Christian YouTuber Pastor Greg Locke dropped a video last month that rustled the feathers some of the more argumentative secular folks on the Internet, where he claimed to now have indisputable proof that the bible is “absolutely 100% accurate.”
One of those folks was atheist YouTuber Alex J. O’Connor, a.k.a. The Cosmic Skeptic.
In his rebuttal video, O’Connor doesn’t really break any new ground in atheist polemics, but Locke didn’t break new ground for his side of the aisle either. Ultimately, O’Connor’s dry wit and subtle composition make the video fun to watch.
“…I’m pretty excited because I found a video of a guy called Pastor Greg Locke, saying that the bible is absolutely 100% accurate,” O’Connor starts out. “And after thousands of years of speculation, I can’t wait to finally see some actual proof.”
Watch the video below:
[Patheos]
Jeff
August 16, 2016 at 11:58 am
Just a point of clarification from the video above. Both parties are using the terms “inerrant” and “infallible” pretty loosely without any recognition of how the two terms are widely used in theological circles. First, inerrancy is what they’re actually talking about. Basically, a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible is a belief that it’s without contradiction or error. This is what’s up for debate in the video but it’s not what either party is focused on. Infallibility is the belief that the bible won’t fail in its intended purpose of providing meaning to a person who is reading it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Essentially, if you’re a person who trusts in God to provide meaning when you read scripture infallibility is the promise that God will do just that.
I’m a young pastor and I know there are plenty of problems with religion. I also understand that many people don’t believe in God, let alone religious institutions. I also recognize that people have good reasons for holding these beliefs. I’m not the in your face prostelytizing type. However, I think conversations like this gloss over the nuance that some of us have in our lives of faith. I firmly believe in evolution, climate change, and other science. I agree that messages like this man’s message are harmful to our society because they close down critical thought, but let’s not lump this pastor in with a pastor like myself. I believe the Bible to be inspired by God and it inspires me every day, but my faith in the Bible doesn’t mean I believe the earth is only 6,000 years old or that the reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs was the flood in Genesis. What we’re actually talking about in these conversations is a belief in the inerrancy of scripture and we’re assuming that it’s a given as an essential part of Christianity. It isn’t.