Is the Bible Inspired ?

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the sacret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inpired.
Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely.
The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?


............................
(2Tim 3:16)..(2Ki 3:15; Ez 3:14,22)..(Rev 22:6. KJ)

The entire Bible is inspired. I have started threads that might address this subject, however, there doesn't seem to be enough opinion or belief or reach conducive discussion.

I read the NT, as I would Kabbalah, or other writings.

It's a mystical text, to me.
I have no problem with the idea that the whole Bible is inspired.

Neuropteron said:

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the sacret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inpired.
Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely.
The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?


............................
(2Tim 3:16)..(2Ki 3:15; Ez 3:14,22)..(Rev 22:6. KJ)

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Are you kidding? The errors and contradictions in the Bible are without end. For self contradictions this is an excellent site:

http://bibviz.com/

And of course there are the events in the Bible that we know did not happen. The problem is massive cognitive dissonance by Christians. Most will not allow themselves to see the obvious.

Also Paul was of course referring only to what Christians call the Old Testament today. The New Testament did not exist at that time. He was clearly not writing about that.

Here's another site: https://skepticsannotatedbible.com

Yeah, a rather sloppy book filled with irrational, unsubstantiated, and arbitrary assertions and absurdities, with contradictions aplenty, and further muddied by filler and cultural norms of the region and era. Nah, an actual god could do waaay better.

Neuropteron said:

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the sacret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inpired.
Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely.
The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?


............................
(2Tim 3:16)..(2Ki 3:15; Ez 3:14,22)..(Rev 22:6. KJ)

Click to expand...

Jacob said the monarchy and law will be created and last until the Messiah comes. Daniel said the Messiah will come to His temple while it is still standing.
Isaiah speaks of the Jews being scattered not once but twice, and will come back the second time from all the nations - nations that were their "graves." A tiny remnant to a tiny land. Ezekiel says that land will be invaded by the Arabs, Africans, Persians and the Slavs - but they will have an ally in a nation not known to the bible writers - somewhere in the "coast lands."
Who inspired these writers to write this? If it's human then was it sheer chance they got it so right? If so, what are the odds?

Paul was a salesman first and foremost. In world class terms, he was a holy man only by second rate standards. Thus, his claims need to be taken with a bit of skepticism, as one might take a slick sales claim. At least that's how I see it.

Sunstone said:

Paul was a salesman first and foremost. In world class terms, he was a holy man only by second rate standards. Thus, his claims need to be taken with a bit of skepticism, as one might take a slick sales claim. At least that's how I see it.

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Odd, I thought Paul was a preacher.
How much did he actually earn as a preacher after quitting the Jewish ministry and the Sanhedrin?
Can you name a holy man in the bible who was first class? Jesus said that was John the Baptist, but even John said he doubted the Christ.
And Moses was denied entry into the promise land.
And king David forced himself upon a woman and murdered her husband.

Neuropteron said:

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the sacret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inpired.
Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely.
The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?


............................
(2Tim 3:16)..(2Ki 3:15; Ez 3:14,22)..(Rev 22:6. KJ)

Click to expand...

There is apparently much evidence that the Bible is inspired of God, as said at 2 Timothy 3:16. Also with regard to prophecy, I just posted some on a thread I started, there seems to be clear evidence that prophecies in scripture are reliable, and gives evidence of inspiration by God.
2 Peter 1:21

Regardless of whether the contents are "true" in the conventionally orthodox, literal sense - it is certainly "Inspired" for sure.
Inspired as in that it is written with a lot of esoteric depth and has a very vibrant set of texts (minus Apostle Paul's letters.....), that have had (and continue to be) a striking influence on the public and private consciousness worldwide.

Neuropteron said:

Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

Click to expand...

I believe inspiration isn't inerrant. If "God's direct authority" is the same as the Bible's, what's with all the numerical errors like the number of charioteers killed in 1 Chronicles vs 2 Samuel on the same event?

The Bible, that is the original words written down by the Bible writers was, inspired. The translation wasn't inspired and that's why the Bible is far from perfect.

