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Peter Enns

Peter Enns is an American biblical scholar and theologian known for his work on Old Testament interpretation, hermeneutics, and reconciling ancient scriptures with modern scientific understandings such as evolutionary biology.^[1] He holds the position of Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, where he teaches on topics including the Old Testament, New Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and the interplay between biblical studies and contemporary faith practices.^[2] Enns earned a B.S. in Behavioral Science from Messiah College in 1982, an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.^[3] Enns previously served as a tenured professor of Old Testament and Biblical Hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary for 14 years until his suspension by the seminary's board in 2008, prompted by theological debates over his 2005 book Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, which posits that the Bible should be read as a human document shaped by its ancient Near Eastern context rather than as a divinely dictated, error-free text isolated from historical influences.^[4]^[5] This work, along with subsequent publications like The Evolution of Adam (2012), which critiques literal readings of Genesis in light of scientific evidence for human origins, has positioned Enns as a polarizing figure in evangelical circles, with critics arguing that his approach erodes the doctrine of biblical inerrancy and historical reliability central to confessional Reformed theology.^[1]^[6] Among Enns's notable achievements are over a dozen authored books, including The Bible Tells Me So (2014), which defends a non-defensive, narrative-oriented engagement with scripture, and The Sin of Certainty (2016), emphasizing experiential trust in God over rigid doctrinal adherence; he also co-hosts the podcast The Bible for Normal People, which explores biblical interpretation for lay audiences.^[7]^[2] His scholarship frequently draws on historical-critical methods and intertextual comparisons with ancient myths, advocating that faith involves adapting to evidence rather than presupposing scriptural autonomy from cultural contingencies—a stance that has garnered support among progressive Christians but drawn accusations of accommodationism from traditionalists.^[1]^[8]

Early Life and Education

Family Background and Upbringing

Peter Enns was born on January 2, 1961, in Passaic, New Jersey.^[9]^[10] Enns grew up in an evangelical Christian environment characterized by a fundamentalist approach to the Bible, where scripture was viewed as inerrant and central to faith formation.^[11] He has recounted this upbringing as one that prioritized biblical literalism and doctrinal adherence, shaping his initial theological perspectives before later scholarly pursuits led to reevaluation.^[12] Specific details about his parents or siblings remain undocumented in public academic records or personal statements.^[3]

Academic Training and Influences

Peter Enns earned a B.A. in Behavioral Science from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, completing his undergraduate studies between 1978 and 1982.^[13] This evangelical Christian institution provided an initial foundation in liberal arts and faith-based education, though Enns later reflected that his early academic interests leaned toward psychology before shifting to biblical studies.^[3] Enns pursued advanced theological training at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, a Reformed institution founded on principles of biblical inerrancy and Presbyterian orthodoxy, where he obtained a Master of Divinity degree from 1985 to 1989.^[13]^[3] This period immersed him in conservative evangelical hermeneutics, emphasizing the authority of Scripture as articulated by figures like John Murray and Cornelius Van Til, who influenced the seminary's curriculum.^[10] From 1989 to 1994, Enns studied at Harvard University in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, earning an M.A. in 1993 and a Ph.D. in 1994.^[13] His dissertation, "Exodus Retold: Ancient Exegesis of the Departure from Egypt in Wis 10:15–21 and 19:1–9," examined ancient interpretive traditions of the Exodus narrative in Wisdom of Solomon, under the supervision of James L. Kugel, a scholar renowned for his work on inner-biblical exegesis and the historical diversity of ancient Jewish scriptural interpretation.^[13]^[10] Kugel's influence oriented Enns toward critical methodologies that prioritize the Bible's ancient contextual embeddedness over strictly doctrinal readings, marking a pivot from Westminster's presuppositionalism to engagement with comparative ancient Near Eastern literature and Second Temple Judaism.^[13] This dual training—Reformed orthodoxy at Westminster juxtaposed with Harvard's historical-critical paradigm—fostered Enns' later integrative approach, though it also generated tensions with evangelical commitments to scriptural infallibility, as evidenced by his subsequent academic controversies.^[3] Primary influences include Kugel's emphasis on the "four assumptions" of ancient interpreters (anthropomorphism, peshat vs. theological intent, and corporate Israel), which Enns adapted to argue for a more incarnational view of biblical inspiration attuned to its human, historical dimensions.^[10]

Academic Career

Tenure at Westminster Theological Seminary

Peter Enns joined Westminster Theological Seminary in 1994 as Assistant Professor of Old Testament.^[10] He advanced to Associate Professor of Old Testament in 1997, receiving tenure in 2001, and was promoted to full Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Hermeneutics in 2005.^[10] ^[3] In his teaching roles, Enns covered core M.Div. and M.A.R. curriculum including Hebrew language, Old Testament Introduction, Poetry and Wisdom Literature, and Old Testament History and Theology I with lectures on Exodus; he also supervised independent studies on Psalms and Proverbs, as well as courses on Preaching from the Old Testament.^[10] For Ph.D. and Th.M. programs, he taught advanced seminars on Ecclesiastes, Exodus, Biblical Interpretation in the Second Temple Period, Hermeneutics of the New Testament Period, Issues in Biblical Hermeneutics, and Old Testament Theology, in addition to supervising doctoral dissertations.^[10] From 1995 to 2008, he provided private instruction in Theological German.^[10] Enns held administrative positions including Associate Academic Dean from 1998 to 2001 and Chair of the Hermeneutics Ph.D. Field Committee.^[10]

