[QUOTE=Bible man]
First, if the numbers are in letter form, then it was a translation error instead of a copiest problem. And I already answered your other question, you just don’t like the answer - the original inspired writings are without error and true seekers of the Truth are not disuaded at all by a few insignificant errors that might occur thru the various human agencies as they copied, translated and disseminated the message. Some minor errors have indeed occured in that very human process; most were caught and corrected immediately before they ever left the desk, some a short time later, and some a long time later. Taking your logic to the extreme, then the very moment a scribe or translator penned a mistaken stroke then you would have us conclude: Look, God is a failure - He was unable to protect His Word from distortion by a human being, everything previously penned is now completely suspect, we obviously can’t trust such a weak God, etc etc, Like I said, if a minor mistake made by a human being is enough to make you reject the clear message of the Bible (mankind’s hopeless condition and God’s solution), it’s simply because you have no desire to obey the message. This argument of yours is just a smokescreen to vainly attempt to justify your decision. It’s like failing to answer a summons because a typist misspelled the judges name; pure nonsense. The excuse wouldn’t work in a court of law and it certainly won’t work at the Great White Throne Judgement (Rev20:11-15)
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I was thinking last night about something I left out of my previous post and here you are providing me the opportunity to express it. Thanks.
The question isn’t whether God is able to protect his word. The proper question is, was that ever God’s plan and intention, as I have asked over and over again.
You have already acknowledged that there are some human errors in the Bible. You have also acknowledged in an earlier post that even people who seek the Holy Spirit are subject to the influences of their own culture and preconceived notions and that leads to misinterpretations.
What if your original premise is wrong? The original text was not dictated by the Holy Spirit to be perfect but instead reflected the limited understanding and cultural bias of the author. You might want to consider that since you have no scriptural reference to support that original premise.
That might explain Paul’s comments about women and the passage where he says
“I have no commandment but I’ll give my opinion”
We know that many evil things have been done in the name of God and Christ. We know there are charlatans out there using God’s name to line their pockets and victimize people who want to believe. You’re saying that while God would allow evil to be committed in the name of Jesus Christ, he would not allow any significant changes to occur in the Bible.
It doesn’t seem consistent with free will as we see it exercised. It especially doesn’t seem consistent with free will when we consider the evidence that biblical scholars provide. Add to that the fact that there is no scriptural support for the original premise that the Holy Spirit dictated the original text and that it was God’s plan that we have this authoritative guide.
I think what the evidence reveals to the seeker of Truth is that the Holy Spirit can use many sources , including the Bible, to lead us, teach us and guide us toward knowing God. It is an internal spiritual act of surrender. We must be willing to make that seeking our first priority and be willing to release our fears, our preconceived notions, and our religious traditions when the inner voice of the spirit calls us to. Those teachings are in the words of Christ in the NT.
Your belief about the dictating of the original text is not.