RothschildSaxeCoburgGotha said:

The Bible, that is the original words written down by the Bible writers was, was inspired. The translation wasn't inspired and that's why the Bible is far from perfect.

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1) Have you read the original? Where can I get a copy?

2)Why would an all-knowing god, knowing the interpretation and translation problems that would crop up, inspire men to write to us?

Frater Sisyphus said:

Regardless of whether the contents are "true" in the conventionally orthodox, literal sense - it is certainly "Inspired" for sure.
Inspired as in that it is written with a lot of esoteric depth and has a very vibrant set of texts (minus Apostle Paul's letters.....), that have had (and continue to be) a striking influence on the public and private consciousness worldwide.

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It certainly has inspired thousands of quarreling sects. Not that long ago Christians were inspired to kill Christians who had different opinions on what the scripture really meant.

joe1776 said:

1) Have you read the original? Where can I get a copy?

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No, and you can't get one, though the Bible is remarkably preserved.

joe1776 said:

2)Why would an all-knowing god, knowing the interpretation and translation problems that would crop up, inspire men to write to us?

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He didn't. The Bible wasn't written to us, it was written to the people in the place and times that it was written. It was preserved, well enough I might add, for an example and a history to us. For example, the Bible was one thing to Moses and the ancient Israelite, but another thing all together to Paul and the early Christians. None of it was specifically written to us.

Disciple of Jesus said:

The entire Bible is inspired. I have started threads that might address this subject, however, there doesn't seem to be enough opinion or belief or reach conducive discussion.

I read the NT, as I would Kabbalah, or other writings.

It's a mystical text, to me.
I have no problem with the idea that the whole Bible is inspired.

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Even Even Mark 16:9-20, John 7:53-:11, John 5:4 and 1 John 5:7, all of which never appeared in earlier manuscripts, but were added on much later?

Father Heathen said:

Here's another site: https://skepticsannotatedbible.com

Yeah, a rather sloppy book filled with irrational, unsubstantiated, and arbitrary assertions and absurdities, with contradictions aplenty, and further muddied by filler and cultural norms of the region and era. Nah, an actual god could do waaay better.

Click to expand...

Talk about sloppy. The alleged problems presented in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB) can easily be resolved, even by a rookie atheist, with about 15 minutes research per problem. Note that at the bottom of the SAB page linked below, Is The Devil Free To Roam? they have a broken link to a "Christian Response" called The Pathway Machine. That was my website, and there used to be about 100 responses to the SAB that the Pathway Machine were linked to. Some of them can be found in the Internet Archive of that old site, here.

For example, Is The Devil Free To Roam?

The question presented by the Skeptic’s Annotated Bible (SAB) regarding whether or not Satan the Devil is free to roam is an easy one to answer. You only have to recall his dealings with Job, telling God in Heaven that he had been roaming about the earth; and later Tempting Jesus and being cast down to Earth after war in Heaven. (Job 1:7; 2:2 / 1 Peter 5:8 / Matthew 4:1-11 / Revelation 12:12)

The question is somewhat confused by the SAB having considered the disobedient angels who brought about the flood in Noah’s day as the same as Satan himself or their imprisonment as a literal one preventing them from freely roaming. (2 Peter 2:4 / Jude 1:6 / also see Ephesians 6:10-12 / 1 Peter 3:18-20) Of course, the offense that put them into Tartarus, horribly translated as hell by the King James Version at 2 Peter 2:4, (see Tartarus in Does Hell Exist?) would indicate that demons such as they were free to roam as well, especially given that they would have been imprisoned in a metaphorical sense after the flood and yet were also seen thousands of years later in Jesus’ day and with Satan when war broke out in heaven. (Luke 8:26-31 / Revelation 12:7-9)

Or Was Enoch 7th From Adam?

