Has the importance of the concepts of biblical inerrancy and infallibility changed for evangelical Christians today when compared to the end of the 19th Century? If so, why?

At the end of the 19th century the issue of the inspiration of scripture, specifically its traditional claims of inerrancy and infallibility as the very words of God communicated to and recorded providentially and perfectly by human authors (‘verbal inspiration’), commanded near centre stage within British, American and Continental academic theology. This essay identifies the primary importance of the emergence of fundamentalism as both an academic response and a cultural reaction to the radical cultural changes that were taking place. It then evaluates to what degree the formulations it developed to defend the status of the scriptures are still relevant for evangelicals today.

You can read a PDF of the essay here.