You're right, it does.
It takes faith in the One who directed its writing, something your arguments seem to sadly lack. God is perfectly capable of making sure that what He wants us to know and understand is kept in His Word, no matter how many translations there may be.
Don't be sad. I have overwhelming faith in the One who directed the writing of the Scriptures, and I absolutely agree that He has made sure that what He wants us to know and understand is kept in His Word, no matter how many translations there may be.
The problem with the argument that's been going on for pages now is it's being argued using human reason and intellect; and the One whose Spirit is responsible for the Bible is so much above human intellect and reason.
Sorry, sister, but arguing that a person should abandon reason in order to buy what you're selling is cult-like, and similar arguments are exactly what gets Christianity booed from the mic nowadays.
The real problem with the arguments presented in these pages is that they are un-empathetic and egotistical, taking no account for the values and beliefs of the person sitting on the other side of the table. They are attempts to indoctrinate people into irrational thinking so that they will join our club, not seeking what is genuinely best for that other person and doing what is necessary to help that person also embrace what is best for them.
No, it can't be proven to an unbeliever that the Bible is inerrant. That's because the proof is in the changes that the Word of God makes in a life.
I agree. I'm not interested in proving anything to unbelievers. My goal on this thread is to argue with a believer that his marketing campaign is out-of-date and out-of-touch with reality, and that no reasonable person is going to be persuaded by his "It's true because I said so! Agree with me or go to hell!" method.
Not objective, not scientific, but proof enough for those of us who've placed our trust in God.
I know what you're talking about. I live every day basking in that proof.
I am a hyper-analytical person - I analyze everything. The Spirit has taught me that when I get to the end of my intellect, my ability to understand and reason, THAT'S when God's intellect and reason, far above mine, begins to sink in and even when it makes no sense to me, it's okay, because they do to the One who directs me.
Again, this free-your-mind hippy stuff might have been influential before Google brought the entire world to our fingertips, but in this age, we need some level of reasonable credibility, or we're just talking non-sense. Furthermore, I've presented in this thread that the Gospel is not influential because of any point we might argue, but because we are willing to sacrifice resources to meet real needs.
Sorry, I don't mean any offense, but the world is looking for answers that fit their real-world needs, not pie-in-sky revivalism.
Do a little more praying and a little less analyzing, and see if God doesn't settle the matter in your heart, as He did mine.
I'm right there with you. I'm not the one here with the problem about the Bible being exactly what it is.
I want people to believe the Scriptures with as much fervor as Zaac and I do. I am just out there regularly listening to them, and getting a sense of what they need from those of us bringing the truth. Screaming doctrine about how right we are without giving any reason just closes the door I and my team are constantly working to hold open.
The war for souls is not going to be won with indoctrination, but empathy. The good Samaritan was good because he met his neighbor's needs, not because he condemned him to hell based on a doctrine. There is no condemning doctrine, including the inerrancy doctrine, that will help bring internet-age people to Christ. It has to be the living out of the Gospel, which stands on its own merits, that makes the difference.
I search for that empathy and self-sacrifice here, in a person screaming doctrine, and all I get in return is more condemnation, name calling and an insistence on being right. He is right when he says there are goats and wolves among us. They are the neighbors and priests who, because of their doctrine, leave the dying on the side of the road, leaving it to the marginalized, the scorned, and those of questionable repute, to pick that dying person up and meet their needs.
I believe absolutely in the Gospel that meets needs, and I cannot stand the stain of condemning criticism that so often accompanies fierce attempts to indoctrinate the weak. Forgive me if that Gospel offends. It is the only Gospel I know.