Chicago Statement articulates the historic view of the church?

RAM: This whole idea of it being modernistic is a canard; it’s cute, but it’s not all that meaningful. It is entirely true that the doctrine of inerrancy as it is described and defined in the Chicago Statement was not necessary until the advent of modernity. We should be unembarrassed by that.

In other words, there is no way to escape the modern age; we are chronological creatures, and here we are. Part of what it means in this generation to give a reason for the hope that is in us is to answer the questions that this age is asking, and in the modern age, questions about the veracity of divine revelation are inescapable. So, I’m not embarrassed at all to say that inerrancy is something that is found in the modern age in terms of its codification. I’m also quite bold to say that if you look at the history of the church, you will not find something less than an affirmation of inerrancy. You’ll find the assumption of inerrancy.

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