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The Inerrant Bible???

Neo Deist

Th.D. & D.Div. h.c.
First off, let's define the term "inerrant" for the duration of this discussion: free from error.
Source - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inerrant

Next let's define who wrote the Bible, regardless of translation: humans.

Given that humans do make mistakes quite often, it is safe to assume that the biblical authors included errors within their writings. A quick Google search for "biblical contradictions" will present numerous entries. Why then do people insist on an inerrant Bible? Some people will go so far as to disregard science and/or observable facts, in order to maintain that the Bible is error free.

A few examples:

1 Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
2 Chronicles 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Genesis 32:30
For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time.

Matthew 27:5 And he [Judas] cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought with them the potter's field.
Acts 1:18 Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

The list goes on and on...

Others realize the mistakes but try and spin those facts into something else by saying stuff like:

Some things have to be taken metaphorically
Only the Autographs (originals) are inerrant (but have long been lost/destroyed...no proof)
Words are rearranged in translation for sentence structure, and thus true meaning is lost
We only have the written context, the verbal context is missing
Or they just M.S.U. in order to explain something

Edit: I dare say that some people could be considered idol worshippers, for their reverence toward a book. They place that book on par with God.
 

Desert Snake

Veteran Member
The Bible isn't even one book, let alone one inerrant book. The authors don't even agree with each other. It's a bunch of texts from all different origins that were later assembled into a canon.

A few different canons, and Judaism doesn't follow the same ''Bible'' adherence, /book grouping, as Xianity
 
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George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
Let's see if we actually find someone in this discussion that actually believes in a strictly inerrant Bible nowadays.
 

Thana

Lady
1 Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
2 Chronicles 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Kind of seems obvious to me that it's a copyist error. If there are translation errors obviously there'd be people who made mistakes when copying down what was written.
So it wasn't written wrong, It was copied wrong.


Genesis 32:30 For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time.

Read Genesis 32.
Jacob didn't literally see God face to face. Actually a Christian friend of mine believes the angel was Jesus but that's a whole other debate.

Matthew 27:5 And he [Judas] cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought with them the potter's field.
Acts 1:18 Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

Sounds like Acts is describing what happened to his corpse. Also unless it's from a crazy height, People don't burst open with their guts exploding out from falls.

You could have atleast researched these things before making claims.
I don't believe the bible is infallible but I also don't think it's as wrong and error-riddled as people assume.
 

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
There is some great stuff in the Bible - love your enemies - cast the first stone - do unto others - etc

Just depends on you being discriminating ... and using common sense ...
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
First off, let's define the term "inerrant" for the duration of this discussion: free from error.
Source - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inerrant

Next let's define who wrote the Bible, regardless of translation: humans.

Given that humans do make mistakes quite often, it is safe to assume that the biblical authors included errors within their writings. A quick Google search for "biblical contradictions" will present numerous entries. Why then do people insist on an inerrant Bible?
They have to.

Some people will go so far as to disregard science and/or observable facts, in order to maintain that the Bible is error free.
Because their theology demands it. Although, it is an entertaining enterprise for those of us on the outside looking in.



There is some great stuff in the Bible - love your enemies - cast the first stone - do unto others - etc

Just depends on you being discriminating ... and using common sense ...
Yeah, there is no off-season for picking cherries.



Kind of seems obvious to me that it's a copyist error. If there are translation errors obviously there'd be people who made mistakes when copying down what was written.
So it wasn't written wrong, It was copied wrong.
Makes one wonder why god went to all the trouble to have it written down and then doesn't care enough to fix these errors along the way. It's like he abandoned his baby after it was born.
 
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Demonslayer

Well-Known Member
Kind of seems obvious to me that it's a copyist error. If there are translation errors obviously there'd be people who made mistakes when copying down what was written.

Imagine God's all powerful and important word is subject to editing errors.

Who's to say what else they copied wrong? Maybe instead of "homosexuality is an abomination" God really means "homosexuality is acceptable" and all this bigotry is for naught.
 

Thana

Lady
Imagine God's all powerful and important word is subject to editing errors.

Who's to say what else they copied wrong? Maybe instead of "homosexuality is an abomination" God really means "homosexuality is acceptable" and all this bigotry is for naught.

From the beginning, From Adam and Eve there's always been room for human error because He allowed it. Did He not put the tree in the garden?
Human error is necessary for free will no? So yes, the bible is subject to that aswell. But I honestly don't think a couple of typos and mistranslations in any way detract from the bible as a whole. Every book has the same message, It repeats the same thing. You can't get that mixed up, no matter the errors in it.

And everything important is repeated, not once, not even twice but multiple times. So no, your idea that homosexuality could be acceptable to God is not accurate.
 
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Akivah

Well-Known Member
Given that humans do make mistakes quite often, it is safe to assume that the biblical authors included errors within their writings. A quick Google search for "biblical contradictions" will present numerous entries. Why then do people insist on an inerrant Bible? Some people will go so far as to disregard science and/or observable facts, in order to maintain that the Bible is error free.

