Hi again HH,
I made the statement:
Hi HH,
That doesn't make the Scriptures untrue. It apparently was the brother of Goliath that Elhanan killed. It merely makes the translation work not a word for word rendering.
I just wanted to take a moment and make sure that you understood what I mean, I'm not speaking for others here, when I make the claim that the Scriptures are inerrant in all that they convey to us.
First, when I reference the Scriptures, I am referencing the original writings. I am not referencing the later translated works or even the copied works, which sadly is all that we have. When Moses, Daniel, Samuel and the many, many other writers of the Scriptures sat down to write the things that they wrote that were often given them to write by the Holy Spirit of God, what they wrote was inerrant. I wholly agree that there may well be some, my understanding as to quantity would be very, very few, places that copyists and translators took liberties or made errors in their work of copying and translating. However, let me repeat and stress that these examples are very, very few among the some 700,000 words that we find in the Scriptures. I would confidently say that there are no more than a couple of dozen such places.
It is my understanding that in the days of the old covenant writings, the copyists would completely destroy any copy made that they found to have a mistake of any kind. They didn't scratch through and go on as we would likely do today, but destroyed the whole of the work. Unfortunately they didn't have access to 'white out'. However, yes, later translators did, it would seem obvious, on occasion add 'explanatory notes' into a line of translated work. However, even in this example we are discussing here, we find that the questionable words are written in italics in modern copies which does signify to the astute reader that the italicized portion is an addition to the source work. So, there is surely no conspiracy afoot or deceit to be made of the addition.
However, I fully believe and confirm that such actions do not make the Scriptures unreliable as to the intent of what the original manuscripts would have been conveying to those reading them in the days in which they were first written.
Second, inerrant does not translate to 'without grammatical or spelling' errors. Inerrant merely means that the overall thoughts and ideas are the truth as God intends for us to understand. Inerrant does not mean, to me, that every word of every passage of every chapter of one translation must use the same words as every other translation.
As I understand the Scriptures, and I get a lot of flack from the KJV onlyers on this, God gave us the Scriptures that we may understand Him, all that He has done, and what He is asking of us. Those ideas don't have to be conveyed to each successive generation in exactly the same words, but must retain exactly the same intentions and understanding of the original manuscripts.
There are many things written in the Scriptures that are really just historical filler. The Chronicles and book of Numbers are a good example of this. There are, of course, some important facts brought out in these two books, but a lot of it is just an historical account of all that was happening in Israel in the old covenant days. In other words, not particularly important that we understand the 'facts' and 'figures' as regards our understanding of these three points that I feel God gave unto mankind the Scriptures (understanding Him, all that He has done, what He expects of us) but merely just an account of the day to day goings on in Israel. However, I don't paint the old covenant Scriptures with too broad a brush on this issue.
So, for me, yes, the original manuscripts that were written by the hand of the men who wrote them, were and are still, inerrant. Of course, many will ask me, well, how do you know what is or isn't part of the original manuscripts today? My answer: I don't have to know. It isn't necessary to know that this particular word or that particular word or phrase was actually a part of the original manuscript. I look at the Scriptures as an overall work. It's purpose: to give me understanding of God and who He is, an understanding of all that He has done in creating this realm, sustaining this realm, raising up Israel as the people we should look to as his emissaries of truth, and all that He has done through His Son that we might have eternal life and how each one of us might partake of that reward. Finally, the Scriptures fairly clearly delineate how all of this is going to wind up. How God is going to close out this age of life that mankind has lived upon the earth and judge all men and assign them their place in the eternal existence to come. Just as He is going to do in the angelic realm which He also created out of nothing. There is coming a day when both men and angels are going to be separated into two groups.
This overall general message is what God is working to convey to mankind. He wants us to understand who He is and so the Scriptures are replete with reference to His being our Sustainer and Creator. The one who gives life to all creatures and sustains that life through the provision of food and water and shelter. He wants us to understand that among all life that He has created in this realm, mankind is His love and desire. He isn't working to fill the eternal life with dogs, cats, cows and such.
In expressing this, 'all that He has done' issue, yes, He has given us a reliable and trustworthy historical account of what has been going on in the creation since its inception. Yes, there was a time that He was just so angered by the wanton sin and rebellion of mankind that He just destroyed it all and started over. Yes, He worked through a man by the name of Abraham to build up a nation of people who were to be known on the earth as His people who would be trusted to write down and preserve these truths about God that all the nations could trust in their account of things.
However, the real crux of the Scriptures is to tell us, and lead us to, the Savior. So, we find in the new covenant that nearly all that is written is about him. We are clearly told that each and every one of us is a sinner, but that we can repent and find our way to the eternal life for which God ultimately created mankind. A life enjoyed eternally where He will be our God and we will be His people.
That, my friend, is the overarching message of the Scriptures. God created. He sustains. He provides. He loves us. Mankind is the crown jewel of His creative work in this realm and He is today working to create, through faith in His Son, a body of believers who will love and trust Him and believe Him. On the day of God's judgment, those who have done so will be ushered into the eternal life to be with Him forever. Those who haven't will be cast out to live some other way of life, which His Son describes as one of weeping and gnashing of teeth for those who are in it. It will be a way of life in which those who partake in it will find themselves constantly tormented by one another because their lusts will burn within them and they will strive unendingly to satisfy those lusts. It also should be noted that it will not only be mankind tormenting mankind, but also the fallen of the angelic realm will be in and amongst that lot.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted