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33. Verbal Inspiration (Part Two)

8th October 2015 by Arthur Eedle

How many of my readers knew about all these discrepancies? And how many are now a little fearful by the sudden presentation of them?

 

If we, as messengers of the Good News of Jesus Christ are troubled by Moslems and Atheists presenting us with such material, then our faith is not robust.

 

In 1834, Edward Mote, a pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham, West Sussex, wrote a hymn which became very popular for over 150 years.

 

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Why was it popular? Simply because Christians had been taught the truth of these poetic words. Sadly much of modern gospel music is related to self, by how much God has blessed ME, rather than to sing the foundational truths of the Christian faith. We need to get back to fundamentals, and know where we stand in relation to the revealed message of God in the Bible. Yes, my faith is built on Jesus’ blood and righteousness, and the New Testament trumpets the truth of this with strident and clear tones.

My faith is not troubled or undermined by whether hares do or do not chew the cud, or whether Solomon had 4,000 or 40,000 stalls for his horses, or the many other apparent discrepancies listed in yesterday’s writing. I know that God has used faulty human beings to present Himself to the world, and we should not be surprised to find that their records contain a number of factual errors, many of which could well be due to ancient copyists.  But you will never find any errors connected with the basic truths of the Gospel message. We should stop using the expression “The Word of God” for the Bible. The Word of God is Jesus Himself. (John 1:1) Those who deify the Bible are breaking the First Commandment.

Jews have been meticulously careful in the copying of their scrolls, even to leave impossible sentences unchanged. They knew, for example, that Saul was not an “infant of one year” when he began to reign. They also knew that he reigned for forty years, not just two, but they left the text of 1 Samuel 13:1 unchanged. Their commentators wrestled with such impossibilities, but never contemplated “correcting” their text. They were reading material written hundreds of years before their time, and saw the imperfections, but sought not to make changes. They never considered their Tanach (the O.T.) “verbally inspired”, but were slavish in making accurate copies. That was a commendable principle.

But translations of Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek leave open the possibility of changes to the original meaning of Scripture. Western minds think in different ways to Middle Eastern minds. Translators are human and fallible, but nevertheless try their best to obtain an accurate rendition of original texts. Some suggest the Authorised Version to be an “inspired” translation, but research has shown many errors in the work of the 1611 translators. But care has been cast aside by some modern translators in the profusion of “versions” before us today. To them, the attitude of Jewish copyists is no longer considered appropriate. This is not commendable.

However, as long as we realise that in the Bible we are confronted by the writings of men who were led by the Spirit of the Lord, and used their best abilities to record what God had revealed to them, we enter into the spirit of the written documents at our disposal. Yes, the Bible contains “the words of God”, but is not itself “the Word of God”. There are many passages in Scripture which record horrific events, bad attitudes, misunderstandings, and downright evil, and no one can possibly say that such is “the word of God”. But Scriptural history is given to us to show the true nature of mankind in all its basic and beastly ways. Shall we not recognise our own sin as a result? There is true inspiration in that. But don’t get sidetracked by those minor errors. They are also the product of human frailty.

I present all this as my answer to those who might be troubled by Biblical contradictions. Let us stand firm on the Rock which is Jesus Christ, and  not moved away from the hope of our calling. The Bible is our superb manual of instruction in all things pertaining to our walk of faith, and we thank God for the way in which it has been preserved through thousands of years for our learning today. May God be praised for this unspeakable privilege.

 

Filed Under: The Wayside Pulpit 2015

About Arthur Eedle

Arthur was born in 1931, and became a Christian in 1948. At London University he gained a 2nd honours degree in Physics. He went on to get a Teaching Diploma, and throughout his career life taught physics in England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Coupled with his love of science, he was a keen student of Greek and Hebrew, and gave many lectures on Biblical subjects. Read more

