Desiring Certainty
The Making of Biblical Inerrancy
- Theology
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
Discover how biblical inerrancy became a core belief for evangelicals. In an era of cultural upheaval and religious uncertainty, evangelicals have increasingly turned to biblical inerrancy as their anchor—but at what cost? Desiring Certainty reveals how the quest for certainty has reshaped evangelical faith, replacing trust in God with assent to propositions. Pastor and scholar Jason A. Hentschel traces seventy-five years of evangelical history, examining how a doctrine meant to unite believers has instead created endless battles over interpretation. He offers compelling insights into how that doctrine was forged by influential evangelical leaders and organizations: James Packer, the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, the Evangelical Theological Society, and more. Most importantly, he shows how even the most careful hermeneutical methods have failed to deliver certainty, leaving evangelicals trapped between their desire for objective truth and the undeniable reality of interpretive pluralism. As Hentschel surveys the past, he also illuminates a way forward. As an alternative to biblical inerrancy, he explores the more promising concept of community-centered biblical authority. In lieu of intellectual certainty, he urges believers to define faith in terms of trust. Whether you’re evangelical, ex-evangelical, or simply curious about the forces shaping evangelicalism today, Desiring Certainty offers essential insights into how the pursuit of an errorless Bible has paradoxically masked the God it was meant to reveal.
Endorsements (4)
“Hentschel is a must read. Understanding inerrancy, both the historical context and theological development, is key to understanding white Christian culture. How did we get here? Hentschel tells us, with wit and erudition and deep understanding from his lived experience as a pastor and his decade of study as an academic. This is an important book.”
“Ever since evangelicals made biblical inerrancy a litmus test of orthodoxy in the latter half of the twentieth century, the doctrine has cried out for critical scrutiny. Jason Hentschel’s compelling, learned account finally fills this void. A major achievement.”
“A vital resource for anyone who wants to better understand biblical inerrancy and the well from which such a drive for certainty springs. In Desiring Certainty, Jason Hentschel makes clear the abiding stakes for those who believe in and fiercely defend the idea of biblical inerrancy, and the interpretative, historic, and spiritual pressure points where the school of thought collapses. This is a book of history, blended with philosophy and theology, that does not pull punches on critique but also still manages to humanize those who cling to a vision of knowledge and scripture that ultimately cannot hold up.”
“Hentschel offers a revealing and often surprising historical context for a challenge that evangelicals have wrestled with for a century. What is that challenge? The obvious answer is biblical inerrancy—important, to be sure—but Hentschel situates the debate within a larger story: the modern desire for epistemological certainty amid what he calls ‘historical consciousness,’ the realization of ‘our own inescapable location in time and space.’ His critical readings of inerrancy’s leading twentieth-century defenders surface themes too often overlooked by partisans on both sides. Wherever one lands in the debate, this book—weaving history, philosophy, and biblical studies—stands as a helpful new reference point.”
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