Bible Question:
There seem to be three main answers to this question. The first would be that the Bible is not really inspired at all. It is merely mankind's attempt to chronicle his experiences with God. The Bible is just an ancient book, which has some good ideas in it which we can learn from. The majority of the world seems to believe this, however, very few people on this forum. The second perspective is that the Bible was originally inspired as each author wrote it. In other words, Moses was inspired by God as he wrote large parts of the Torah. David was inspired by God when he wrote most of the Psalms. Matthew was inspired by God when he wrote his gospel, and Paul was inspired by God when he wrote his letter to the Romans. Therefore due to this inspiration, the Bible was inerrant in its original Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT). However, since that time, men who were uninspired by God have copied, translated, or even paraphrased the Bible, so that there are now some mistakes. This can only be fixed by going back to studying the Bible in its original language, and in context of its original culture. This view seems to be held by the majority of our forum members. The third perspective is that the Bible is God's written message to all people throughout all time. As such God has inspired the people at each step in the process of bringing it to the masses. In this perspective, not only are the original manuscripts inspired, but also the copies, and also the translations. Therefore, when a person reads the NASB today in English, it is equally inspired as the original letter to the Phillipians was when it was read by the church there for the first time. This is the view that I believe. What does everybody think? |
Bible Answer: I say that all Scripture is divinely superintended by the Holy Spirit in all of the original manuscripts (option #2, but including all of the Psalms and the Pentateuch). My question for you: Why do you select the NASB as inspired? What about the the King James Version? What about the NKJV? What about the NIV and the NRSV and the NLT? They differ in their translations (although not in any essential way, I admit). And then, what about the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses? Are all of them inspired? If not, how do you determine which one(s)? Also, why would God divinely inspire so many translations of His Word in the second half of the 20th century alone? Seems like that would be overkill on his part. Thanks! --Joe! |