A few examples:

1 Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
2 Chronicles 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Your quotes above did not come from the Hebrew bible, they came from the Christian bible. In the Hebrew bible 1 K i n g s 4:26 does not exist. Chapter 4 only has 20 verses. The apparent "error" comes from a bad translation.

From the Hebrew bible, the verses appear as

1 K i n g s 5:6 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.


II C h r o n 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stables of horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.


Note the different words that appear after the numbers. Rashi indicates that stalls are partitions within each stable. There are 10 stalls in each stable.

The rest of your list involved quotes from the Christian bible and I put no authority in that book.
 

Thana

Lady
Why should I worship a god who hates me for no reason?

You know what else isn't acceptable to God?
Lying.
And yet everyone lies.

You know why you think God hates you? Because bigoted people hate you and they use God to justify it. God doesn't hate you any more than He hates me, or them.
 

Tumah

Veteran Member
1 Kings 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
2 Chronicles 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Even without resorting to the explanation provided by Jewish scholars some 1,500 years before your friend who came up with this "contradiction" was born, what you've written here is still not a contradiction.

Its best to comb through your copypasta before serving it.
 

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
I suppose the main problem is believing that God stopped communicating with humans 2000 years ago!

If you would like a more up-to-date book, try "Conversations with God".

It challenges many of the things in the Bible - such as Heaven & Hell, whetherGod wants or needs worship, even the Ten Commandments.

I may be wrong but my instincts tell me it is revelation rather than hallucination.

Here's a little taste -

Life is a creation, not a discovery.

You do not live each day to discover what it holds for you, but to create it. You are creating your reality every minute, probably without knowing it.

Here's why that is so and how that works.

1. I have created you in the image and likeness of God

2. God is the creator.

3. You are three beings in one. You can call these three aspects of being anything you want. Father, Son and Holy Ghost; mind, body and spirit; superconscious, conscious, subconscious.

4. Creation is a process which proceeds from these three parts of your body. Put another way, you create at three levels. The tools of creation are: thought, word, and deed.

5. All creation begins with thought ("Proceeds from the Father"). All creation then moves to word ("Ask and you shall receive, speak and it shall be done unto you"). All creation is fulfilled in deed ("And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us")

6. That which you think of, but thereafter never speak of, creates at one level. That which you thinkof and speak of creates at another level. That which you think, speak and do becomes manifest in your reality.

7. To think, speak and do something which you do not truly believe is impossible. Therefore the process of creation must include belief, or knowing. This is absolute faith. This is beyond hoping. This is knowing of a certainty ("By your faith shall ye be healed") Therefore the doing part of creation always includes knowing. It is a gut-level clarity; a complete acceptance as reality of something.

8. This place of knowing is a place of intense and incredible gratitude. It is a thankfulness in advance. And that perhaps is the biggest key to creation: to be grateful before, and for, the creation. Such taking for granted is not only condoned but encouraged. It is the sure sign of Mastery. All Masters know in advance the deed has been done.

9. Celebrate and enjoy all that you create, have created. To reject any part of it is to reject part of yourself. Whatever it is that is now presenting itself as part of your creation, own it, claim it, bless it, be thankful for it. Seek not to condemn it ("God damn it"), for to condemn it is to condemn yourself.

10. If there is some aspect of creation you find you do not enjoy, bless it and simply change it. Choose again. Call forth a new reality. Think a new thought. Say a new word. Do a new thing. Do this magnificently and the rest of the world will follow you. Ask it to. Call for it to. Say, "I am the Life and the Way, follow me."

This is how to manifest God's Will "on earth as it is in Heaven".

Neale: If it is all as simple as that, if these ten steps are all we need, why does it not work that way for more of us?

It does work that way, for all of you. Some of you are using the "system" consciously, with full awareness, and some of you are using it subconsciously, without even knowing what you are doing.

Some of you are walking in wakefullness and some of you are sleepwalking. Yet all of you are creating your reality - creating, not discovering - using the power I have given you, and the process I've just described.

http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/creativ...s-with-god-book-1-neale-donald-walsch-part-1/

Have a good one!
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
Your quotes above did not come from the Hebrew bible, they came from the Christian bible. In the Hebrew bible 1 K i n g s 4:26 does not exist. Chapter 4 only has 20 verses. The apparent "error" comes from a bad translation.

From the Hebrew bible, the verses appear as

1 K i n g s 5:6 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.


II C h r o n 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stables of horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.


Note the different words that appear after the numbers. Rashi indicates that stalls are partitions within each stable. There are 10 stalls in each stable.

The rest of your list involved quotes from the Christian bible and I put no authority in that book.
From the Hebrew Bible

How old was Ahaziah?

II Kings 8:26 "Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign."

vs.

II Chronicles 22:2 "Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign."​
 
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