Is The Bible Inerrant?

[aron]

Originally Posted by james73

Thinking about Sorge's idea, I had a slightly new perspective on the Word as a guide to the experience of the Spirit - a God-inspired guide written over the centuries to help us understand this strange spirit experience. In this case, inerrant therefore being a better word than perfect. You would never see the instruction manual for a piece of IKEA furniture being described as "perfect" but you would hope it was "inerrant", because without it you'll be lost.

Perhaps it is irrelevant to discuss bible inerrancy without the Spirit, because without the Spirit the bible is not the Word, it's just a collection of books.

Thanks for the tip on Sorge. I am interested in the scene of the "throne". Jesus, while a man on earth, dwelt in the Shadow of the Almighty. The rest of us wander about, at least I do, occasionally stumbling on some "living water" only to have it dry up almost instantly.

How did Jesus dwell there, continually? How was, and is, a Man able to stand there and intercede for us? How does He sit at His right hand? How do, in fact, "all the angels of God worship Him?" These mystical scenes in the bible are our roadmap home. They literally show us the Spirit. The four gospels show us the effect of the Spirit, but the "secret of the secret place" shows us the Spirit.

So in that sense the bible is inerrant. It shows us the way home to the Father. Our ability to follow directions seems to be a little suspect.

That is why I became so interested in the Psalms. They show us mystical scenes, which Lee said were "fallen concepts" and which I largely agreed with, until recently. I found that, ironically, Lee was right; when you "strike the Spirit in the Word with your human spirit" it will give you a vision in the Word which will become your directions home...

As a Buddhist once told me, "The path and the destination are the same thing."

Originally Posted by james73

This, to me, is the concept of inerrancy. Not "verse X says Y" which kills the spirit so quickly. Once, feeling generous, I said to my LC group that indeed, the concept of Locality was a great idea, I wanted to share something about it and immediately someone jumped in, piously, looked at me quite pityingly and said "it's not a concept! it's in the bible". My sharing was just killed dead. This is the sort of "bible inerrancy" which gives bible inerrancy a bad name, it's confusing inerrancy with interpretation and assuming the interpretation is inerrant.

That "it's in the bible" is a conversation-killer for sure. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing with that jug of poison in your hand, ready to drink?!?"

"It's in the bible" (Mark 16:18)

Originally Posted by james73

sorry for the longish posts---- this is probably all first grade to most of you, I'm just enjoying exploring these ideas. Plus it's lonely out here in GMT+8 while you guys are probably all sleeping or out guzzling kegs

Very nice writing. I don't consider your ideas "first grade" at all. No longer guzzling kegs, thank God. Those days are over.

[awareness]

I'm afraid to respond to posts out here. We're unable to openly discuss inerrancy without the risk of getting kick off the forum. As if that's the way to hold to truth ; just block anything disagreeable out, and stop all contrary thought.

I lived with that in the local church. But I left the local church and don't operate like that anymore. I'm now open to whatever God wants to show me. And I'm open like Witness Lee condemned : "Open like a trash can." Boy that was a brilliant method of stopping thought.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by awareness

I'm afraid to respond to posts out here. We're unable to openly discuss inerrancy without the risk of getting kick off the forum. As if that's the way to hold to truth ; just block anything disagreeable out, and stop all contrary thought.

I lived with that in the local church. But I left the local church and don't operate like that anymore. I'm now open to whatever God wants to show me. And I'm open like Witness Lee condemned : "Open like a trash can." Boy that was a brilliant method of stopping thought.

> <

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Igzy

> <

[awareness]

Originally Posted by aron

That "it's in the bible" is a conversation-killer for sure. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing with that jug of poison in your hand, ready to drink?!?"

"It's in the bible" (Mark 16:18)

Aron makes a funny with this. And provides me with one reason I don't think the Bible is inerrant.

That's because the end of Mark is a real mess in the NT manuscripts. There's two versions of Mark in the NT manuscripts ; a short version, and a long version.

The short version cuts off at Mark 16:8, and the long versions has the crazy stuff, like drinking poison and snake handling. (And believers are dying because of it.)
https://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-...iw=944&bih=487

So there's two versions of Mark in the manuscripts. And obviously there can't be two copies of the original autograph copy. So somebody messed with the autograph copy of Mark, and either added to it, or deleted from it, and we don't know who. But it's likely that a scribe didn't like Mark ending with :

"And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid."

So he added the crazy stuff.

So if God protected the scripture, as some claim, He didn't do a very good job of protecting the gospel of Mark.

And such a claim therefore impugns God ... which offends me.