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Cal · 07-01-2013, 05:46 PM

I don't find the question of inerrancy very interesting because the Bible doesn't make such a claim for itself.

To me the truth is that the Bible is God-breathed, God-inspired. Each verse conveys the truth as God wants us to know it.

It's pretty clear, to me anyway, that the NT is not that concerned with word-for-word accuracy in quotes. The same conversations are recorded differently in different Gospels. So if you think that anything other than the exact precise recounting of superficial facts the way they happened is evidence of error then you are just holding the Bible to a standard it doesn't even hold itself to. The important thing isn't that each word is exactly quoted. The important thing is the passage conveys the truth of God the way he wants us to know it.

We can assume it does because the Bible is such a remarkably unique book. No important historical, geological or archaeological fact it reports has ever been show to be false. It was written by many different types of men over 1500 years, yet it is amazingly consistent in its message. It contains over three hundred prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled. Critics are always hoping some new discovery will show the Bible false. But each new find just confirms it more. This has been going on for centuries.

Here's a little known fact about the Greek NT. Did you know that each writer of the NT uses a set of words which are not used anywhere else in the NT, and that the number of each writer's set of unique words is a multiple of seven? It's true. Was that collusion? Not possible. Does it show tampering? There is no evidence of tampering in the textual record.

I challenge you to write the genealogy of any real person using his or her real ancestors where the following is true about the record you write.

The genealogy is accurate.
The number of words you use must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of letters must also be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of vowels must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of words that begin with a vowel must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of words that occur more than once must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of words that occur in more than one form must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of nouns must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of names must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of nouns that are not names must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of male names must be an exact multiple of seven.
The number of generations must be an exact multiple of seven.

These are the characteristics of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, a real person with real, known ancestors, in the first eleven verses of Matthew. It goes without saying this is not a coincidence. So you have to decide whether it was a plot, or divine sovereignty and inspiration.

God's fingerprints are all over the Bible. And if you can't see that, you are indeed blind.

Arguing that the Bible is "errant" because of some discrepancy you can find by staring at it long enough is like arguing that a gorgeous woman isn't beautiful because you located a blemish on her elbow. It's a very small and boring expression of taste.

07-01-2013, 05:46 PM	#89
Cal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 4,333	Re: Is The Bible Inerrant? I don't find the question of inerrancy very interesting because the Bible doesn't make such a claim for itself. To me the truth is that the Bible is God-breathed, God-inspired. Each verse conveys the truth as God wants us to know it. It's pretty clear, to me anyway, that the NT is not that concerned with word-for-word accuracy in quotes. The same conversations are recorded differently in different Gospels. So if you think that anything other than the exact precise recounting of superficial facts the way they happened is evidence of error then you are just holding the Bible to a standard it doesn't even hold itself to. The important thing isn't that each word is exactly quoted. The important thing is the passage conveys the truth of God the way he wants us to know it. We can assume it does because the Bible is such a remarkably unique book. No important historical, geological or archaeological fact it reports has ever been show to be false. It was written by many different types of men over 1500 years, yet it is amazingly consistent in its message. It contains over three hundred prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled. Critics are always hoping some new discovery will show the Bible false. But each new find just confirms it more. This has been going on for centuries. Here's a little known fact about the Greek NT. Did you know that each writer of the NT uses a set of words which are not used anywhere else in the NT, and that the number of each writer's set of unique words is a multiple of seven? It's true. Was that collusion? Not possible. Does it show tampering? There is no evidence of tampering in the textual record. I challenge you to write the genealogy of any real person using his or her real ancestors where the following is true about the record you write. The genealogy is accurate. The number of words you use must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of letters must also be an exact multiple of seven. The number of vowels must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of words that begin with a vowel must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of words that occur more than once must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of words that occur in more than one form must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of nouns must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of names must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of nouns that are not names must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of male names must be an exact multiple of seven. The number of generations must be an exact multiple of seven. These are the characteristics of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, a real person with real, known ancestors, in the first eleven verses of Matthew. It goes without saying this is not a coincidence. So you have to decide whether it was a plot, or divine sovereignty and inspiration. God's fingerprints are all over the Bible. And if you can't see that, you are indeed blind. Arguing that the Bible is "errant" because of some discrepancy you can find by staring at it long enough is like arguing that a gorgeous woman isn't beautiful because you located a blemish on her elbow. It's a very small and boring expression of taste. Last edited by Cal; 07-01-2013 at 06:21 PM.