Subject: Re: Why do you believe the bible?
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 06:27:41 GMT
From:  (Nigel B. Mitchell)
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian

Hi, Joan.
Nigel:
>>Do you have a name, J.P.H.? It is ever so much easier to conduct a
>>conversation with a person, rather than a set of initials.

Joan:
>S’pose you’re right.  It’s Joan.

Pleased to make your acquaintance.
>Nigel, I for one moment could not believe in my heart of hearts that the All
>Sovereign, All Powerful, and All Knowing God would allow His Word to be
>wrongly written or translated. 

Ever seen the New World Translation?
That is a serious comment, BTW. The NWT is by no means the worst ‘translation’ 
of the Bible, but more importantly, there is not a single text, even in the 
original languages, which is accepted as definitive. The transmission from 
what the original authors experienced and/or were inspired to write, through 
to us today, is through generations of fallible human beings. It is remarkable 
that the Gospel message has come down to us intact at all, but it has, and it 
has done this through the very human and all too fallible agency of the Church.
If you don’t think that the NWT is an ‘authorised’ translation, 
that begs the question of by whom translations of the Bible are authorised.  

Who decides which books are included, and which are not? 
Who decides which translations are authorised for public use in the Churches, 
and for the settling of doctrinal questions? 

My answer to that is the Church, but what is yours?

>The Bible is the revealer of all God is and
>His plan of salvation for us in Christ, it tells what is and what is not
>acceptable to Him, it’s speaks of grace, life, love, healing, wholeness,
>justice and purity etc. In short it’s The Book of Life given to us by God.

I realise that some Christians believe it to be that, but you must also realise 
that many Christians have other views. I believe that the Bible is the essential 
source of doctrine and true understanding of Christian faith. I read it daily, 
study it constantly, and preach from it regularly. But I also recognise that it 
is written, authorised, and transmitted to me by human beings who were not perfect. 
I also know that my understanding of the Bible is not perfect. 

>Do you honestly believe God would let ‘infallible man’ write anything which
>wasn’t of Him?.

I think you mean “fallible man”. I don’t think there is any such 
creature as “infallible man”.

Yes, I do think that God allowed fallible human beings to write, authorise, transmit 
and translate the Bible. I am also humbled by the fact that he calls fallible people 
like you and me to share it’s message with those around us.

The prophets of Israel and the Apostles of Jesus were not infallible men. They were 
people of faith, like you and me, who experienced God in their lives, and were 
inspired by God to write about that experience. The Jewish and Christian communities 
which followed them recognised that God spoke in and through their writings, and 
authorised them as Scripture. It is not neccesary for any of the participants in this 
process to be ‘infallible’.

cheers
N+
Nigel B. Mitchell