Suspension and Resignation from Westminster

In March 2008, following a two-year internal theological debate sparked by Peter Enns' 2005 book Inspiration and Incarnation, the board of trustees at Westminster Theological Seminary voted to suspend him from his tenured position as professor of Old Testament and biblical hermeneutics.^[4] The suspension, approved by an 18-9 margin on March 26 and effective May 23, 2008, stemmed from concerns that Enns' views on biblical inspiration—portraying Scripture as bearing human, ancient Near Eastern cultural marks akin to an "incarnational" model—deviated from the seminary's commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration.^[5] Enns, who had served at the seminary for 14 years since 1994, maintained that his positions aligned with Reformed orthodoxy while engaging modern scholarship, but seminary leadership argued they undermined core confessional standards.^[14] The suspension prompted further deliberation, including public statements from faculty and external theologians critiquing Enns' hermeneutic as eroding biblical inerrancy, a foundational tenet at the conservative Reformed institution.^[15] Westminster released official documentation outlining the theological rationale, emphasizing that Enns' portrayal of the Old Testament as mythopoeic literature comparable to Mesopotamian texts conflicted with the seminary's doctrinal fidelity.^[16] Enns defended his work as an attempt to model Christ's incarnation for understanding Scripture's divine-human nature, without denying its authority, but the board upheld the action to preserve institutional standards.^[5] By July 2008, Enns and seminary administrators reached mutually agreeable terms for his departure, announcing on July 23 that he would discontinue service effective July 31, 2008.^[17] The resolution acknowledged Enns' contributions to the seminary while concluding that ongoing differences precluded continued tenure, marking the end of his 14-year association with Westminster.^[18] This event highlighted tensions within evangelical academia between traditional confessionalism and accommodations to contemporary biblical criticism.^[4]

Positions at Eastern University and Beyond

Following his resignation from Westminster Theological Seminary effective August 1, 2008, Peter Enns transitioned to adjunct and guest teaching roles at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He delivered a guest lecture titled "Genesis and Science" on November 15, 2008, and taught the course Genesis in Context as an adjunct in Spring 2009.^[10] In 2012, Enns joined Eastern University as Affiliate Professor of Biblical Studies, a position he continues to hold as of 2025. He serves in the role of Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies, teaching undergraduate and online courses on topics including the nature and meaning of the Old and New Testaments, Romans in Context, Genesis in Context, biblical hermeneutics, Hebrew prophets, and Israelite history and historiography.^[2]^[10]^[19]^[20] Beyond Eastern University, Enns has maintained adjunct teaching positions at several institutions post-2008, including Princeton Theological Seminary (Accelerated Hebrew Reading: Pentateuch, Fall 2009), Fuller Theological Seminary (The Writings, January 2009), Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (Wisdom Literature, Fall 2011), Temple University (Intellectual Heritage department, Fall 2011), and Messiah College (Topics in Biblical Theology: Exodus, Spring 2012).^[10] He has also lectured at seminary and doctoral programs such as Harvard Divinity School and continues to speak at academic and ecclesiastical venues on biblical studies and contemporary faith.^[2]

Key Theological Positions

Incarnational Model of Biblical Inspiration

Peter Enns proposes the incarnational model of biblical inspiration as an analogy to the doctrine of the incarnation in Christ, wherein the Bible is viewed as fully divine in its origins—breathed out by God—and fully human in its composition, reflecting the cultural, historical, and literary conventions of its ancient authors.^[21] This model, articulated in his 2005 book Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, posits that just as Christ's humanity included limitations such as growth in wisdom and submission to suffering without compromising his divinity, the Scriptures incorporate human elements like ancient mythological motifs, polemical adaptations from surrounding cultures, and interpretive diversity among biblical authors without negating their divine purpose.^[22] Enns argues this framework resolves apparent tensions between modern biblical scholarship, which highlights the Bible's embeddedness in ancient Near Eastern contexts (e.g., parallels to Mesopotamian creation and flood narratives), and evangelical commitments to Scripture's authority.^[21] Central to the model is the emphasis on the Bible's "human dimension," where Enns contends that expecting the text to transcend its ancient worldview—such as prescient scientific accuracy or uniform theological precision—imposes anachronistic standards akin to docetism, which denies Christ's full humanity.^[22] For instance, he points to Old Testament creation accounts that function theologically rather than as literal historiography, drawing on shared ancient motifs to affirm Yahweh's sovereignty over pagan gods, much as the Gospel writers adapt Old Testament texts typologically without concern for verbatim quotation.^[21] The divine dimension, in Enns' view, ensures that these human vessels convey God's self-revelation progressively, culminating in Christ, though not through mechanical dictation; instead, the Spirit works through human agency to produce a text that witnesses to truth amid cultural particularity.^[22] This approach, Enns maintains, fosters a mature faith that engages scholarly insights without crisis, as the Bible's inspiration guarantees its role in forming God's people rather than error-free propositional delivery.^[21] Critics from conservative evangelical circles, such as those at Westminster Theological Seminary where Enns taught until 2008, argue that this model dilutes traditional inerrancy by permitting human "messiness"—including potential contradictions or outdated cosmologies—to infiltrate the text, potentially undermining its reliability as God's word.^[23] Enns counters that inerrancy, when defined as total errorlessness in every detail, reflects a post-Enlightenment quest for objective precision foreign to premodern biblical interpretation, advocating instead for a Christ-centered trust in Scripture's witness despite evidential challenges from archaeology and comparative literature.^[22] Empirical data from ancient textual parallels, such as the Enuma Elish's influence on Genesis 1's structure, supports Enns' insistence on contextual humanity, though he insists divine intentionality repurposes these elements for monotheistic ends, preserving the Bible's unique theological function.^[21]