The Wayside Pulpit 2015

1. Focus

3rd January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

2. John Kensit

4th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

3. The Second Eve – The Story of the Bride

7th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

4. Forgiveness

9th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

5. Borrowed

12th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

6. Poverty and Riches

19th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

7. Chief of Music

21st January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

8. Lucifer

22nd January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

9. Interpreting Prophecy

23rd January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

10. The Middle Man of Babylon

23rd January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

11. The Middle Man of Tyre

27th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

12. Dealing with Cancer

28th January 2015 By Arthur Eedle

13. The Consuming Fire, Part 1

8th February 2015 By Arthur Eedle

14. The Consuming Fire, Part 2

10th February 2015 By Arthur Eedle

15. The Consuming Fire, Part 3

11th February 2015 By Arthur Eedle

16. The Consuming Fire, Part 4

12th February 2015 By Arthur Eedle

17. The Carrington Event

23rd March 2015 By Arthur Eedle

18. The 4th Day Enigma

21st April 2015 By Arthur Eedle

19. 4,000 years, Part 1

9th May 2015 By Arthur Eedle

20. 2,000 years, Part 2

10th May 2015 By Arthur Eedle

21. Commended

28th May 2015 By Arthur Eedle

22. The Power of Little Words

7th July 2015 By Arthur Eedle

23. Choice

12th August 2015 By Arthur Eedle

24. Warfare

13th August 2015 By Arthur Eedle

25. Vision of David

6th September 2015 By Arthur Eedle

26. Psalm 22. Part 1. The Psalm Number

15th September 2015 By Arthur Eedle

27. Psalm 22. (Part 2) The Worm

16th September 2015 By Arthur Eedle

28. Psalm 22. (Part 3) The Cry

17th September 2015 By Arthur Eedle

29. Prelude to the Coming

4th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

30. Faith and the Universe

5th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

31. Michaelmas

6th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

32. Verbal Inspiration (Part One)

7th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

33. Verbal Inspiration (Part Two)

8th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

34. The Caterpillar

9th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

35. Apollyon

10th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

36. ESTHER

11th October 2015 By Arthur Eedle

37. New Series. Part 1. Eusebius

11th November 2015 By Arthur Eedle

38. New Series. Part 2. Josephus

12th November 2015 By Arthur Eedle

39. New Series. Part 3. Temple Gold

13th November 2015 By Arthur Eedle

40. New Series. Part 4. The Escape

14th November 2015 By Arthur Eedle

41. A Shattering Contrast

5th December 2015 By Arthur Eedle

42. The Bottle

19th April 2016 By Arthur Eedle

43. The Egg-Timer

1st May 2016 By Arthur Eedle

44. Miracles

18th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

45. Which Love?

20th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

46. UNTIL. Part 1

22nd June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

47. UNTIL. Part 2

24th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

48. UNTIL. Part 3

27th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

49. UNTIL. Part 4

28th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

50. UNTIL. Part 5

29th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

51. UNTIL. Part 6

30th June 2016 By Arthur Eedle

52. UNTIL. Part 7

1st July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

53. UNTIL. Part 8

2nd July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

54. UNTIL. Part 9

3rd July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

55. UNTIL. Part 10

4th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

56. Days of Noah. Part 1

8th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

57. Days of Noah. Part 2

9th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

58. Days of Noah. Part 3

10th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

59. Days of Noah. Part 4

11th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

60. Days of Noah. Part 5

12th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

61. Days of Noah. Part 6

13th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

62. Days of Noah. Part 7

14th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

63. Days of Noah. Part 8

15th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

64. Days of Noah. Part 9

16th July 2016 By Arthur Eedle

65. The Promise. Part 1

1st September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

66. The Promise. Part 2

2nd September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

67. The Promise. Part 3

3rd September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

68. The Promise. Part 4

4th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

69. The Promise. Part 5

5th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

70. The Promise. Part 6

6th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

71. The Promise. Part 7

7th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

72. The Promise Part 8

8th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

73. The Promise. Part 9

9th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

74. The Promise. Part 10

10th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

75. The Promise. Part 11

11th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

76. The Promise. Part 12

12th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

77. Believers’ Suffering

28th September 2016 By Arthur Eedle

78. A Wonderful Creator

13th October 2016 By Arthur Eedle

79. God’s Character

15th October 2016 By Arthur Eedle

82. Faith. 1

21st November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

83. Faith. 2

22nd November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

84. Faith. 3

23rd November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

85. Faith. 4

24th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

86. Faith. 5

25th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

87. Faith. 6

26th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

88. Faith. 7

27th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

89. Faith. 8

28th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

90. Faith. 9

30th November 2016 By Arthur Eedle

91. Faith. 10

1st December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

94. Christmas

8th December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

95. Toy Soldiers

17th December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

96. God of Forces

21st December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

97. More on the God of Forces

22nd December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

98. Final on the God of Forces

23rd December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

99. The House with Many Mansions

30th December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

100. New Year Greetings

31st December 2016 By Arthur Eedle

Article Series

  • All our Yesterdays (30)
  • Before He comes (13)
  • God's Spoken Word (37)
  • Mysteries of Science & Faith (8)
  • New Series (101)
  • Newsletter (2)
  • Original Series (109)
  • Prophecy considerations (5)
  • Recognising the Hand of Judgment (33)
  • Resurrection and Change (16)
  • Seekers Corner (14)
  • Simple Statements on Serious Subjects (6)
  • The City of God (18)
  • The Millennial Octave (23)
  • The Restitution Times (22)
  • The Song of Solomon (6)
  • The Standard (19)
  • The Wayside Pulpit (107)
  • The Wayside Pulpit 2015 (96)
  • The Wellspring (101)
  • The Wellspring 2017 (55)

Index of Topics

Arthur & Rosalind Eedle's Personal Testimonies Discipleship Expository Items Good and Evil Human Pre-Existance Jane Leade. Philadelphian Numerology in the Bible Quotations from other Authors Resurrection and the Change Ron Wyatt. Archaeology Science Topics The Kingdom of God the Millennium and the Return of Christ The Sabbath Day Universal Reconcilliation

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