The Bible is inerrant; being inerrant, it is consistent; there is no inconsistency possible in the Bible. If there is a difference of interpretation, it cannot be resolved by arguing which interpretation is stronger; it must be resolved by assessing which accommodation of interpretation is simpler. What is the simplest accommodation of interpretation that results in all of the relevant scriptures being interpreted consistently? Tell me, what do you think?
Sounds good, and generally this is true. (Occam's razor!) Yet what does "simple" mean? We might argue that the simplest way to interpret is to take everything literally. Such an approach works for 2/3 of the Bible. But the garbled result of taking the poetry and metaphors of the Bible literally would cause much more confusion than following the much safer rule: Read the text in accordance with its genre. It is for this reason that I am constantly recommending books like How To Read the Bible for All Its Worth. It's also why I insist that all preachers and teachers need training in interpretation.