Interpretation of Genesis and Human Origins

Peter Enns interprets the opening chapters of Genesis as ancient Israelite literature that conveys theological wisdom through mythological forms, rather than providing a literal historical or scientific account of human origins. In The Evolution of Adam (2012), he argues that Genesis 1–11 employs motifs common to ancient Near Eastern creation epics, such as the Babylonian Enuma Elish, to assert Yahweh's unique role in ordering chaos and establishing Israel's covenantal relationship with God, without intending to describe biological processes or a precise timeline of events.^[24]^[25] This framework positions the text as addressing ancient existential concerns—like human mortality, divine image-bearing, and the origins of disorder—through symbolic narrative, akin to proverbial wisdom literature rather than empirical reportage.^[26] Enns integrates this biblical reading with the empirical evidence for human evolution, drawn from genetics, paleontology, and comparative anatomy, which indicate Homo sapiens emerged gradually from earlier hominids over millions of years without a single pair of progenitors around 6,000–10,000 years ago.^[27] He views evolutionary biology as explaining the how of physical origins via natural selection and genetic variation, while Genesis elucidates the why through theological lenses of purpose, sin, and redemption. Adam, accordingly, serves as an archetypal everyman figure embodying Israel's (and humanity's) representative failure to trust God amid temptation, paralleling wisdom motifs in Proverbs rather than denoting a unique historical individual as the sole genetic ancestor.^[26]^[28] Addressing Pauline theology, Enns contends that references to Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 reflect the apostle's first-century Jewish worldview, which assumed a corporate human solidarity in sin but does not require literal historicity for Christ's atoning work to apply universally.^[29] He rejects concordist efforts to retrofit evolutionary data into a historical Adam, labeling such "hybrid" models as distorting the ancient text's intent and incompatible with genomic evidence against a recent population bottleneck.^[30] Instead, Enns prioritizes the functional theology of federal headship—where Christ recapitulates and reverses humanity's plight—applicable irrespective of evolutionary mechanisms.^[31] This interpretation, reiterated in Enns' 2022 tenth-anniversary edition of the book and related podcasts, underscores a contextual hermeneutic that privileges the Bible's ancient phenomenological perspective over modern literalism, fostering compatibility between faith and science but eliciting critiques from confessional scholars who see it as eroding doctrines like original sin derived from a historical fall.^[26]^[6] Enns maintains that empirical data on human origins demands such adaptation, arguing that clinging to pre-Darwinian readings risks subordinating observable evidence to theological presuppositions without causal warrant.^[27]

Emphasis on Doubt Over Doctrinal Certainty

Enns articulates a theological framework in which doubt serves as an essential element of authentic faith, challenging the evangelical prioritization of unassailable doctrinal propositions. In his 2016 book The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs, he contends that the compulsion for certainty—often manifested in rigid adherence to biblical inerrancy or systematic theology—stems from fear and undermines genuine trust in God.^[32] Enns draws on the Hebrew term emunah, traditionally rendered as "faith" but better understood as steadfast loyalty or relational dependence, arguing that biblical figures like Abraham and Job exemplify trust amid ambiguity rather than intellectual mastery of doctrine.^[33] This perspective, he maintains, aligns with scriptural precedents where lament, questioning, and unresolved tension appear, as in Psalms 13 and 88, without resolution into tidy certainties.^[34] Central to Enns's position is the assertion that doubt functions not as faith's adversary but as a divine mechanism for growth, compelling believers to relinquish control and embrace vulnerability. He describes doubt as "divine tough love," a process that erodes self-reliant certainty to cultivate humility and reliance on God's character over human formulations of truth.^[35] In personal reflections within the book, Enns recounts his own crises of faith, including professional repercussions at Westminster Theological Seminary in 2008, which intensified his conviction that suppressing doubt for doctrinal conformity stifles spiritual vitality.^[32] He critiques institutional emphases on "correct beliefs" as idolatrous, potentially prioritizing orthodoxy over the transformative trust modeled by Jesus, who engaged doubters like Thomas without demanding prior certainty.^[33] Enns extends this emphasis through his podcast The Bible for Normal People, where episodes such as "Doubt: It's Not Cool or Hipster, but Sacred" (2021) reinforce that doubt arrives unpredictably as God's instrument, urging listeners to integrate it rather than pathologize it as spiritual failure.^[35] He warns that faiths built on certainty falter under life's empirical challenges—such as scientific data on human origins or personal tragedies—because they conflate propositional accuracy with relational fidelity. While Enns acknowledges the psychological comfort of certainty, he posits it as a barrier to the biblical ideal of faith as embodied trust, evidenced by early Christian communities navigating persecution without exhaustive doctrinal codification.^[34] This view has resonated in progressive theological circles but drawn rebukes from conservatives who argue it risks relativism by subordinating objective truth to subjective experience.^[33]

Major Publications

Inspiration and Incarnation (2005)

Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, published in 2005 by Baker Academic, articulates Peter Enns' approach to reconciling evangelical views of Scripture with insights from modern biblical scholarship.^[22] Enns introduces an incarnational model of inspiration, positing that the Bible is fully divine and fully human, analogous to Christ, and thus bears the cultural, linguistic, and historical imprints of its ancient authors without compromising its revelatory status.^[22]^[36] The book structures its argument around three primary challenges for evangelicals: the Old Testament's embeddedness in ancient Near Eastern (ANE) contexts, its internal theological diversity, and the New Testament's interpretive handling of Old Testament texts.^[37] In the section on ANE parallels, Enns examines similarities between biblical narratives—such as the creation and flood accounts in Genesis 1–11—and Mesopotamian literature like the Enuma Elish and Gilgamesh Epic, contending that Israelite authors adapted shared mythic motifs and cosmological frameworks to assert Yahweh's sovereignty, rather than composing isolated, timeless histories or scientific treatises.^[36]^[37] He argues this contextual humanity does not undermine inspiration but exemplifies how God communicated through accommodated forms familiar to ancient audiences.^[22] Enns addresses theological diversity by highlighting tensions within the Old Testament, such as contrasting wisdom perspectives in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, or varying portrayals of divine justice and human suffering, which reflect distinct authorial voices rather than a monolithic doctrinal uniformity.^[22]^[36] On the New Testament's use of the Old, he describes early Christian authors employing midrashic and typological methods common in Second Temple Judaism, often reapplying texts christotelically—pointing forward to Christ—without strict adherence to original historical-grammatical intent, as seen in quotations in Hebrews or Paul's epistles.^[36]^[37] In conclusion, Enns calls for evangelicals to adjust expectations of Scripture away from modern standards of precision or inerrancy in non-theological details, embracing instead its ancient orientation as essential to understanding divine revelation; he presents these reflections as provisional, inviting further development.^[22]^[36] The work includes annotated bibliographies and a glossary to aid readers engaging with scholarly debates.^[37] The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins was published in 2012 by Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group.^[38] In the book, Enns addresses the perceived conflict between evolutionary accounts of human origins and biblical depictions of Adam, arguing that the tension stems from imposing modern scientific expectations on ancient texts rather than inherent contradictions between faith and science.^[38] ^[39] He proposes that Genesis functions as an ancient Israelite narrative of self-definition, drawing on Near Eastern creation motifs to convey theological truths about God, humanity, and Israel's identity, rather than providing a literal historical or scientific chronology.^[6] ^[31] The book's first part examines Genesis through historical-critical lenses, asserting that chapters 1–11 reflect post-exilic composition influences and mythological parallels, rendering literal interpretations untenable for contemporary readers accepting evolutionary evidence.^[31] Enns contends that scientific models of human origins and a strictly historical reading of Genesis are incompatible, but this does not undermine Christian doctrine if the Bible is understood as accommodated to ancient worldviews.^[40] In the second part, he turns to the Apostle Paul's references to Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, interpreting them as theological constructs emphasizing Christ's redemptive role over a precise historical etiology of sin, allowing for non-literal views of Adam as an archetypal figure.^[41] ^[6] Enns concludes with nine theses, including that literalism is not viable, the Bible models human origins in ancient terms incompatible with modern science, and Paul's Adam theology prioritizes Christocentric salvation narratives adaptable to evolutionary frameworks.^[40] A 2021 tenth-anniversary edition includes an afterword updating discussions on the historical Adam debate within evangelicalism.^[38] Related works extend these themes; for instance, Genesis for Normal People: A Guide to the Divine Drama (2019) popularizes Enns's contextual approach to Genesis, emphasizing its narrative purpose over scientific literalism.^[42] Enns has also elaborated on these ideas through BioLogos Foundation resources and podcasts, advocating for interpretive flexibility in reconciling ancient texts with empirical data on human evolution.^[39]

Controversies

Conflict Over Inerrancy and Westminster Standards

In 2005, Peter Enns, a tenured professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS), published Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament, in which he proposed an "incarnational" model of Scripture's inspiration, analogizing the Bible's dual divine-human nature to that of Christ, thereby accommodating ancient Near Eastern mythological parallels, theological tensions within the Old Testament, and the New Testament's non-literal use of Old Testament texts.^[52] Critics within the seminary, including faculty and trustees, contended that this framework implied human errors or limitations in Scripture, conflicting with the Westminster Confession of Faith's affirmation in Chapter 1 that the Bible, as divinely inspired, contains "all things necessary" for salvation "without error or fault in all their teaching," a position traditionally interpreted by Reformed institutions like WTS to entail inerrancy in the original autographs.^[5] Enns rejected strict inerrancy, arguing it imposes modern expectations on an ancient text and fails to account for intentional "irreconcilable perspectives" placed by God to reflect Israel's contextual witness, though he maintained fidelity to the gospel and Scripture's authority.^[53] The ensuing two-year internal debate at WTS centered on whether Enns' model aligned with the seminary's constitutional requirement for faculty to uphold the Westminster Standards, which emphasize Scripture's self-attesting divine origin and sufficiency without admixture of fallible human elements.^[4] In March 2008, the WTS faculty voted 12-8 that Enns' views remained within confessional bounds, but the board of trustees overrode this by a 18-9 margin, suspending him with pay effective July 1, 2008, for up to one year to evaluate his ongoing fitness for teaching.^[5]^[4] Wayne Grudem, a prominent evangelical theologian, critiqued Enns for "delight[ing] in presenting interpretations of the Bible that make it appear more problematic," suggesting this eroded trust in Scripture's reliability and deviated from Reformed orthodoxy.^[54] Enns responded that his incarnational approach sought to foster honest engagement with biblical difficulties rather than deny inspiration, insisting it honored the Standards by prioritizing Christ's person over propositional accuracy, and he expressed willingness to refine language but not abandon the model's core insights.^[55] By July 23, 2008, WTS and Enns issued a joint statement announcing mutual agreement for his departure effective July 31, 2008, allowing him to retain tenure status temporarily while seeking new opportunities, amid acknowledgment of irreconcilable differences on scriptural doctrine.^[56] This episode highlighted broader tensions in evangelical seminaries between confessional rigidity and accommodations to historical-critical scholarship, with WTS reaffirming its commitment to inerrancy-derived views of Scripture's perfection.^[16]

