� David Miller wrote:
> DaveH wrote: > > DO YOU AGREE THAT THERE HAS BEEN > > CORRUPTION IN THE MANUSCRIPTS??? > > We are all wondering if you will "RESPOND", > > Glenn or will your response be a "BAIT AND > > SWITCH"! > > Glenn wrote: > > No, I am not going to respond.� It is a waste of time. > > You said you agreed with the article. :-)� But it obvious > > you do not. > > I'm sorry that you have chosen not to respond, Glenn.� I do not think it is > obvious that DaveH disagrees with the article.� I think that higher > criticism goes right in line with Dave's position, and that is what that > article was representing. > > I would like to share the following which comes from an article that I seem > to go back to often on this subject.� It is by Harold O.J. Brown called, > "The Inerrancy and Infallibility of the Bible."� It is found in a book > entitled, "The Origin of the Bible," edited by Philip Wesley Comfort.� The > book is a collection of essays concerning this subject.� I wish I could post > the whole article, but I don't have it in electronic form and time prevents > me from typing in the whole thing.� Following are some highlights which I > think help define terms that would be most helpful in this discussion. > > ***** > Meaning of Terms > "Infallibility" may be called the subjective consequence of divine > inspiration; that is, it defines the Scripture as reliable and trustworthy > to those who turn to it in search of God's truth.� As a source of truth, the > Bible is "indefectable" (that is, it cannot fall away or defect from the > standard of truth).� Consequently, it will never fail or deceive anyone who > trusts it. > > "Inerrancy" is a closely related concept, but a later and less widely > accepted term.� It connotes that the Bible contains neither errors of act > (material errors) nor internal contradictions (formal errors).� The concept > of infallibility addresses itself to one's personal knowledge of God and > assurance of salvation.� Inerrancy is concerned more specifically with the > accurate transmission of the details of revelation. > > Although in much theological writing the two terms are used interchangeably, > infallibility is the broader term.� Those who believe in an inerrant Bible > also believe in an infallible Bible.� The converse is not necessarily true. > Although much depends on how "error" is defined, some scholars argue that > the Bible can be infallible (in accomplishing God's purpose) without having > to be free of error.� They propose a more "dynamic" doctrine of > infallibility that would continue to operate even if biblical errors were > discovered. > > A number of contemporary evangelical writers, such as the late Francis A. > Schaeffer adn John D. Woodbridge, have objected to any doctrine of "dynamic > infallibility" as unbiblical, dualistic, or even nonsensical.� Nevertheless, > many respected evangelicals believe that one can regard the Bible as "the > only perfect rule of faith and practice" without requiring or implying > strict inerrancy. > > ... Most nonevangelical scholars reject both infallibility and inerrancy and > see no merit in attempting to separate them. ... > > ... Properly speaking, inerrancy is attributed only to the original writings > or "autographs" of Scripture, which no longer exist.� Biblical scholars > generally agree that the existing manuscripts of the Bible contain some > copyists' errors, usually detectable by comparing later manuscripts with the > earliest ones available and by applying textual criticism.� Critics of > inerrancy and infallibility sometimes argue that since the doctrine applies > only to the autographs, it is essentially irrelevant today. ... > > ... defenders of inerrancy ... have insisted that for all practical purposes > (that is, for questions of faith and life), present-day texts and good > translations may also be regarded as inerrant.� Supporters of inerrancy > maintain that the confidence of Christian believers in modern translations > of the Bible rests firmly on belief in infallibility of the original > writings. ... > > Problems or Errors? > Any alert reader of Scripture will become aware of problems in the text, > although many apparent discrepencies or possible errors disappear under > open-minded scrutiny.� Even after careful study, however, some problems > remain.� The debate over inerrancy frequently comes down to choosing whether > to tolerate such problems as "unanswered questions" or to transfer them to > the category of "demonstrated errors."� Often that decision reflects one's > initial attitude toward Scripture and toward critical methods.� If Scripture > is accepted as the inspired Word of God, as "the standard that sets the > standard," one will be reluctant to charge it with error -- since to do so > one must have some other, perhaps higher, norm by which to evaluate > Scripture.� Historically, doubt about inerrancy followed rather than > produced the conviction that the Bible is merely a fallible human book. > Hence, one should consider the possibility that recognition of an error in > Scripture is the logical consequence of an earlier decision to judge the > Bible rather than to let the Bible be the norm for all judgments. > ***** > > DaveH, from the definitions outlined above, would you say that you believe > in "infallibility" but not "inerrancy"?� Or, would you say that you do not > believe in either? DAVEH:� I believe the original revelations were infallible and I assume they were originally recorded inerrantly.� However, the material we have today is not necessarily without error.� I believe there may have been missteps in transcribing and certainly errors in translation. > Glenn, would you say that you believe in both infallibility and inerrancy? DAVEH:� I'm sorry Glenn has unsubscribed a few days ago, as I would really like to hear his thoughts about this.� I'll copy this to him in hopes he will consider rejoining the discussion after he recovers from the holidays!� Brother Glenn......can we persuade you go come back???�� :-) > Peace be with you. > David Miller. -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dave Hansen [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.langlitz.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ � ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." 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