The Inspiration of Scripture

[Chesterton]

I have confidence in the Bible because it is God's word, not because it was recognized as such by the church.

How do you know it's God's word?

 

[Tone]

The Bible is inspired by God. What does this mean?

Simply put - "What the Bible says, God says."

Some say that the Bible is inspired, but they are not comfortably saying that the Bible is the very words of God. They have some looser, stranger view of inspiration.

What the Bible says, God says. Can we give this a hearty "Amen"?

The Word of Elohim speaks through the books-Torah, the Prophets, and the Haftarah A Surprisingly Messianic Tradition in the Ancient Synagogue. Amen.

*Did you really think I'd leave out the Brit Chadashah - the New Covenant?

 

[Tree of Life]

How do you know it's God's word?

It evidences itself to be God's word.

 

[Ken Rank]

I find that an interesting discussion, since we have God (Jesus the Christ) in the New Testament actually changing old law Which of course is the New Testament of Jesus the Christ.

I consider Jesus' words over anything that contradicts Him though. If I find contradictions.

God does not change and will never contradict Himself. As far as changing OT law.... sin is the breaking of God's law (1 John 3:4), and messiah was sinless. That means, he did not break the Law. Since one of the commandments within the law is not to add or take from any commandment... then if he changed the law he sinned and disqualified himself as messiah. Furthermore, it would mean that something God authored and called everlasting was changed by a God that does not change? Obviously I don't agree with your conclusion (I once held it), but you're welcome to believe whatever you want.

 

[bekkilyn]

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Doesn't sound like a book (or a collection of writings) to me.

 

[Tone]

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Doesn't sound like a book (or a collection of writings) to me.

Nice observation!

speaks through the books

 

[Tree of Life]

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

Doesn't sound like a book (or a collection of writings) to me.

Since you do not believe that the Bible is God's very words, why would you believe what it says about Jesus being God's Word?

 

[Ken Rank]

The Word of Elohim speaks through the books-Torah, the Prophets, and the Haftarah A Surprisingly Messianic Tradition in the Ancient Synagogue. Amen.

*Did you really think I'd leave out the Brit Chadashah - the New Covenant?

Respectfully, you should speak in English so you are understood better in a forum that doesn't use the words you are using. I don't even know what you mean by Torah, Prophets and Haftarah when the Hartarah is "almost always" found in one of the Prophets. I imagine you meant Tanach... the Torah, Prophets and Writings?

 

[Tone]

Respectfully, you should speak in English so you are understood better in a forum that doesn't use the words you are using. I don't even know what you mean by Torah, Prophets and Haftarah when the Hartarah is "almost always" found in one of the Prophets. I imagine you meant Tanach... the Torah, Prophets and Writings?

Sure.

* provided links for clarification.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Excellent! Glad to see you place unquestioning trust in the people who canonized it.

That's similar to the argument that Mary had to be perfect to give birth to a perfect Christ. Then her parents would have to be perfect, and their parents, et cetera, all the way back to Adam and Eve, whom we already know were not perfect.

In this case, claiming that it took infallible people to canonize scripture would imply that it would also take infallible people to accept the authority of the ones who canonized it, which ultimately leads back to Tree of Life, who would then have to accept his own infallibility just to accept the infallible line all the way back to the Bible. In other words, it's a silly argument. The infallibility, in reality, could stop at any point in that line, if it ever existed in the first place. We don't have to accept the infallibility of some church leader two hundred years after Christ just to accept the infallibility of the scripture any more than we have to accept our own infallibility to recognize such in the document, ourselves.

 

[devin553344]

God does not change and will never contradict Himself. As far as changing OT law.... sin is the breaking of God's law (1 John 3:4), and messiah was sinless. That means, he did not break the Law. Since one of the commandments within the law is not to add or take from any commandment... then if he changed the law he sinned and disqualified himself as messiah. Furthermore, it would mean that something God authored and called everlasting was changed by a God that does not change? Obviously I don't agree with your conclusion (I once held it), but you're welcome to believe whatever you want.

I was actually referring to stoning people to death and things like those laws, Moses' laws. But sure the ten commandments weren't changed. Just slavery and killing sinners, polygamy and such.

There are contradictions in the bible as have been discussed thoroughly in these forums, and doing a simple search on the internet regarding that will avail much. But I didn't feel like testing @Tree of Life 's idea, because it is a safe approach to scripture.

 

[Tone]

Respectfully, you should speak in English so you are understood better in a forum that doesn't use the words you are using. I don't even know what you mean by Torah, Prophets and Haftarah when the Hartarah is "almost always" found in one of the Prophets. I imagine you meant Tanach... the Torah, Prophets and Writings?

disqualified himself as messiah

Might want to change that word...

 

[mark kennedy]

2 Tim. 3:16-17 tells all Scripture is 'inspired by God' literally, 'God breathed'. There are different levels of inspiration and authority but the Scripture as canon 'rule for life' is not seriously disputed in Christiandom. The expression 'God breathed', reminds me of the creation of Adam when God breated the breath of life into him and he became a living soul.

 

[bekkilyn]

Since you do not believe that the Bible is God's very words, why would you believe what it says about Jesus being God's Word?

God speaks to us through study of scripture as he also does through prayer and Christian meditation and his creation and many other ways we can hear God's very living voice (his Word, also incarnated as Jesus, a person) if only we choose to listen to him speak. Hearing the voice of God does not necessitate John being a type of Oracle of Delphi.

 

[Tone]

That's similar to the argument that Mary had to be perfect to give birth to a perfect Christ. Then her parents would have to be perfect, and their parents, et cetera, all the way back to Adam and Eve, whom we already know were not perfect.

In this case, claiming that it took infallible people to canonize scripture would imply that it would also take infallible people to accept the authority of the ones who canonized it, which ultimately leads back to Tree of Life, who would then have to accept his own infallibility just to accept the infallible line all the way back to the Bible. In other words, it's a silly argument. The infallibility, in reality, could stop at any point in that line, if it ever existed in the first place. We don't have to accept the infallibility of some church leader two hundred years after Christ just to accept the infallibility of the scripture any more than we have to accept our own infallibility to recognize such in the document, ourselves.

Or the infallibilty of Newton for "discovering" gravity...

 

[Tree of Life]

God speaks to us through study of scripture as he also does through prayer and Christian meditation and his creation and many other ways we can hear God's very living voice (his Word, also incarnated as Jesus, a person) if only we choose to listen to him speak.

So if we are prayerful and open to God, we may hear his voice equally through the Bible and, say, The Great Gatsby?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

It evidences itself to be God's word.

I can agree with this statement in a very general kind of way, but this statement could be said to apply to several theories of inspiration, not just yours.

 

[bekkilyn]

So if we are prayerful and open to God, we may hear his voice equally through the Bible and, say, The Great Gatsby?

Are you claiming it impossible for God to speak to someone through works of literature and/or perhaps inspire them to seek him?

 

[Tigger45]

2 Peter 1:21
For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

 

[Chesterton]

It evidences itself to be God's word.

If it does, you should acknowledge those people who preserved it. When Christianity was illegal in Rome, people who got caught in possession of handwritten copies of Paul's letters, for example, could be charged with a crime, imprisoned, even killed. These people formed the early Orthodox Church, which still exists today.