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: Greetings Sir! Personally, I would hold more to your second option. The author of each book or letter was inspired as he wrote each book or letter. There is one big problem with the third option, though I would prefer it before the first option! :-) How do you explain the mistakes in the copies? How do you explain the differences in the translations? Which translations are inspired and which ones are not? Is the NWT inspired? With option number two, it is easy to answer these questions. The originals were without error. The small mistakes that do exist came about from flawed copies. The translators make mistakes sometimes because of incomplete knowledge or theological bias. Now, if you are strickly talking about the message of the Bible, it is just as authoritative today as it was when it was written, but I would not say that the translations themselves are inspired. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |