We believe that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God and inerrant in the original writings; that God has perfectly and completely preserved His Word; that the Scriptures are, and do not merely contain, the Word of God; that they afford the basis for our doctrine, practice, and habits both in public and private life; and that they are the supreme and final authority. These Scriptures are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. We believe that the normal interpretation of Scripture, wherein each word is given its normal meaning is the correct interpretive principle; that the Scriptures are to be taken literally except where figurative language or parabolic method is obviously employed; that the Scriptures are of one Authorship and so no passage can be interpreted apart from the whole; that the Scriptures are self-interpreting in the sense that meaning can be determined by comparing Scripture with Scripture; that the Scriptures are foolishness to the individual outside of Jesus Christ and only through illumination of the Holy Spirit Who indwells the believer can the Scripture be completely understood; and that the dispensational view of Bible interpretation is correct. (I Corinthians 2:9-16; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21)