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: Wrap-up, consensus of this thread: I would like to try to start something new here. When a thread has been responded to by a variety of posters, it can be difficult to find an overall answer to the original question. Therefore, I think it would be helpful to add a consensus statement to the end of these threads after either it seems that all ends are tied up or new posts seem to cease. Since I asked the original question in this thread, I will humbly attempt to summarize these ideas at this time. After reflection, it appears that the majority of posts are in agreement that God has played an active role in bringing the modern versions (such as the NASB) to the people in today's world. The differences arise in what people call this intervention, and to what degree people believe that it happened. Some quotes from many posters involved: Charis - "Inspiration continues." Hank - "God goes about His buisness of guarding and preserving the purity of His word." Open Mind - "God?s inspiration of the Bible works above the level of the text." Retxar - "God?s divine guidance in preserving His Word" Schwartzkm - "God has aided in keeping the Bible" Sir Pent - "God has inspired the people at each step in the process of bringing it to the masses." Tim Moran - "God has preserved His text throughout the years." Most posters do not believe that God put words in the translators minds, or physically directed the hands of the people who copied the scriptures. However, it seems that most posters believe that God has, in some way, actively maintained the truth of His message to mankind in the text itself and outside of the text as the reader is inspired by the Holy Spirit to have understanding. Some call it "inspiration", some call it "preserving", some call it "aiding", but the consensus is that God has been involved in the process, not only of the original writing of the Bible, but also of its copies and translations. The reason why I believe this is important to us as Christians, is that it confirms that the Bible is as true today as it was to the Christians in the Early Church. It supports the belief that the Bible is still authoritative for our lives, and that we can trust that it is still the Word of God. Lastly, it is of encouragement to all of the believers who have not had the opportunity to study Greek or Hebrew. It lets them know that even reading the Bible in their native tongue will enlighten them (if their hearts are open) to the critical message which God wants them to know. If anyone should come to this thread in the future, and have further questions, please feel free to email me at: markundy@hotmail.com |