Broader Critiques from Conservative Evangelicals

Conservative evangelicals have criticized Peter Enns for rejecting the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, arguing that his incarnational model of inspiration overemphasizes the human dimension of Scripture at the expense of its divine authority, leading to the accommodation of errors within the biblical text.^[6] In works like Inspiration and Incarnation (2005), Enns draws parallels between Genesis and ancient Near Eastern myths, suggesting that biblical authors incorporated legendary elements, which critics contend undermines the uniqueness and truthfulness of Scripture as verbally inspired and without error, violating standards like the Westminster Confession of Faith.^[52] Al Mohler has highlighted that Enns' explicit denial of inerrancy, as articulated in debates and publications, necessitates a reevaluation of foundational Christian narratives, such as a historical Adam and Eve, thereby jeopardizing the gospel's doctrinal coherence.^[57] Enns' interpretation of Genesis, particularly in The Evolution of Adam (2012), has drawn rebukes for positing a non-historical Adam and integrating evolutionary theory, which conservative scholars like Hans Madueme argue contradicts canonical teachings on human origins and the fall, as seen in Romans 5, and erodes the explanatory power of original sin for human depravity.^[6] This approach, critics maintain, prioritizes contemporary scientific consensus over scriptural exegesis, fostering a functional relativism where biblical authority yields to external evidence, potentially leading to broader theological disintegration within evangelicalism.^[52] Reviews in outlets like The Gospel Coalition further contend that Enns' dismissal of events such as the Exodus or global flood as mythological inventions ignores affirmations of their historicity by Jesus and New Testament authors, rendering inconsistent his selective endorsement of miracles like the resurrection.^[44] A recurring broader critique centers on Enns' promotion of doubt and experiential trust over doctrinal certainty, as evident in books like The Sin of Certainty (2016), which Anne Kennedy assesses as incompatible with evangelical commitments to propositional revelation and unwavering adherence to Scripture's teachings on topics like God's sovereignty and eternal judgment.^[8] Evangelicals argue this shift minimizes objective truth in favor of subjective ambiguity, encouraging believers to view the Bible as an ancient, diverse collection lacking definitive guidance, which risks diluting core orthodoxies and mirroring 19th-century liberal drifts that historically fractured institutions like Westminster Seminary, where Enns' views prompted his 2008 departure.^[52] Such positions, per these critiques, not only challenge inerrancy but contribute to an erosion of evangelical distinctives, urging a return to Scripture's self-attested reliability as the antidote to cultural accommodation.^[6]

Reception and Influence

Affirmation in Progressive and Mainline Contexts

Enns's approaches to biblical interpretation, particularly his rejection of biblical inerrancy and emphasis on the ancient Near Eastern context of Scripture, have found significant affirmation among progressive Christians and mainline Protestant traditions, where such views align with longstanding integrations of historical-critical methods and scientific consensus.^[58]^[32] His tenure as Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, an institution affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA—a mainline denomination that embraces diverse hermeneutical approaches—exemplifies this reception, as the university supports faculty explorations of Scripture's human dimensions without doctrinal mandates for literalism.^[2]^[9] In progressive circles, Enns's work resonates with individuals navigating faith deconstruction, offering frameworks that prioritize existential trust over propositional certainty, as articulated in his 2016 book The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs.^[32] This text, praised for modeling a shift from rigid evangelicalism to adaptive faith practices, appeals to audiences disillusioned with fundamentalist readings, with reviewers noting its utility in fostering spiritual earnestness amid doubt.^[32] His co-hosted podcast The Bible for Normal People, launched in 2017 with Jared Byas, further amplifies this affirmation, drawing over 4,900 listener ratings averaging 4.7 stars by targeting "normal" believers who seek non-dogmatic engagements with the Bible, often featuring guests like Bart Ehrman to discuss historical reliability over supernatural claims.^[59]^[60] The podcast's episodes, such as those critiquing progressive Christianity's overlaps with atheism in response to conservative outlets, position Enns as a voice validating experiential faith amid intellectual challenges.^[61] Mainline Protestant affirmation extends to Enns's compatibility with traditions like those in the Presbyterian Church (USA) or Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which have incorporated evolutionary biology and mythological interpretations of Genesis since the mid-20th century, viewing his The Evolution of Adam (2012) as a bridge for evangelicals toward such consensus without requiring abandonment of Christian identity.^[58] Contributions to BioLogos, a progressive evangelical organization founded in 2007 to reconcile faith and science, underscore this, where Enns's dialogues—such as with N.T. Wright on political implications of biblical adaptation—reinforce his role in mainstreaming non-literalist views among scientifically literate Christians.^[58] Overall, these contexts value Enns's insistence on Scripture's incarnational limitations as liberating rather than undermining, contrasting with evangelical critiques by prioritizing ongoing theological adaptation over fixed doctrines.^[32]^[62]

