Several years ago, I was talking with a former fundamentalist who had left the ministry to enter politics. I realized how far he had strayed from fundamentalism when he said, "You know, Smith, I respect your intelligence. How in the world can you still believe in the authority of Scripture?"

I knew he would argue against a rational defense, so I took a different tack. "At one time in my life, I thought about taking your position," I said, "because there was so much in the Bible I found distasteful. But then I realized it was my distaste rather than my disbelief that was causing the problem. I didn't want to believe the parts of Scripture that commanded me to act. I didn't want to lose control of my life and make obedience more important than knowledge."

He didn't change his mind, but I think he went away respecting the fact that intellectual integrity could make you submit to Scripture.

Since then I've done more thinking on the subject. If I remove the parts of Scripture I dislike, and five ...