[QUOTE=Bible man]
We maintain the original writings were dictated directly by the Holy Spirit and are without error. After that some care must be taken regarding copiest errors, innocent mistranslations, purposeful mistranslations as well as additions or subtractions from the original text. Despite what is being posted on this website, these human errors are relatively minor, just like the one you dredged up. None of the main Bible themes are in dispute ie, mankind is lost in sin and in need of a Savior, God promised from the beginning that He would supply a Messiah, He has done so in the Person of Jesus Christ, and it is up to each individual to accept or reject Him to avoid certain judgement. Actually, it’s these clear and undisputed concepts that are rejected by Bible detractors like yourself, the minor imperfections resulting from God’s decision to use human agency to spread His message are just excuses to disobey the Truth. Your focusing on a decimal point error made by a copiest is just one example of the lame excuses used by those who want to feel justified in rejecting the salvation that God offers. I can imagine the conversation between you and the rich man while awaiting final judgment, “I lost my salvation because I ignored the teachings of the Law and the Prophets which would have led me to salvation thru the Messiah, how about you?” “Oh, a decimal point got me.”
If a decimal point is a good enough reason for you to reject the Bible, it’s certainly good enough for me.
[/QUOTE]
I think that very first line is where so much of the problem lies. It is the root cause of many misconceptions and false traditions that follow. There are no passages that indicate that the nature of inspiration and the scripture it may have influenced means it “was dictated directly by the Holy Spirit and without error.” That in itself is an unsupported belief. It is a tradition that descends from the time Constantine got people together to outlaw anyone who dared to think differently. Before that there were many differing schools of theology as men tried to understand the meaning of Jesus Christ. It was men who declared which books and which theology would become the official position of a state sponsored church . After that for many years the public was in large part illiterate and so they needed the church leaders to read passages to them and dictate the meaning. Those who disagreed and attempted to give voice to non official doctrine did so at there own peril.
Because you believe that first line to be true you must interpret and explain all other evidence in a way that lets it remain true, no matter how illogical it gets. It’s a form of idol worship. Upholding and following tradition replaces the desire to know the truth. When the evidence gets to be to undeniable you make concessions such as you’ve done here. as in; God did allow minor changes to take place and there is human error but all the real important stuff is still there, preserved by God…because that was his plan. Here the false assumption and tradition struggles to survive. If you acknowledge that there are examples of human error in the Bible {based on the evidence of your own eyes and a little reasoning} then how can you be sure there aren’t any major errors? Is there any scriptural reference for that belief?
You’re correct the changing of a decimal point is minor. There are many other minor differences and contradictions in the Bible. How many times did the cock crow before Peters denial? The gospels don’t agree. Did one or both thieves mock him? The gospels don’t agree. There are however other changes that were done to change the theology.
Example; 1
Mark 1:11 after Jesus is baptized the voice says, NIV 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
That’s what we all remember. In some early versions it reads “You are my Son, *Today *have I begotten you”
Significant difference? How does it affect traditionally theology? How do we decide which is actually God’s word?
example 2
Take Luke 22 during the last supper, In more recent copies it says, NIV 17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.”
That’s how most Christians remember it and has become a traditional part of the Sacrament. In some earlier manuscripts it reads,
"After taking a cup and giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it amongst yourselves, for I say to you that I will not drink from the fruit of the vine from now on, until the kingdom of God comes.” And taking bread, giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body. But behold, the hand of the one who betrays me is with me at the table.”
The adding of “which is given for you, and “which is poured out for you” changes what is stressed and has also affected current theology.
The fact that we can be quite sure that passages were changed by men to support their preferred theology as well as the minor errors you accept, means we have to be exceedingly cautious about granting this 2000 year old book so much authority over our lives and accepting it’s passages to eagerly. It means we have to work a little harder at trying to discern the meaning of Christ’s message and rely a little more on the inner voice and our own ability to think, rather than what someone else tells us, based on tradition.