Erosion of Traditional Authority and Evangelical Responses

Enns' advocacy for viewing the Bible through an "incarnational" lens—emphasizing its cultural and historical embeddedness in ancient Near Eastern contexts, including parallels to mythological narratives—has been interpreted by critics as contributing to the erosion of traditional evangelical commitments to scriptural inerrancy and divine authorship. In works such as Inspiration and Incarnation (2005), Enns posits that God accommodated human authors' limited perspectives, allowing for non-literal elements like inspired myths, which he distinguishes from modern historical standards while affirming theological validity.^[63] This approach, proponents argue, preserves the Bible's divine-human nature but, according to detractors, effectively concedes historical unreliability, prompting believers to question the text's comprehensive truthfulness beyond spiritual insights.^[64] Evangelical responses have centered on robust defenses of inerrancy as essential to biblical authority, with G. K. Beale's The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism (2008) directly engaging Enns' framework. Beale contends that Enns' separation of theological from historical truth overlooks evidence of the Bible's self-presentation as historically accurate, risking a postmodern relativization that diminishes confidence in Scripture's propositional reliability.^[65] He counters by marshaling exegetical and logical arguments for inerrancy, including the New Testament's treatment of Old Testament events as factual, urging evangelicals to resist accommodations that align too closely with secular critical methods.^[66] Institutional reactions underscore this pushback; Westminster Theological Seminary suspended Enns in March 2008 after faculty review deemed his views incompatible with the Westminster Confession's affirmation of Scripture as the "infallible rule" of faith, particularly its rejection of human interpretations superseding divine intent.^[5] Conservative voices, including Michael Kruger, have further critiqued Enns for portraying inerrancy as a modern imposition rather than a historic evangelical tenet, arguing his historical-critical emphasis transforms the Bible into interpretive literature subject to ongoing revision rather than authoritative revelation.^[67] Enns' later writings, such as The Sin of Certainty (2016), promote doubt as integral to mature faith—framing doctrinal certainty as potentially idolatrous and trust as resilient amid ambiguity—have amplified concerns of authority erosion by normalizing skepticism toward traditional interpretations.^[32] Evangelical counterarguments, echoed in forums like The Gospel Coalition, maintain that such doubt-centric models, while addressing real interpretive challenges, inadvertently foster deconstruction over reconstruction, with responses advocating renewed focus on the Bible's unified witness and Christological fulfillment to sustain authority.^[68] These debates reflect broader tensions, where Enns' influence resonates in progressive circles but prompts conservative evangelicals to fortify confessional boundaries through scholarship and doctrinal statements.^[8]

