Thanks for sharing, Jay. That’s fascinating. I was born into those culture wars and am still trying to tangle my way out without catapulting to the other extreme.
For a while I liked the idea from the Chicago statement of the Bible being “inerrant in all it affirms,” which seems a bit more specific than a blanket statement of “inerrant.” But I like this “perfect with respect to its purpose” too. Because we really have to have a purpose in mind before deciding these things, as we would with any other kind of written text. And while it’s only really applicable to the gospel of John, the last verse in chapter 20 resonantes with me:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.