God-breathed?

[ioioouiouiouio]

Gilwen

I would refuse to submit to a God so weak He could not keep silly mortals from screwing up His Holy words.
~Gilwen

So, according to you, God would let the Bible be corrupted but the holocaust was just fine?

something doesn't seem right there...  

[Jedediah Smith]

Tangled Up In Blue

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment - and to shift the focus of the discussion a bit - let me ask this: Assuming that certain scriptures are God-breathed, what is our assurance that the compilation of the bible was divinely inspired? Remember, what we know today as biblical canon was only decided upon after much debate within the early Christian community. And even though the losers in that debate have since been labeled heretics, it's important to ask the question: was it on God's authority that biblical canon was established, or was it decided upon by a temporal authority whose opinions simply happened to win out in the end?

And no, this isn't just a hypothetical question; the debate over whether the so-called Dueterocanon is canonical or apocryphal highlights the question of the bible's compiler's fallibility.

Is the Old Testament God-breath? For centuries, the Tanakh was taught that its the true Word of God. If you question the word, then you are going to be stuck because you have no faith in it. Its like saying; "What is our assurance that the American history is true?"

The assurance that the New Testament is God-breath is by comparing it to the Old Testament teachings and prophecies. The Tanakh is the first foundation of the Word of God so the New Testament must outline the teachings of the Old Testament. Important thing to remember also is that Christ fulfills the Law (Torah).

I have assurance that the New Testament is God-breath because it fits nicely with the Old Testament, which I believe is the word of God. As for the Apocrypha books, they do not fit Old Testament theology and the Tanakh does not contain them. There are claims that Jesus and the Apostles used/quoted the Apocrypha books, which I will explore later in this week, in another topic.  

[Bolt]

First of all, an appeal to logic:

Logically, if you believe that God is God and that the Bible is the word of God, then that means it MUST be perfect. Why? It is said to be God breathed. "That's not a good argument," you say, "you're defining the word with same word." Well, you're forgetting God being in the equasion. I suppose he's just not powerful enough to keep a simple document together... making it unchanging as he is.

Second, an appeal to scripture:

The Bible itself claims perfection in being God-breathed and suitable for all sorts of things. The fact is, the New Testament books quote the gospels as scripture. Also, the Epistles and other books are supported as scripture by the early church. They were written AS scripture. They were letters second, scripture first.

Third, an appeal to History, and God thereof:

The problem was, though, that some of the books that were written as scripture were not inspired by God. These Apocryphal books were prayerfully compared to other books of the Bible, Old Testament and New, to determine their truth. They were not inspired by God, and as such were not put into the Bible we have today.  

[Gilwen]

Cometh The Inquisitor

Gilwen

I would refuse to submit to a God so weak He could not keep silly mortals from screwing up His Holy words.
~Gilwen

So, according to you, God would let the Bible be corrupted but the holocaust was just fine?

something doesn't seem right there...

Um, this doesn't quite make sense to me. I feel like someone just put an entire foreign sentence into my mouth.

I'm not saying God wouldn't allow anything bad to happen. He never promised that life would be free from harships or evil. I'm saying He promised His words would endure past heaven and earth, and so they will, if He's powerful and trustworthy at all. neutral