Skip to content
Credo House Ministries
  • Home
  • Theology Unplugged
  • Donate
  • About
  • Credo Courses
  • Close Search Form
    Open Search Form
Calvinism
0Comments

Bad Theology in Heaven? Confessions of a Mystical Calvinist

Being a Calvinist isn't the struggle—it's being mistaken for *that* kind of Calvinist. This post explores "Mystical Calvinism," a way of holding the doctrines of grace with...

Continue Reading

Church
0Comments

Who’s Not Who in Church History: Felix Aptunga – The Bishop Who, Sadly, Got a Libellus

Felix Aptunga, an often-overlooked figure in church history, found himself at the center of one of the most significant early Christian controversies. During the brutal...

Continue Reading

Church History
0Comments

Orthodoxy Across the Spectrum: 6 Views of Orthodoxy

Where Do You Stand? Christians come to theology with different starting points—presuppositions that shape how we define faithfulness. That doesn’t make those presuppositions...

Continue Reading

Angels and Demons
0Comments

Are We Held Guilty for Adam’s Sin: Why Aquinas’ View that Angels are not a Species Matters

Are we really held guilty for Adam’s sin? Many wrestle with the fairness of imputed sin, but Thomas Aquinas offers a surprising and compelling angle. By exploring his view...

Continue Reading

Christology
0Comments

The Gospel is a Person, Not a Proposition

What if the Gospel isn’t primarily a formula, a set of doctrines, or even a carefully worded message—but a person? This post reflects on a real conversation with a homeless...

Continue Reading

Anthropology
0Comments

Won’t Heaven Be Boring?

Many wonder if heaven will be boring—an endless, unchanging existence. But what if heaven is filled with growth, learning, and endless discovery? This post explores how being...

Continue Reading

Apologetics
0Comments

Is Ridicule Ever a Legitimate Christian Tactic? (Don’t Answer Too Quickly!)

In this blog, we explore whether ridicule is a legitimate—and even necessary—tool for Christians. Drawing on Scripture and the teachings of Church Fathers like Augustine,...

Continue Reading

Addiction
0Comments

Gladiators and Strippers (And The Night I Closed My Eyes)

Alypius once despised the gladiator games—until one moment of weakness pulled him in. Augustine tells the story of his fall and God’s unexpected rescue.

Continue Reading

Apologetics
0Comments

The Hidden Hands: Amanuenses and the Letters Behind the Letters

This deep dive into ancient letter-writing practices explores how the use of amanuenses impacts our understanding of New Testament authorship, challenging modern assumptions...

Continue Reading

« Older Articles Newer Articles »

NEW! Become a Patron of Michael Patton

Theology Unplugged

Theology Unplugged
Theology Unplugged

Get your weekly dose of one of the longest-running theology podcasts there is.

87. Through Theology in a Year: Evidencing Inspiration
byC. Michael Patton

How can we be certain that the Bible is inspired? What evidence supports the Christian claim that the Scriptures are uniquely the Word of God? In this episode of Theology Unplugged, Michael begins examining the cumulative case for biblical inspiration, including Scripture’s self-attestation, its uniqueness, its historicity, its prophetic character, the testimony of Christ, its life-changing power, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Michael begins with Scripture’s testimony concerning itself. The Bible repeatedly claims to speak the words of God, but self-attestation cannot stand alone as the entire argument. Simply saying that the Bible is inspired because the Bible says it is inspired would appear circular. Nevertheless, self-attestation is a necessary part of the evidence. If Scripture truly is the Word of God, there can be no higher authority by which its divine inspiration may be authenticated. As Hebrews says of God, because He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself.

The episode also considers the remarkable uniqueness of the Bible: a collection of 66 books, written by more than 40 authors from very different backgrounds, in three languages, on three continents, over approximately 1,500 years. Despite these differences, the books form a unified theological and redemptive story unlike any other collection of literature.

Michael then turns to the historicity of Scripture and explains the importance of examining both internal and external evidence. Christianity does not ask people to accept its historical claims merely because the Bible is inspired. Rather, the historical claims themselves—most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ—must be investigated. If the resurrection occurred as a historical event, Christianity is true whether or not someone has already accepted a complete doctrine of biblical inspiration.

Finally, Michael begins considering the internal evidence for Scripture’s historical reliability, especially its striking honesty. The biblical writers consistently record the sins, doubts, embarrassments, and failures of their own heroes. David murders, Peter denies Christ, the apostles abandon Him, Abraham and Sarah doubt, Jonah runs, Noah becomes drunk, and Israel repeatedly rebels. These are not the kinds of carefully polished stories normally produced to glorify a nation, its leaders, or its founders. Scripture also preserves apparently incidental details that are difficult to explain as deliberate legendary embellishments.

This episode begins a larger cumulative argument. No single evidence by itself establishes everything Christians believe about inspiration, but together these evidences provide substantial reasons for believing that the Scriptures are what they claim to be: the written Word of God.

Get involved:
Michael’s public blog: https://credohouse.org
Courses and Manuscript Reproductions from Michael and other scholars: https://credocourses.com
Join us as we go through the great Fathers of the Faith in a year: https://throughthechurchfathers.com
Support Michael and receive exclusive podcasts, courses, and much more: https://patreon.com/cmichaelpatton

87. Through Theology in a Year: Evidencing Inspiration
87. Through Theology in a Year: Evidencing Inspiration
2026-07-15
C. Michael Patton
Will the True Church Please Stand Up?
2026-06-24
C. Michael Patton
Search Results placeholder

Every Credo Course On One Drive!

Or Send a Quick Tip

Subscribe

* indicates required

C Michael Patton’s discipleship book

Categories

RSS Theology Unplugged

  • Will the True Church Please Stand Up? 2026-06-24
    What happens when we become convinced that our church, our tradition, or our denomination is the official gatekeeper of the kingdom of God? In this episode of Theology Unplugged, Michael explores a surprising pattern that runs throughout the Gospels. Again and again, the disciples appoint themselves as the guardians of God's kingdom. They try to […]
  • 86. Through Theology in a Year: Biblical Docetism 2026-06-16
    In this episode, Michael introduces a new term for an old interpretive problem: Biblical Docetism. Borrowing from the ancient Christological heresy of Docetism—which denied the true humanity of Christ while affirming His deity—Michael argues that many Christians approach the Bible in a remarkably similar way. They affirm the divine origin of Scripture but neglect its […]

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Address


Credo House 1209 Cedar Ridge Road Edmond OK 73013

Text

405-410-3039

Credo House Ministries

©2010-2017 SmartTheme. All Rights Reserved.

WordPress Theme by OptimizePress