On the suggestion of someone, I felt this is a good topic to talk about.
I would think that any and all Christians have to believe the Bible, in some way or another, were given to us by God! I don't see how you could in any sense call yourself a "Christian" and not believe that. But to what extent is it given to us by God? That really is the question we sometimes battle with.
I mean: is every last word in every last Bible controlled by God at all times?
If a printing error occurs at the time a Bible came off the press, was that error "given to us by God?
And if a allow for a printing error to be just a printing error, then where can that go? What about a miss print when the printing was done by hand along time ago? Couldn't we still have that? And what about all the segments and such, of old transcripts? Some translations come from earlier Bibles like the King James, and others came from considering many old sources.
And then of course there is the question of whether those people who actually wrote the Bible wrote it correctly? They heard from God - (we should believe that if we too hear His voice as in His sheep hear His voice) - but did they actually get it down word for word correctly?
I hear from the Lord. He tells me things and I can write down the things I hear from Him, but are they word for word correct when I get to writing them? There is a game I have seen played where you make a line of people, tell the first person in the line a small story and have then relate it to the person next to them, and so on, then have the person at the end of the line tell the story and see how it changed. The line doesn't have to be long to get it all messed up!
So the question of "Is the Bible given to us by God?" really is a question of "Is the Bible we have today in our hands, a good representation of what was given to the people that heard God back then and wrote it?"
I have some thoughts on this subject, but I think I'll wait to see if others want to comment first.
I would think that any and all Christians have to believe the Bible, in some way or another, were given to us by God! I don't see how you could in any sense call yourself a "Christian" and not believe that. But to what extent is it given to us by God? That really is the question we sometimes battle with.
I mean: is every last word in every last Bible controlled by God at all times?
If a printing error occurs at the time a Bible came off the press, was that error "given to us by God?
And if a allow for a printing error to be just a printing error, then where can that go? What about a miss print when the printing was done by hand along time ago? Couldn't we still have that? And what about all the segments and such, of old transcripts? Some translations come from earlier Bibles like the King James, and others came from considering many old sources.
And then of course there is the question of whether those people who actually wrote the Bible wrote it correctly? They heard from God - (we should believe that if we too hear His voice as in His sheep hear His voice) - but did they actually get it down word for word correctly?
I hear from the Lord. He tells me things and I can write down the things I hear from Him, but are they word for word correct when I get to writing them? There is a game I have seen played where you make a line of people, tell the first person in the line a small story and have then relate it to the person next to them, and so on, then have the person at the end of the line tell the story and see how it changed. The line doesn't have to be long to get it all messed up!
So the question of "Is the Bible given to us by God?" really is a question of "Is the Bible we have today in our hands, a good representation of what was given to the people that heard God back then and wrote it?"
I have some thoughts on this subject, but I think I'll wait to see if others want to comment first.