It is strange that in order to establish that Enoch wasn't the seventh from Adam the SAB uses the very scriptures I would use in support of that being the case. It seems a simple case of the SAB having missed the first generation being Adam. 1 Chronicles 1:1-4 lists the first 10 generations as being (1) Adam, (2) Seth, (3) Enosh, (4) Kenan, (5) Mahalalel, (6) Jared, (7) Enoch, (8) Methuselah, (9) Lamech, and (10) Noah. Luke 3:37-38 and Genesis 5:3-18 support Enoch being the seventh generation from Adam just as Jude 1:14 confirms.

RothschildSaxeCoburgGotha said:

No, and you can't get one, though the Bible is remarkably preserved.



He didn't. The Bible wasn't written to us, it was written to the people in the place and times that it was written. It was preserved, well enough I might add, for an example and a history to us. For example, the Bible was one thing to Moses and the ancient Israelite, but another thing all together to Paul and the early Christians. None of it was specifically written to us.

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So, if you haven't read it, then your opinion that the original was inspired is solely a matter of faith?

Also, you say that Moses and Paul read the inspired original and came away with different interpretations. How would you explain that?

PruePhillip said:

Odd, I thought Paul was a preacher.
How much did he actually earn as a preacher after quitting the Jewish ministry and the Sanhedrin?

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The Jewish ministry?

Neuropteron said:

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the sacret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inpired.

Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely.
The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?


............................
(2Tim 3:16)..(2Ki 3:15; Ez 3:14,22)..(Rev 22:6. KJ)

Click to expand...

The bible isnt inspired. If we took the biblial authors and put them in the twenty first century, would we consider them inspired?

Or only because its been over two thousand years that it wouldnt matter because no one can go back to know if they were inspired by god himself, or their inspiration for god created in them a motive/spirit to write.

Inspiration is usually experienced by a person(s) without needing it to be written down. So, if someone where inspired today, even though they can write through their inspiration, we see it outside of what they wrote but in the person themelves.

I can see why theyd think the bible is inspired. The poetry of a poet is inspired just as and not inseperable from the poet himself. So his written Words are inspired. The difference between the bible/poem and god/poet is the former are inspired by god or the poet. By meaning it forms a relationship between the two words and concepts; aka, its a preposition. But the bible/poem isnt god/poetry themselves....literaly (its not a trinity)

but since both readers have a personal and spiritual connection, they cant tell the difference. Some of them dont want to because they feel it will depreciate the bible or poem in what it seperates god or poet from the bible or poem.

Neuropteron said:

The Apostle Paul stated: "All scripture is inspired and beneficial.....

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It depends on what you call inspired scripture. My view is that the Bible contains inspired scripture. It also contains writings from the human perspective at the time they were written.

It seems that Bible writers came under God's "hand" or guiding power, God could stimulate writing or act as a restraining force and prompt these writers to deal with certain matters, add or restrict their inclusion. The end product would, in every case, be that which God desired, and could be called inspired.

Click to expand...

Clearly there is a distinction between the Bible and other writing. The evidence is that all the secret scriptures (66 books) were consistently recognized by God's servants, including Jesus and his Apostles, as inspired.

Click to expand...

I do not believe their is a clear historical distinction between what is sacred scripture and what is not and the human view in the history of the evolved text of the Bible.

Inspired by God does not mean simply a heightening of the intellect or a higher degree of accomplishment or sensitivity, but rather result in a writing that is uniquely inerrant, and having the same authority as if spoken by God directly.

Click to expand...

It's true, some of it's passages are cryptic, even perplexing at times, However that is not the same as innacurate, contradictory or erroneous.

Click to expand...

Regardless of the claim of a fog index of perplexing there is abundant inaccurate, contradictory or erroneous problems within the text and the archaeological evidence of history, and paleontological pre-history.

I propose that if there existed an undisputed and unassailable error or contradiction in the Bible, enemies of the Bible would advertise it widely. The fact that that has not happened is a testimony to the accuracy of God's word.

Click to expand...

The errors and contradictions in the Bible are advertised widely. The historical problems of the source of what is called scripture and their origins in history lack provenance of authorship and source is well known in archaeological and the history of text.

Can we truly say of God's word: "these sayings are faithful and true....." ?

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God's word(?) maybe, but not the Bible.