3 – What Is ‘Biblical’?

The term “Biblical” means that something is told in the same format as it is in the Bible—including doctrine, theology, and even a simple story. Pop Christianity often presumes that “Biblical” means “true”, but it does not! For example, the Hittites told Israel that they were from outside of the land of Canaan, but they actually lived in the land—the “Biblical” story includes that the Hittites claimed they were from Canaan. If that story were told “according to truth”, we might clarify right away that the Hittites were lying, but if we tell that story “Biblically” or “according to the format of the Bible”, we would first tell what the Hittites claimed, then later on learn that they had been lying.

This might not seem to be an important distinction, but it is part of understanding “Biblical” morals and critical thinking.

“Biblical” teaching can often mean an idea is “true”, but not necessarily. A “Biblical” view of God includes that God is “Most High”, existing in Eternity Past and on a level deeper than atoms, light, and even thought itself. That is because this idea can be found in the Bible, what we might call a “Biblical Doctrine”. According to a “Biblical” worldview, this is true. So, the relationship between being “Biblical” and being “true” is much like a Venn diagram; they can be the same, but not by definition alone.

Just as the term “Biblical” includes the format of the Bible, it also includes the “contents” of the Bible. If an idea is not found in the Bible—whether it is true or not—it is “extrabiblical”, “extra-” meaning “outside” or “in addition to”. Thomas Aquinas said, “All truth is God’s truth,” which meant that we can teach the truth as truth even if it is not “Biblical” truth AKA if it is “extrabiblical” truth. Math and Science do not need to be found word-for-word in the Bible to be true.

“Biblical” truth, however, is special. The Bible tells us things that we would never figure out on our own. Not in ten billion years could humankind figure out sufficient knowledge about God to recognize Him—without insight from uniquely “Biblical” truth.

Psalm 19, Proverbs 14:12, Romans 1:20, 2 Peter 1:21