tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post4585900016049422120..comments2020-06-16T10:42:02.507-05:00Comments on Antithesis: Verbal Inspiration / Grammatical InterpretationMatthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09851399845446333912noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-2011083554728804752010-01-20T22:09:39.118-06:002010-01-20T22:09:39.118-06:00Love the readings and I'd be very interested i...Love the readings and I'd be very interested in hearing your theory of inspiration. They say don't show a fool a job half done, but I still wouldn't mind taking a peek ;).tshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06788609836688870424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-80850061711444665822010-01-20T09:49:49.956-06:002010-01-20T09:49:49.956-06:00What constitutes an error? Very good question! &...What constitutes an error? Very good question! "Inerrancy" has been a major rallying cry for evangelical Christians over the last 50 years especially to support a particular Biblical hermeneutic. But it is not clear what things are and are not errors. I'm working hard on a theory of inspiration - sort of along the lines of a comment you just made - that involves lots of layer in the formation of scripture. I'm hopeful it will help account for what may appear to be "errors" by making them part of the process of formation. <br /><br />Thanks for all your comments a couple days ago! I hope you found the reading interesting.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09851399845446333912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-20579189923312916802010-01-18T16:25:09.583-06:002010-01-18T16:25:09.583-06:00Does the assertion that the scriptures were inspir...Does the assertion that the scriptures were inspired by God also assert that the scriptures are without error? Religious Jews believed/believe that the Torah consists of many layers, each revealing different truths. If an error in one layer reveals a truth in another, is it still an error? If a world full of errors produces good, is it still full of errors? Maybe in the end we'll find that error only exists when our perception is... erronous.tshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06788609836688870424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-30336802629182582952009-04-04T00:45:00.000-05:002009-04-04T00:45:00.000-05:00Hi Matthew - I'm saying more (in answer to your "w...Hi Matthew - I'm saying more (in answer to your "what's at stake" question) that without the belief that the Bible contains the words of God it becomes just another book of wise sayings and advice and not something worth giving our lives for (literally or figuratively). I do believe that the Holy Spirit oversaw the formation of the canon as it just doesn't seem like something God would choose to leave up to us. <BR/><BR/>As for the little circular reasoning problem, doesn't faith, by definition, often defy reason? :)Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00806340343649355158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-19461592780123114342009-04-02T11:18:00.000-05:002009-04-02T11:18:00.000-05:00Hi, Amy, thanks for reading! And I like the logic...Hi, Amy, thanks for reading! And I like the logical fallacy reference! (I just made that my most recent tweet in response.) If I understand you correctly, you are giving a short explanation for why some Christians may feel the need to defend verbal inspiration? And so the implication of your summary is that the circular reasoning for believing in the Bible as God's word does not support the Bible's inspiration but undermines it? Just checking to make sure I understand you. <BR/><BR/>If I understand you correctly, what we need then is another way of understanding inspiration that does not depend on this reasoning. One way of thinking about the inspiration of the Bible that has wide support in the history of the Christian faith is that the continuing presence of Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit oversaw the formation of the canon, thus making the Bible an inspired presentation of God's will. <BR/><BR/>The trouble with the 2 Tim reference, of course, is that it can't be speaking about the NT since at the time the NT was not scripture. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again and hope to hear more from you!Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09851399845446333912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4408437704119411473.post-52121612989843209472009-04-01T13:18:00.000-05:002009-04-01T13:18:00.000-05:00Where to start...The Bible does not say exactly HO...Where to start...The Bible does not say exactly HOW God's words spoke the world into being. He very well may have used some evolutionary processes in the act of creation. I refuse to discount anything when it comes to how God works. <BR/><BR/>As for the inspiration of Scripture, Scripture itself simply says that it was inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16). It doesn't specify how. But what is at stake if we don't believe the Bible to be the words of God is that we have no basis for belief in the Bible itself as God's Word. (Gotta love circular reasoning! Post hoc ergo propter hoc - it is, therefore, because of it. Ha!) And without the Bible, where would be Christian faith?Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00806340343649355158noreply@blogger.com