Inerrancy: A brief overview

	The Bible is inerrant -- free of error;
	The meaning of biblical passages is clear and unambiguous;
	Its authors were inspired by God; and
	The Bible is the word of God and thus reflects accurately the will of God.

Further, many religious conservatives believe that the Bible is to be interpreted literally, unless otherwise indicated. Some passages are obviously intended to be interpreted figuratively, symbolically or metaphorically rather than literally. For example, in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John, Jesus is described as feeding 5,000 people with bread and fish. Later in that Gospel, Jesus is recorded as saying "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). He obviously does not imply that he is a loaf of bread. He appears to mean that he is "the source and sustainer of eternal life." ₃ Similarly, when Jesus is recorded as saying "I am the vine, ye are the branches" (John 15:5) he does not mean that he is a literal vine.
 

	Genocide,
	The origins of species and of the universe,
	Human slavery,
	The suppression and oppression of women,
	Treatment of persons with a homosexual or bisexual orientation or a transgender or transsexual identity,
	Religious intolerance,
	Torturing prisoners,
	The death penalty,
	Treatment of religious minorities,
	Spanking children,
	Executing non-virgin brides,
	Execution of children who are disrespectful of their parents, and
	Other laws and actions considered immoral by today's secular and religious standards.

Some progressive Christians would select the concept of transferring sin and punishment from the guilty to the innocent as the most immoral practice advocated by the Bible, is. This theme is found in passages throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Jehovah's Witnesses cite literal interpretations of Bible verses from Genesis, Leviticus, Acts 15 and Acts 21 in order to urge its members to refuse to accept blood transfusions for themselves or their children, even when the refusal endangers their life. The result is a high death rate within the denomination, particularly among women during childbirth. Other Christian denominations interpret the same passages as food regulations that no longer apply to Christians.
 

Much of Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism over the past two millennia is based on Matthew 27:25: "Then answered all the people, and said, 'His blood be on us, and on our children'." The verse has been literally interpreted to imply that the responsibility for Jesus' torture death on the cross did not lie with the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate and the occupying Roman army. Most denominations taught as late as the mid 20th century that full blame for Jesus' death was accepted by a group of Jews in Pilate's courtyard on behalf of all Jews living at the time in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, and in the Diaspora. Further, Matthew 27:25 has been interpreted to equally blame all future generations of Jews even to the present day and beyond into the future. This is another example of transferring guilt and punishment from the guilty to the innocent.