References

[1]
Pete Enns - Person - BioLogos
Pete Enns is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University. He is a former Senior Fellow of Biblical Studies for BioLogos.Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
[2]
Peter Enns, Ph.D. - Eastern University
Dr. Enns is a biblical scholar who teaches and writes on Old Testament, New Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and the intersection of biblical studies and ...
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About Peter Enns - Patheos
I graduated from Messiah College in 1982 with a B.S. in Behavioral Science, from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989 with an M.D.iv, and from Harvard.
[4]
Westminster Theological Suspension - Christianity Today
Apr 1, 2008 · The board voted 18-9 to suspend Enns, an Old Testament professor whose book created controversy on how to interpret the Westminster Confession ...
[5]
The Suspension of Peter Enns - Denny Burk
Apr 2, 2008 · Westminster Theological Seminary's board voted to suspend tenured professor Peter Enns last week after a two-year theological debate over his 2005 book, ...
[6]
Some Reflections on Enns and The Evolution of Adam: A Review ...
Given that most non-evangelical scholars have learned to live without a historical Adam, it is worth asking why Enns's book is so controversial. Is this not all ...
[7]
BOOKS FOR NORMAL PEOPLE
Telling God's Story. A Parent's Guide. by Pete Enns · The Bible and the Believer. by Pete Enns · The Evolution of Adam. by Pete Enns · Telling God's Story.
[8]
That Sounds Really Hard: Assessing the Theology of Peter Enns
May 21, 2025 · Holding a PhD from Harvard University, Peter Enns served as a tenured full professor of Old Testament and Biblical Hermeneutics at Westminster ...Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
[9]
[PDF] Peter Enns, Ph.D. - Eastern University
Mar 25, 2013 · Peter Enns, Ph.D. Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies ... Born January 2, 1961, Passaic, NJ. Married to Susan, September 15 ...
[10]
Peter Enns - Curriculum Vitae - Eastern University - Academia.edu
Peter Enns, Ph.D. Affiliate Professor of Biblical Studies Eastern University Eastern University 1300 Eagle Rd. St. Davids, PA 19087 610-‐341-‐1491 ...
[11]
Ep. 110: Dr. Peter Enns — What If God Actually Likes You?
What If God Actually Likes You? by Seth J. Gillihan, PhD ... I grew up with a very fundamentalist understanding of the Bible, and can ...
[12]
Episode 4: A Messy, Mysterious Faith with Pete Enns
May 25, 2022 · Pete tells the story of his own evolving faith and what he learned about being born of the spirit as he wrestled with questions and doubts.Missing: upbringing | Show results with:upbringing<|separator|>
[13]
[PDF] Peter Enns, Ph.D. - The Bible For Normal People
EDUCATION. Ph.D. (1989-‐1994). Harvard University, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Dissertation: “Exodus Retold: Ancient Exegesis of the Departure ...
[14]
Theology professor leaving seminary over Bible claims
Aug 2, 2008 · Westminster trustees voted in March to suspend Enns, a tenured 14-year veteran of the school, because of his 2005 book, "Inspiration and ...
[15]
Enns Suspended from WTS - Reformation21
Sep 17, 2025 · Peter Enns' book, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament.” The Board decided to suspend Professor Enns ...
[16]
The theological basis of Peter Enns' suspension
Apr 29, 2008 · The Report makes it clear that Enns' heterodoxy was already a settled issue for these colleagues; there is no real engagement with his book, no ...
[17]
Enns Out at WTS - The Gospel Coalition
Jul 23, 2008 · Enns will discontinue his service to Westminster Theological Seminary after fourteen years. Advertise on TGC. The administration wishes to ...
[18]
Peter Enns is (Officially) History at Westminster Seminary
Jul 23, 2008 · As of 1 August, 2008, Prof. Enns will discontinue his service to Westminster Theological Seminary after fourteen years.Missing: tenure | Show results with:tenure
[19]
Pete Enns - Professor, Biblical Studies at Eastern University | LinkedIn
Education ; Harvard University. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) · 1989 ; Westminster Theological Seminary. MDiv. 1985 ; Messiah College. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) · 1979 ...Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
[20]
https://equip.org/articles/that-sounds-really-hard-assessing-the-theology-of-peter-enns/
[21]
An Incarnational Approach to Scripture - Article - BioLogos
Nov 6, 2009 · Pete Enns considers recent challenges to traditional notions of the Bible and how they relate to Evangelicalism; in response, he recommends ...<|separator|>
[22]
Book Summary - Peter Enns - Patheos
An incarnational model can help evangelicals and other Christians reorient their expectations of Scripture and so come to peace with new developments in their ...
[23]
Review of Enns' Inspiration and Incarnation - Frame-Poythress.org
May 28, 2012 · Enns (103-107) tells us that some passages of Scripture suggest that God cannot change his mind, and others suggest that he does. Of course ...
[24]
A Review of “The Evolution of Adam” by Peter Enns
Feb 1, 2012 · “The early chapters of Genesis are not a literal or scientific description of historical events but a theological statement in an ancient idiom ...<|separator|>
[25]
Understanding Origins and the Ancient Mind with Pete Enns
In this video conversation, Pete Enns sheds light on the key difference between the ancient and modern mind with regard to interpretation of texts.
[26]
The Evolution of Adam - Peter Enns - Life Is Story
Rating 5.0 · Review by Josh OldsSep 2, 2022 · In this 10th anniversary edition, Enns updates readers on developments in the historical Adam debate, helping them reconcile Genesis and Paul ...
[27]
Episode 182: Pete & Jared - The Evolution of Adam
Oct 11, 2021 · In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared discuss a path forward for Christians who accept evolution and want to take the Bible seriously.
[28]
The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about ...
Jun 1, 2021 · Enns' thesis is a simple, two-part argument, each suggesting a theological reading of Genesis for the modern church.
[29]
Peter Enns on Paul, Adam, and Evolution - Jim Hamilton
Nov 4, 2011 · Peter Enns on Paul, Adam, and Evolution. Posted byJMH November 4 ... grew up in a more fundamentalist context that would be horrified by ...
[30]
The Evolution of Adam - The Gospel Coalition
Apr 26, 2012 · Enns dismisses all efforts to reconcile Genesis with “evolution” as producing a “hybrid” Adam who is “utterly foreign to the biblical portrait” ...
[31]
A Summary Overview of Peter Enns' “The Evolution of Adam”
Feb 13, 2012 · Dr. Enns' book sets out to explain what the Bible teaches about human origins. Since the Bible and evolutionary science explain human origins so ...
[32]
'The Sin of Certainty:' Peter Enns' journey from belief to trust
Apr 18, 2016 · Believing that God is Immortal, Invisible and Only Wise is OK, Enns admits, but it is so easy that even a demon can do it. Trust is about being ...Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
[33]
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More ... - Bookwi.se
Apr 16, 2016 · Enns is calling on the church to actually trust Christ and love others as their primarily call, not in opposition to right belief and ...Missing: views doctrinal
[34]
Book Review: “The Sin of Certainty” by Peter Enns
Mar 24, 2016 · Enns writes, “Doubt is not the enemy of faith, a solely destructive force that rips us away from God, a dark cloud that blocks the bright warm ...
[35]
