The Inerrancy of the Bible

[Guest shiloh357]

I never used the word fact, nor did I state it as such. It was my opinion and I in no way insinuated it as fact that it was written by men.

Not tryint to pick at hairs but, you stated that "in reality" it is a book written by men. That is not the same as saying "I believe" or "it's my opinion." To say that "reality" demands we understand that the Bible is a book written by men, is to make a statement you see as based in fact or as you call it "reality."

You stated that they texts HAVE been changed numerous times that there is no way to know what is accurate. You did not state that as a matter of opinion. You did not qualify that statement as being simply a matter of personal conviction but a revelation of "reality."

I used the word: possible and possibility throughout.

You used the word "possible" but what you said was, " there's no possible way to tell what is accurate and what's not." You are stating that it is impossible (no possible way) to determine what is accurate or inaccurate about the Bible. Again, you are not offering this as an opinion.

When you say that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY, it presupposes that you have personally exhausted ALL available avenues to determine the Bible's accuracy and have reached the conclusion that it is impossible. That leaves NO room for opinion. Again it is a statement that assumes itself to be factual.

You don't actually have to use the word "fact" to put forth a view as fact.

You claimed that I stated something as fact that I clearly did not.

I would beg to differ... see above remarks.

You are very knowledgeable about the Bible. Are you a scholar yourself? How do you gain access to your knowledge? What is your source of primary information? I have a lot of questions and I'd like to ask them of you.

I am not a scholar. I just study like one. I personally think every Christian should equip themselves to be able answer the critics of the Bible with reasonable answers to their questions. I would not qualify as a scholar though. My primary text is the Bible itself, but also, I enjoy writings of the scholars and renowned preachers and such as well staying abreast of the latest archeological discoveries. I am very much a student of hermeneutics (literary analysis) and use it regularly in my studies.

You may ask all the questions you wish. I do not promise to have the answers, though. I may have to refer you to someone more knowledgable.

[the_interactionist]

I never used the word fact, nor did I state it as such. It was my opinion and I in no way insinuated it as fact that it was written by men.

Not tryint to pick at hairs but, you stated that "in reality" it is a book written by men. That is not the same as saying "I believe" or "it's my opinion." To say that "reality" demands we understand that the Bible is a book written by men, is to make a statement you see as based in fact or as you call it "reality."

You stated that they texts HAVE been changed numerous times that there is no way to know what is accurate. You did not state that as a matter of opinion. You did not qualify that statement as being simply a matter of personal conviction but a revelation of "reality."

I used the word: possible and possibility throughout.

You used the word "possible" but what you said was, " there's no possible way to tell what is accurate and what's not." You are stating that it is impossible (no possible way) to determine what is accurate or inaccurate about the Bible. Again, you are not offering this as an opinion.

When you say that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY, it presupposes that you have personally exhausted ALL available avenues to determine the Bible's accuracy and have reached the conclusion that it is impossible. That leaves NO room for opinion. Again it is a statement that assumes itself to be factual.

You don't actually have to use the word "fact" to put forth a view as fact.

You claimed that I stated something as fact that I clearly did not.

I would beg to differ... see above remarks.

You are very knowledgeable about the Bible. Are you a scholar yourself? How do you gain access to your knowledge? What is your source of primary information? I have a lot of questions and I'd like to ask them of you.

I am not a scholar. I just study like one. I personally think every Christian should equip themselves to be able answer the critics of the Bible with reasonable answers to their questions. I would not qualify as a scholar though. My primary text is the Bible itself, but also, I enjoy writings of the scholars and renowned preachers and such as well staying abreast of the latest archeological discoveries. I am very much a student of hermeneutics (literary analysis) and use it regularly in my studies.

You may ask all the questions you wish. I do not promise to have the answers, though. I may have to refer you to someone more knowledgable.

Great. My questions are far too many to be listed here. I don't know if you can e-mail me through Worthy or not. I tried to e-mail you via your profile and was unable to. Perhaps its a setting prohibited by the moderators; however, I'd rather have direct communication with you and you with me.

If you can't gain access to my e-mail via my profile, then I'll post it here to ensure you get it. I'm willing to post it here, even though the board regulations suggest we don't put personal info on the boards. I'm kind of seeing you as a mentor for the Bible. Certainly, you're not the most knowledgable person on the Bible, but you're more knowledgeable than anyone I've come across before. Kudos.

