The Bible was NOT man made, it was Godly made

Hi,
You got pretty nice question which I quote below: 1. Yes man is definitely screw-up. Since he acted as poor secretary of God, what he wrote contains Errors. But the question--let me see if I understand you correctly--is: 'Do these errors invalidate the truthfulness of the Bible?' Is the Bible still worthwhile?Errors in the Bible could be compared to 2 or 3 court witnesses who do not give exactly the same testimony word for word. But, the judge would accept these testimonies as truthful--if they do not really contradict each other. The judge's duty is to try to reconcile this seemingly contradictory statements. If they do reconcile, then their testimonies are judged truthful. On the opposite--if 2 or more witnesses give exactly the same account of an incident--word for word-- a wise judge would through away these testimonies as coming from "rehearsed" or "expert" witnesses.What would be your opinion if say Matthew, Marc, Luke, and John give exacly the same account of the Gospel? Would you treat them as independent witnesses or "rehearsed, even 'paid'" witnesses.To illustrate the process of reconciling seemingly contradictory ones, take this example from an "autobiography" ( fictitious)Page 1: Joe, the author is a fat guy
Page 2: Joe is a thin guy.If you do not continue to read. You will throw away the book as being false.
But if you continue reading page 10, you'll read: 'Joe got sick of polio when he was 3 amd this affected his legs'Now, page 10 gives light to pages 1 and 2. You will arrive at this correct conclusion: 'Joe is a fat guy with thin legs!'.Critics of the Bible often point out similar "contradictions" w/o thoroughly examining these supposed verses. In the books of Kings and Chronicles, you will find many "contradictions" like this king started ruling at age 18, on a different page ( say, Chronicles) you will find an account which says that that king ruled while age 21. W/o further reading and not enough insight, critics harp on these "errors" . But, do a little research and you will find out that one author started counting from the time that king CO-RULED w/ his father. Another, would start counting from the time that king was the SOLE ruler.Is the Bible worthwhile. Definitely yes. Take for example Death Penalty. The Bible explains that the TWIN purpose of this penalty: (a) DISCOURAGE others from committing evil, and (2) REMOVE the evil doer. Man in his foolishness concentrated on (a) and misread Christ's words to forgive. So what did man do? Remove the death penalty. Outcome? Teen agers commit horrific murders and get light penalties.I hope I somehow enlightened you on the Bible.Edited by AdminPD, : Fix quote box

Hi Paul, "very similar" is not proof of rehearsed witnesses. On the contrary, it is proof of persons witnessing same events. As to the copying, it is proof of existence of formal records at that time. That is why Luke can say 'I've traced this account from beginning to end'. Matthew can trace Jesus geneology coz of these records. Even the books of kings mention: 'are the acts of king so and so not recorded in this and that book?'How would you critic the gospel if they were not "synoptics" and varied greatly, say, name of the messiah wa Jesus (by John, Joel (by Matthew), Abraham by (Luke)? Would you believe them? Or, Matthew reported that Jesus was killed by a spear, while Mark would report that he was killed by hanging? Would such scenario be more believable to you than the present "synoptic" gospels? I'm no apologist. But, I disagree that co-rulerships are invented as an excuse. For one, Solomon "co-ruled" w/ David when the latter was too old. ( That's why he was given a beautiful maiden as a sort of human blanket. But, no more heat. He he he )Even secular records of history proves that there were co-rulers, vice-regents, etc.By the way, I have forgotten how to "quote" could you please help?my kind regards,
Gov. PilateEdited by Adminnemooseus, : Fixed quote boxes by changing the closing qs/ to /qs.

If you took up law and remember your "statutory construction" then you will know what I am talking about. Incidentally, the best legal minds have always found golden bits of wisdom from the Bible. As you have probably noticed, many Supreme Court justices, love to quote the Bible. That is how these learned men value the Bible. The conclusion was "Joe is a fat man w/ thin legs". Sounds logical to me.Edited by Adminnemooseus, : Fixed quote boxes. Needs to be /qs, not qs/.

Hi Iceage, These are typical "loopholes" that I think have been answered logically and exhaustively by many biblical scholars. I do not wish to add to their voices. But let me just point out some which could easily be solved w/ a little further study of the Bible--not the art of NIT PICKING.Alleged contradiction: "You are saved by works; No you are saved by grace and faith." It is also written, that we (true Christians) were made to do God's works. No contradiction here. That w/c you quote and that verse that I recalled ( Eph 2:8-10 ??) could be reconciled as: 'God gave us the grace so we can be saved by doing his works--not ours'. Any pseudo-Christian who tells you that faith is enough--ask him why is the Bible so thick of "do's" and "don'ts" if it were so.Alleged contradiction: "God is mercy; Show no mercy do not spare the little children or the pregnant women."No, contradiction. God is really merciful. But, he has also to act as a judge. It is written, that after so many warnings if an evil man does not turn around even his roots (children) will be uprooted. Where is the fairness here? Think of it this way: 'If God will not get rid of the wicked completely--yes even by destroying their 'seeds'--would he not be unjust to those trying to live righteously?You must forgive Gov. Pilate for not answering completely your list. Herod's wife is bugging him. He he he he.ps Darn, I don't know how to quote.Regards,
Gov. PilateEdited by Adminnemooseus, : /qs, not qs/.

Hi Paul,

quote:

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You're not a professional apologist, but you certainly are an apologist and showing all the faults associated with apologetics

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What's that got to do witn the correctness or error of my view? Ad hominem? How would you feel if I tell you that you are a an aetheist who is trying to ape advocates of "higher criticism" of the bible?By the way if you belong to this group have you heard of the term: "judgment by default", or "prescribed action", or in simpler term: "johnny-come-lately-critics"?I think I'll take a long vacation again. As the saying goes: "if you can't stand the odor, don't go near the sewer".Edited by pilate_judas, : for clarity.