Bible: Word of God or Not

Well that is a nice collection of words and if they had some understandable meaning might even work. But I do not see how that explains anything. Huh? What in the world does "ideas contained in each sentence and each paragraph must be perfect and from God" mean? To say that the word of God must be from God has no meaning. How does one tell it is from God? Again, an assertion that has no meaning. How do you tell if something is "more perfect than human minds could possibly have created?" If it is "... above human wisdom and intellect" is it of any use? If we can understand it, why could we not have originated it?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Sorry Iceage,IMO, the word of God is that which was supposedly spoken by God.So while the Bible may contain words supposedly spoken by God, everything in it is not the word of God.

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"Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz

Too many assumptions! Mind reeling! Remember what we're talking about here: We have all received the "letter" but different people interpret its contents in different ways. Some of them think their lives depend on their response and some don't. Some think the letter is a prank, or a downright fraud.The question here is whether or not the "originator" of the letter is the originator.Now, if God showed up on my doorstep and stuck a gun in my face and said He would kill me if I didn't answer the question correctly, I'd be "irked". I'd do what I could to turn the tables. I couldn't care less whether or not He had "fairly" threatened the man down the street too.But junk mail? I throw that out without opening it. Not obvious at all - unless you're assuming that the letter you have received is genuine.

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The ideas are from God. You have trouble understanding that? It seems your are stuck on the term "from" I am using it in the sense to indicate a source - are you using something else. That sentence has no meaning. To say something is "of" some source implies that that it is "from" that source."of" Derived or coming from; originating at or from."from" Used to indicate a source, cause, agent, or instrument. What do you mean by the term "God"?

I am stuck on the whole definition. Honestly, I do not have a clue what you mean. Sorry.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

The plays of Shakespeare originated from Shakespeare.What about a cup of coffee? Did the cup originate from the coffee?

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Insightful. A word can have a slightly different meanings depending on the context. I guess that is what all those numbers below a definition are. Maybe one should write like thisSouth(2nd nuance Webster) of(4th nuance Oxford) the(3rd nuance Oxford) Border(2nd nuance Webster)

If the 'cup' is a liquid measure, it can be said to have originated from the coffee.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Transposing the analogy: If the 'word' is a (liquid measure), it can be said to have originated from God.What would you substitute for 'liquid measure'?

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It depends on what your definition of "is" isFWIW Word of God- WordWeb dictionary definitionMaybe we could now discuss how many angels can dance on the point of a needle?

I have tried as much as possible to grasp your meaning. I will not say it does not make sense, even if the wording could have been clearer. IMO, the words and/or wording did not have to come verbatim from the lips of God, or we should not dare to translate them. I also do not believe that every detail of the Bible is to be taken literally, or as infallible. There is no reason to think that God inspired every opinion on math and science of the authors. The infallibility for me comes in thus; if a man seeks to know God, and to attain eternal life, the Bible will not lead him astray. Morover, it will show the way every time, unto eternity. Now here is where I will catch heat! It only 'works' if you believe in it! To everyone else it will be a dead book, an historical document which may or may not be accurate, a fairy tale which may or may not have a plot.There are certainly things about the Bible that are above human wisdom and intellect. They tend to make people doubt more than believe. It is beyond our human ability to ascertain from whence we came, and to where we shall go. All we have is belief, of any sort. But it makes no sense to say that God would not make those things necessary to salvation clear to us. It goes back into the 'unfair' category, in that it would be a lost cause to try to follow God, and not know how.

No, it's a fair question. Instead of quote-mining the dictionary for a definition that fits your desired conclusion, why not contribute to a working definition?If the 'word' is (fill in the blank), it can be said to have originated from God.(And thanks to anastasia for the template.)Edited by Ringo, : Spelling.

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Pointing to a definition of a vernacular phase can hardly be called quote mining!Look we could spend the next month debating the word "word" and the word "god". These terms can lead to ambiguity. But you were debating the word "of". Splitting hairs. Jar picked apart the phrase "from god"! and wanted to know if it is "from god" if the writer "Thinks" it may be God inspiring them to write it. Sounds like purposeful distraction.I didn't invent the the phrase "word of God". When someone says "I believe the Bible is the Word of God", it is a common phase that communicates that they believe, at a minimum, that God had something to do with the formation and compilation of the Bible.The question is a matter of degree. When someone says I love chocolate ice cream do we stop them say what do you mean by "love"?I think the intent was clear.

We're not debating individual words at all. We're debating the phrase "word of God".You're the one who claimed that "of God" and "from God" mean the same thing. I was simply exploring the possible differences - for example, "from God" implies a direct relationship, while "of God" could be less direct. Of course. But is the Bible "from the desk of God" or is it a human description of the mind of God?

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You may think it is "purposeful distraction" but it is really very critical.The Bible is an anthology of anthologies. We don't really have a clue who wrote most of it. We don't know who the editors and redactors were. We don't know who all the folk were who sat on the various committees that formulated the different Canons.There are several possibilities. The people may have thought that they were inspired by God. But what did they perceive as their mission? Were all so inspired? Were many simply recording a nations genealogy as in the begets and begots, or the peoples laws and traditions as found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, or the peoples history like the stories of the Exodus or the Conquest of Canaan or were they recording old myths like those from unknown ancient oral sources as found in Genesis?The Bible is a complex document. It is not one book, one story, one writer, one purpose, one source, one origin.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion