Bible Talk > Sound doctrine

Infallibility of the Bible

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Jack Koons:
Greetings,

I could not help but notice the distinct wording that I find in nearly all 'Doctrinal Statements, or Statements of Faith in this sites "What We Believe". The wording to which I refer is the belief of 'infallibility', or 'inerrancy' of the 'originals'. I am pleased that nearly all of Christians have this belief, however, what about the Bible we hold in our hands today? Since the Bible is our 'final authority'; shouldn't it be infallible as well?

Jack

JB Horn:

--- Quote from: Jack Koons on June 18, 2013, 08:07:09 am ---Greetings,

I could not help but notice the distinct wording that I find in nearly all 'Doctrinal Statements, or Statements of Faith in this sites "What We Believe". The wording to which I refer is the belief of 'infallibility', or 'inerrancy' of the 'originals'. I am pleased that nearly all of Christians have this belief, however, what about the Bible we hold in our hands today? Since the Bible is our 'final authority'; shouldn't it be infallible as well?

Jack

--- End quote ---

Hello Jack welcome.

There are many translations out there, some good and some not so good. Many that have been taken from the Latin of Rome and from the KJV. Some from the earliest Greek and Hebrew. Some have the book of Mark stopping at 16:8 and some go on to 16:20.

So what (or which) are we addressing in your post?

 

Fat:

--- Quote from: JB Horn on June 18, 2013, 08:42:38 am ---Hello Jack welcome.

There are many translations out there, some good and some not so good. Many that have been taken from the Latin of Rome and from the KJV. Some from the earliest Greek and Hebrew. Some have the book of Mark stopping at 16:8 and some go on to 16:20.

So what (or which) are we addressing in your post?

--- End quote ---

I think you forgot to include the NWT that contradicts it's self every other book. My gut filling is that is what this post is about. Sorry Jack if I'm wrong about that.

Jack Koons:
Thanks for the welcome!

The issue I am trying to discuss is not about 'one Bible in one language', rather what I am addressing is the issue of 'transmission without error'; not only to copies of the 'originals', but to other languages as well.

Jack

JB Horn:

--- Quote from: Jack Koons on June 18, 2013, 12:30:25 pm ---Thanks for the welcome!

The issue I am trying to discuss is not about 'one Bible in one language', rather what I am addressing is the issue of 'transmission without error'; not only to copies of the 'originals', but to other languages as well.

Jack

--- End quote ---
Ran across this by S. Michael Houdmann
This is truly a difficult issue to grasp. Only the original autographs (original manuscripts written by the apostles, prophets, etc.) are under the divine promise of inspiration and inerrancy. The books of the Bible, as they were originally written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), were 100% inerrant, accurate, authoritative, and true. There is no Biblical promise that copies of the original manuscripts would equally be inerrant or free from copyist errors. As the Bible has been copied thousands of times over thousands of years, some copyist errors have likely occurred.

How do we deal with this? First, it is important to remember that the biblical manuscripts we have today are in 99% agreement with one another. Yes, there are some minor differences, but the vast majority of the biblical text is identical from one manuscript to another. Most of the differences are in punctuation, word endings, minor grammatical issues, word order, etc. – issues easily explainable as scribal mistakes. No important theological or biblical issue is thrown into doubt by any supposed error or contradiction. Biblical manuscripts from the 15th century agree completely with manuscripts from the 3rd century. We can have absolute confidence that the Bible we have today is almost exactly identical to what the apostles and prophets wrote 2000+ years ago.

Second, we should not be quick to say “Oh, that is just a scribal error.” The vast majority, if not all, of Bible “errors” can be explained in a logical and believable manner. Those that cannot by explained, or are very difficult to explain – could very well have an answer that we simply do not know at this point. Just because we cannot find a solution does not mean that a solution doesn’t exist. Believing there to be a scribal error must be the absolute last resort in any supposed Bible “error.”

Ultimately, though, it is possible that errors have crept into our modern manuscripts and translations of the Bible. Copyists and translators are human beings and they make mistakes. The fact that the Bible is incredibly accurate is a testimony to its inspiration and preservation by God.

Can we still trust the Bible? Absolutely! The Bible translations we have today are God’s Word. The Bible today is just as authoritative as it was in the 1st century A.D. We can completely trust the Bible as being God’s message to us today. Yes, the biblical promises of inspiration and inerrancy only apply directly to the original manuscripts. That does not impact, though, whether our modern Bibles are accurate and authoritative. God’s Word endures forever, despite the occasional failings and mistakes of copyists and translators.

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