My e-mail is: mindbodyguru@yahoo.com - all are welcome to contact me. I refuse to communicate with no one.

Thanks for your help. You gave me a good whipping

I won't be on here too much anymore. I am spending far too much time replying to posts and not nearly enough getting my work done!

Blessed Be

Edited July 11, 2007 by the_interactionist

[ted]

My friend, I am glad that you see that some of your convictions concerning the Bible, Jesus, God, Salvation, etc, are not the only way to view them. I'm glad that you had this exchange with Shiloh, and that your eyes have been opened just a bit. Sometimes, we just have to wait for the right person to come around and help us when we think we need it the least.

I am, of course, no exception to that rule. I'm not ashamed to say that some of the misconceptions I used to cling to are now in my past.

Bless you, and may the Lord help to bring us all closer to what He wants us to know and apply in our lives.

t.

[Guest shiloh357]

I have fixed it so that you can e-mail me from here and I have also sent you an e-mail letting you know as well. I look forward to fielding your questions!!

[None]

But the fact remains is this type of invective sarcasm has detrimental effects on those with far more delicate psyches and hearts. Perhaps people don't feel like you really want them to be "saved." Maybe if you listened with a heart full of compassion and not skepticism about our beliefs, some non-believers would accept your ideology and choose to live for Christ, according to your beliefs.

I find this to be true as well.

Many Christian forums(like this one) push people away from God by their rude, sarcastic, mocking and ostracizing behavior and it's very sad. I have people in my own family who won't go near Christians in their areas because of this. Sometimes the "wolves" are the ones in the best Christian disguises. They are the ones in the position to do the most damage to seekers, thus, being the most helpful to satan.

[the_interactionist]

But the fact remains is this type of invective sarcasm has detrimental effects on those with far more delicate psyches and hearts. Perhaps people don't feel like you really want them to be "saved." Maybe if you listened with a heart full of compassion and not skepticism about our beliefs, some non-believers would accept your ideology and choose to live for Christ, according to your beliefs.

I find this to be true as well.

Many Christian forums(like this one) push people away from God by their rude, sarcastic, mocking and ostracizing behavior and it's very sad. I have people in my own family who won't go near Christians in their areas because of this. Sometimes the "wolves" are the ones in the best Christian disguises. They are the ones in the position to do the most damage to seekers, thus, being the most helpful to satan.

I believe that's a fair observation, None. I have a lot of friends, even close loved ones/ relatives, who refuse to go to church or embrace Christianity (especially not Christians) because they've been unneccesarily ridiculed and have been the victim of juvenile mockery and sarcasm.

We all have a tendency to attack that which we don't understand. I'm no exception to that. I don't believe anyone is. We just need to learn to grow together, and learn from one another. I think, regardless of what we project outwardly, inwardly we all have this universal desire: to live peacefully and heartily with eachother, regardless of our differences.

I was rereading one of my favorite books with my wife recently, when I came across a quote from Marilyn Ferguson. It really puts everything in perspective when it comes to religion and beliefs. It says: "No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal."

I want to thank everyone on here who contributed to answering my questions.

Blessed Be

[the_interactionist]

I have fixed it so that you can e-mail me from here and I have also sent you an e-mail letting you know as well. I look forward to fielding your questions!!

Nope. Just tried it. It's still not allowing me. It says, "Error returned. You are not permitted to send a message from this board."

Should I request the mods to fix it?

[tdrehfal]

This seems to be a recurring issue that is never settled. Likewise, I'm sure it won't be settled here either.

A while back, on one of my previous posts, I was asked to provide examples of Biblical and scriptural contradictions. I failed to do so then. Sorry I'm so late with these. It takes a lot of time and research, but it cane be done.

Here

[Rhonda Lou]

This seems to be a recurring issue that is never settled. Likewise, I'm sure it won't be settled here either.

A while back, on one of my previous posts, I was asked to provide examples of Biblical and scriptural contradictions. I failed to do so then. Sorry I'm so late with these. It takes a lot of time and research, but it cane be done.

Here

[thesorgo]

the_interactionist, why are you labled a non-believer? From your signature it looks like you're a christian. By the way, good questions.