When Christian Fundamentalists, Evangelical Protestants, Fundamental Catholics say that they believe "The Bible to be inerrant." What precisley do they mean? Would not all these groups agree that all modern day copies of the Bible are precisely just that="copies"? I mean, no one has the 'original' manuscripts as they were found in the sand, and therefore 'ALL' Bibles today DO have translations errors in them and thus are in error.
For example JW's and Christadelphians acknoweldge that the King James Bible alone holds over 2000 proven translation errors. But each of these faith groups have their favorite versions of the Bible right? Some strict Born Again Pentacostals view the KJV as 'THEE" truest Bible and JW's view their New World Translation as such, and the Catholics..their version and so on. Do each of these faith groups that their copies of the Bible view these copies of the Bible as, 'JUST' copies and that they have translations errors in them?
I myself do not view ANY of our modern day Bibles withOUT error but I neither view the Bible as just a collection of positive 'myths'..to live by. I believe the ORIGINAL Bible manuscripts WERE inspired by God...but I believe since then all our modern day Bibles have been tempered with and research proves this, showing you where translations have purposely CHANGED original Greek and Hebrew words to support 'their' own agendas.
The problem with fundamentalists. You confront them as say,"Look 'if' your interpreation of hell is a literal place of hellfire torment reserved for the hopeleslly evil..then how is it that this scripture in Acts said that JESUS WENT THERE FOR '3's days BEFORE being raised up?
This scares them because logic tells them 'if' hell really was an eternal fire pit resrved for the hopessly evil then how could Jesus GO THERE? Furthermore if the Bible says that "God wishes NO ONE to perish" then how could God WISH people to be tormented forever? They know these interpreations contridict and this makes them doubt what Billy Graham said and then they think," Oh no! Wait..How could Billy Graham be wrong in his interpreations on hell? He's been blessed by God and the the proof that he is right lies in the fact that millions of people have come to know christ and turn their lives around by listening to his teaching of the Bible."
Thus to question Billy Graham's interpretations would equal questioning true Christianity...so it must be a trick of doubt placed by the Devil! But they never stop to consider that Billy Graham IS imperfect and therefore his interpreations are imperfect and this has NOTHING to do with the Devil or doubting God or thinking the Bible is just a positive fairy tale. It has to do with the fact that God does NOT contridict thyself but imperfect people do and if a contriction lies in Christianity it must be due to man's imprefect interpreations of it and their translation errors. The Fundamentalists can not believe that church translators would purposely have altered original Greek and Hebrew words that were found in the original manuscripts.
Why can't they believe this? That the church fathers COULD do this? Aren't they Imperfect? Don't they have selfish agendas? But why would God allows them to do this? They would reason. Why does God allow Bush to be president? Why do God allow us to all make wrong choices? But how could anyone know what Jesus was really trying to teach us then? They would reason. Being a follower of Christ is about the Golden Rule and this IS understandable without having to sort out translations and Greek and Hebrew. It's pretty universal. As for doctrines? Well, study actual Greek and Hebrew words and their original meanings helps...But if these people are too affraid to look then how will they "test and make sure of what they are hearing is really so or not"???? -Acts 17:11.
DCJ Dec 29 200
The Center For Progressive Christianity Forum http://tcpc.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=183&hl=
"Over 99% of the Bible we have today agrees with the earliest manuscripts we have, and the other 1% doesn't affect major doctrines. It doesn't matter that we don't have the autographs, because manuscript copies were not made linearly, but exponentially. Thus, the assertion that there was a massive re-write by the church to change the text to its liking is pure fiction. Difficulty in interpreting certain passages is just that: interpretation difficulties.And the only threat "higher criticism" has to offer is revealing the anti-supernatural a priori bias of its proponents.Just that the Bible has essentially been interpreted as correctly as possible from the earliest manuscripts possible."
But, "been interpreted as correctly as possible." By whom? Today the such beliefs as the 'rapture' hell being a literal eternal fire pit for the hopelssly evil, and the belief that women are forbidden from being pastors....all these beliefs ARE viewed as being interpretated as ," been interpreted as correctly as possible," to the orginal Bible manuscripts..by the fundamentalists.
"I am a Christian that believes that the Bible is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, that there was a virgin birth, a crucifixion, a ressurrection, etc. "
I believe in all these things too..but the problem is along with these many Evangelicals also embrace these as being "bibically true," the 'rapture' hell being a literal eternal fire pit for the hopelssly evil, and the belief that women are forbidden from being pastors,ect.
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