Bible is God's word?
by Moxy 53 Replies latest watchtower bible
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onacruse
"All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16) (NIV and following)
"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet 1:21)
Unless I am mistaken, these are the 2 primary Scriptures used to assert the inspiration, the divine inspiration, of the Bible, the entire Bible.
Barnes makes a telling admission on 2 Tim 3:16--
If now it can be proved that Paul himself was an inspired man, this settles the question as to the inspiration of the Old Testament.
The same, of course, could be questioned about Peter. So then, what about Paul? Did he ever indicate that something he wrote (subsequently included in Scripture) wasn't positively inspired? Absolutely he did! 1 Cor 7:35--
Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment,
And then at the end of that same chapter, he says (bold added):
and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
NIV footnote on this verse (40) adds (bold added):
Paul writes as one convinced that he is guided by the Holy Spirit.
Paul says that he "thinks" he has the spirit of God. Yet that entire passage of Scripture that Paul only "thinks" is inspired is now included as inspired Scripture.
I think this cuts right to the heart of the matter. [Peter]: "Inspired" Scripture says about "inspired" Scripture that "inspired" Scripture is "inspired," even when [Paul]: the "inspired" writer may admit that he is not "inspired."
Tautology at its very finest.
So, along with several other posts above, I do NOT think the BIBLE is exclusively or entirely inspired by God. Parts of it, yes, but only then as they may demonstrate their power in my personal life and lead me to a synergy with my fellow humans and the living universe in which I exist. (love God<>love neighbor<>love self<>love life). In that respect I consider ANYthing inspired.
Craig
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seedy3
onacruse said:
"All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16) (NIV and following)
"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet 1:21)
Unless I am mistaken, these are the 2 primary Scriptures used to assert the inspiration, the divine inspiration, of the Bible, the entire Bible.
Barnes makes a telling admission on 2 Tim 3:16--
If now it can be proved that Paul himself was an inspired man, this settles the question as to the inspiration of the Old Testament.
Now, are you saying that because it says it's inspired that it is?? I apologize if I am miss reading that, but I find it hard to accept, just because it says so. There are many writings that say they are inspired, the Quaran, the Book of Morman just to name 2. I am sure unless you are of Islam or Morman you do not beleive they are, so how can you argue with them, the books say they are, same reasoning.
Now if you really look and understand what the mythological Peter is saying here, you will notice he is making an opnion to Timothy, his faithful feelings, and not about the NT either, because the only scripture that existed in the time of this Peter, was the OT, the NT did not come into existance until sometime in the 4th century and was not complete until sometime in the 6th, so he could not have been writing about anything included in the NT. I mean how could Peter who was suppose to have died in the Mid 1st century have said that the book of Revelation was inspired, as it was not even written prior to the death of Peter? (written circa 90ad) Even the Gospels have their suspicions of being written long after the 12 had passed on, yet they are attributed to a some of them. The only writings that seem to be able to trace directly are some of the books (letters) written by Paul, the rest are written psudopigraphically. ( I hope I spelled that right)
There is no solid outside evidence that ANY of the Bible is in anyway inspired. With all the failed prophecies, the screwy science, the the conflicting numbers, plus the conflicting history. It surely cannot be an inspired book, because God, if there is one, is a perfect God and would not accept such an imperfect work to have his name put on it.
Seedy
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onacruse
Seedy, thank goodness the point you thought I was making was not the point I was making! LOL
The claims the Bible makes for itself as being inspired are
Tautology at its very finest.
Also, the entire Bible canon was selected by a process which is hardly more than a popularity contest. Like you say, there were extended controversies about certain writings, which, among other things, is why we now have so many "apocryphal" books. In a way, since there still remains some uncertainty about these books (at least in certain circles), one could assert that the "selection" process is still ongoing.
Craig