In all of recorded history there has never been a more hotly debated text than the Judeo-Christian Bible. Thousands of complaints concerning doctrinal contradictions, translation mistakes, prophecy written after-the-fact, and even mundane historical inaccuracies have been proposed by those who do not believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of the only true God.
I believe that is actually a good thing.
What could we benefit from sweeping suggested "errors in scripture" under a liturgical rug?
N O T H I N G.
Why would holding onto a false hope make us feel better? Isn't that just a Faith Opiate?
If 100% Truth is God's nature, and the standard we must strive for...why should 90% true or 50% seen as any better than 0%?
You must be willing to set aside what sounds good... or what we WISH were true...in the interest of discovering what actually IS true. There may be times when we need to let go of traditions we find comforting because scripture reveals them as false doctrine. There may also be times when we have to throw out much of what we believe to be true about God if it is not consistent the Bible.
1 ) We would know nothing about God if it were not for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through the Bible.
2) The Bible claims to be God's written Word, and the only authority on His nature and Will.
In 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17, Paul says,
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
Before I go any further it needs to be noted that some people do not directly challenge the inspiration of the original texts...but they suggest our modern copies may not be true to the original. I often wonder, what extra-Biblical source they are using to level such claims against the Bible?
Your Bible is a copy and a translation. While that seems to suggest it COULD be filled with material errors and mistakes, let me describe what we actually know so far...
In 1947 the texts known as the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in some caves by a little shepherd boy. Upon exhaustive testing and examination by the very best scholars of the day, many of these scrolls were determined to be written within the FIRST CENTURY AD. While this does not make them Originals...it makes them older than any other known copies by at least 1,100 years and that puts them surprisingly close to the lifetimes of the 12 apostles. (Certainly within the lifespan of people who may have known the apostles and had direct contact with them!)
When the two copies of the Book of Isaiah found in the caves at Qumran were compared with the modern text they were found to contain errors. That's right, I said errors.
So, how many errors? Well...
Over 1,100 years passed between the writing of the two copies and they were 95% IDENTICAL (word for word). The 5% error consisted of "obvious pen slips" that did NOT change the meaning of the word OR the passage, and some names were spelled differently. Considering how many different languages were spoken by the different characters mentioned in the Bible, should we consider it an error if a name is spelled differently?
The message conveyed by the modern copy of the ancient book of Isaiah was absolutely intact. The copies of the New Testament books favored even better.
How do other ancient texts compare to the Bible?
Exhibit A: There are only 643 manuscripts of Homer’s Iliad in existence. It was originally written around 900BC, but the earliest copy in existence today dates from about 500 years after it was composed. "In those copies, there are 764 disputed lines of text, as compared to 40 lines in all the New Testament manuscripts" (Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Moody, Chicago, Revised and Expanded 1986, p. 367).Exhibit B: Each of William Shakespeare's 37 plays (written in the 1600's) have gaps in the surviving manuscripts, forcing scholars to "fill in the blanks." The authorship of the original plays remains in question by some.
Exhibit C: There are only 10 copied manuscripts remaining of Julius Caesar's "The Gallic Wars" (with the earliest one dating to 1,000 years after the original autograph).
Exhibit D: Pliny the Younger's "History" (7 manuscripts; 750 years elapsed from the original)
Exhibit E: Thucydides' "History" (8 manuscripts; 1,300 years elapsed from the original)
Exhibit F: Herodotus' "History" (8 manuscripts; 1,300 years elapsed from the original)
Exhibit G: Aristotle (49 manuscripts; 1,400 years from the original)
So what?
There are over 5,300 known copies and fragments of the New Testament in the original Greek.
Nearly 800 of those copies were penned before 1,000 AD.
Some manuscript texts date to the early second and third centuries, with the time between the original autographs and our earliest existing copies being a remarkably short 60 years. Interestingly, this manuscript evidence far surpasses the manuscript reliability of other ancient writings that we trust as authentic every day.
In fact, all of the New Testament except eleven verses can be reconstructed from the writings of the early church fathers in the second and third centuries (between 100 and 300 AD).
Jesus stated unequivocally that "one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" and that "heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matthew 5:18; 24:35).
"Test all things; hold fast what is good" ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:21
In a letter to the Hebrews, Paul stressed that religious belief involves evidence, assurance and certainty—not mere blind faith (Hebrews 11:1).
"The entirety of your word is truth" ~ Psalm 119:160
William F. Albright, a prominent archaeologist known for his work with the Dead Sea scrolls, said, "There can be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition… The excessive scepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries…has been progressively discredited" (Evidence that Demands a Verdict, McDowell, Vol. 1, p. 65).
Dr. James Packer wrote, "By virtue of its inspiration the authority of Scripture resolves into, not the historical, ethical, or religious expertise of its human authors, however great this may be thought to have been, but the truthfulness and the moral claim of the speaking, preaching, teaching God Himself." (Themelios 1.1 (Autumn 1975): 3-12.)
I encourage everyone to test the scripture every time it is read or written down. Throw everything you can think of at it and see what happens. It is in our best interest to be sure the text is accurate and consistent, isn't it? If the Bible really is the Word of God, what should we be afraid of?
Consider this; the Bible on your book shelf is a product of centuries of careful record, preservation, archeology, and examination. Since it is true that our copies are obviously not the original, many ask how any can be sure the words recorded between the covers are actually what was written by the original authors. Are you willing to find out for yourself?
There are some well perpetuated myths about how the Bible came to be in its present form. These misconceptions are nearly all based on ignorance of the facts concerning both the historical record and what is contained in the text itself.
For those of you who want to remain skeptical...I salute you. I have a skeptic's mind myself.
However, if you ever want your opinion to be valued, or if you care AT ALL about what is TRUE - you should know what you are talking about.
The process is very simple.
1) Read it for yourself. Do not depend upon the scholarship of others. You must account for you.
2) Read it in context. The books of the Bible were written as books. Do not cut them up to support your own agenda.
3) Read it often. You probably will not grasp the broader scope in one glance.
4) Ask God for wisdom. (James 1:5) Ask Him to reveal what the text is really saying.
5) To find out more about a specific subject use a good concordance or a Bible Dictionary...not a commentary. Commentaries are not "evil"...but they are not the Word of God either.
Do you care enough about finding the Truth to do good research?
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."
~ 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
Truth matters.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment