The vexing paradox that Wilbur Entz mentions (Letters & Comments, July 16) of people either being conservative and believing the scriptures are without error, or liberal and rejecting war, may not be so hard to explain. Those same conservatives who believe the scriptures are inerrant believe God actually commanded Israel to slay women and children and believe in a final battle led by Jesus himself where the blood of his enemies will flow as deep as a horse’s bridle — all of which tends to water down Jesus’ words to love our enemies. All you have to do to check out this analysis is try to convince any average evangelical that Jesus’ teachings preclude war, and he or she will invariably say the same thing: What about the wars God commands in the Old Testament?
You can always find something to water down the hard sayings of Jesus with something else in the Bible if every word is from the mouth of God. Inerrancy, which is not taught in the Bible, is itself the problem. The New Testament tells us that much about God that was hidden or a mystery in times past is revealed in Jesus alone.
Duane Beachey
Isom, Ky.
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