Doubt: It's Not Cool or Hipster, but Sacred
Apr 2, 2021 · Doubt is sacred. Doubt is God's instrument, will arrive in God's time, and will come from unexpected places—places out of your control ...
[36]
Inspiration and Incarnation | Notes & Review - vialogue
Jul 22, 2012 · The purpose of this book is to bring an evangelical doctrine of Scripture into conversation with the implications generated by some important themes in modern ...
[37]
Inspiration and Incarnation - Denver Journal
Chapter One introduces Enns' theological construct for rethinking the nature of biblical inspiration, an approach he calls the “incarnational analogy.” By this ...
[38]
The Evolution of Adam - Baker Publishing Group
In stockOct 19, 2021 · Cover image for The Evolution of Adam, isbn: 9781587435201. The Evolution of Adam. Add to cart. Author Bio. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) ...
[39]
The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about ...
Jan 1, 2012 · In The Evolution of Adam, Peter Enns offers a way forward by explaining how this tension is caused not by the discoveries of science but by ...
[40]
The Evolution of Adam | Notes & Review - vialogue - WordPress.com
Aug 29, 2016 · Thesis 1: Literalism is not an option. · Thesis 2: Scientific and biblical models of human origins are, strictly speaking, incompatible because ...Missing: key | Show results with:key
[41]
The Evolution of Adam | Times & Seasons - Site Archives
Jan 17, 2017 · The thrust of Enns' argument is that Paul's primary emphasis was on the saving work of Christ, not the historical story of Adam, and that Paul ...
[42]
Review of Peter Enns' Book, The Evolution of Adam
May 4, 2012 · To explain, Enns is saying Paul's view of Adam assumed a single historical individual, which is untenable in the wake of evolutionary science.Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
[43]
The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made…
Rating 4.2 (5,847) Sep 9, 2014 · The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns's spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God's Word as it is actually ...Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
[44]
The Bible Tells Me So - The Gospel Coalition
Oct 17, 2014 · The Bible Tells Me So is a book about contradictions. Enns intended it to be a book about contradictions in the Bible. But it becomes quickly apparent that the ...
[45]
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our ...
Rating 4.2 (4,358) Feb 2, 2016 · Peter Enns offers here a confessional book about how he came to understand belief and faith more in terms of trust and love than in terms of ...
[46]
Book review: The Sin of Certainty by Peter Enns - Faith Meets World
Apr 1, 2016 · The Sin of Certainty is about letting go of the need to be theologically correct and embracing the freedom of not knowing all the answers.
[47]
Book Review: Peter Enns, The Sin of Certainty - By Common Consent
Jul 20, 2016 · The Sin of Certainty is a confessional book about how biblical scholar Peter Enns came to understand “belief” and “faith” less in terms of facts and knowledge.
[48]
If This Is How the Bible Works, the Bible Doesn't Work at All
Jul 29, 2019 · How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why ...
[49]
How the Bible Actually Works by Peter Enns: a Book Review
Mar 11, 2019 · Pete goes on to list three conspicuous characteristics of the Bible—that it is ancient, ambiguous, and diverse (rather than holy, perfect, and ...
[50]
A Review of Peter Enns' book, “How the Bible Actually Works”
May 27, 2019 · Repeatedly, Enns tells us that there are two radically different God's in the Bible—one who is angry, immature, selfish and violent, and the ...
[51]
Peter Enns: books, biography, latest update - Amazon.com
Follow Peter Enns and explore their bibliography from Amazon's Peter Enns Author Page ... Explore 25 Years of Best Books · Shop now · DiscoverYour BooksDeals
[52]
The Peter Enns Controversy at Westminster Seminary
Peter Enns published a particularly offensive book, entitled Inspiration and Incarnation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005).
[53]
Inerrancy: Peter Enns | Scot McKnight - Patheos
Jul 26, 2016 · More important to Enns is this: the tensions over inerrancy are created by “the distance between a priori theological assertions about God and ...Missing: conflict | Show results with:conflict
[54]
Wayne Grudem's 2008 Letter Regarding Pete Enns - Green Baggins
Apr 27, 2009 · I am writing, as a Westminster Seminary alumnus, to express deep concern about Dr. Peter Enns. During my senior year as an undergraduate at ...
[55]
Enns Explains - Christianity Today
The professor offers his response to the criticisms that got him suspended from Westminster Theological Seminary.
[56]
Joint Statement by WTS and Professor Enns - Green Baggins
Jul 23, 2008 · Peter Enns wish to announce that they have arrived at mutually agreeable terms, and that, as of 31 July, 2008, Prof. Enns will discontinue his ...Missing: suspension | Show results with:suspension
[57]
The Briefing 03-02-15 - AlbertMohler.com
Mar 2, 2015 · And Peter Enns is very clear in rejecting inerrancy. He's very clear on the consequences of what he believes the rejection of inerrancy must ...Missing: critique | Show results with:critique
[58]
Does the Slippery Slope Always Go Left with N.T. Wright and Pete ...
In this video, Peter Enns asks author and theologian NT Wright to respond to a question a reader about the implications of the relationship between politics ...
[59]
The Bible For Normal People - Apple Podcasts
Rating 4.7 (3,204) Listen to Peter Enns and Jared Byas's The Bible For Normal People podcast with Jared Byas and Peter Enns on Apple Podcasts ... born between 1997 and 2012.
[60]
The Bible For Normal People - Rephonic
Rating 4.7 (4,987) See the number of listeners, audience demographics, contact info, reviews and recent guests to decide if it's worth pitching The Bible For Normal People.
[61]
Episode 70: Pete Enns - TGC Doesn't Really Get Progressive ...
Dec 3, 2018 · In this episode, Pete responds to an article from The Gospel Coalition entitled, “3 Beliefs Some Progressive Christians and Atheists Share.”
[62]
Progressive No More: Brief Thoughts on Adaptive Christianity
Apr 29, 2022 · A confession: I've never taken to the term “progressive” Christianity. A bit too highhanded and dismissive for my tastes, even if I agree ...
[63]
https://www.crossway.org/books/the-erosion-of-inerrancy-in-evangelicalism-tpb/
[64]
The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New ...
He believes that God chose to use the myths and errors of the ANE to make a theological point. This amounts to inspired “errancy”. Beale recognizes that Enns ...
[65]
THE EROSION OF INERRANCY IN EVANGELICALISM ...
Dec 17, 2015 · THE EROSION OF INERRANCY IN EVANGELICALISM: RESPONDING TO NEW CHALLENGES TO BIBLICAL AUTHORITY, by G. K. Beale. Published on December 17, 2015 ...
[66]
Book Review - The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism
Mar 18, 2011 · His book, The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism: Responding to New Challenges to Biblical Authority addresses the issue of inerrancy and ...
[67]
The Bible, Historical Accuracy and Inerrancy: Peter Enns and ...
Jun 22, 2015 · He has also become a vocal critic of Evangelicalism and its view of the inerrancy of the Bible. He works tirelessly to criticize and condemn ...
[68]
A Surrejoinder to Peter Enns - The Gospel Coalition
I agree with Enns's basic assumption that all interpreters, including Enns and I, have presuppositions that influence their interpretative approach. So, the ...Missing: mentors | Show results with:mentors