The scripture on the scripture (a scriptural thesis)
ps. 145:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
God is omniscient
In a way, there is a perfect bible in heaven
2 peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Holy Scripture is not defiled by the personality of the prophet but purely from God.
1 peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
The regeneration of the saints is based upon the preservation of the Scriptures. Therefore scripture has to be present on the earth to be heard from saints.
Deuteronomy 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it."
luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
Matt. 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.:
Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."
The bible in it's smaller parts are preserved.
2 Peter 3:1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
It is obvious that the Jews are given custody of the Old Testament.
rom. 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
The New Testament is given to Christians in the Gentile World
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people."
Acts 11:1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them."
11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
The starting point of the Gentiles was at Antioch. There manuscripts are the majority text.
Hebrews 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God."
At Some point the entirety is contained in one volume of a book. The best example of this is the kjv bible.
The implications of inerrancy.
2 timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
1 timothy 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:"
Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Why? Because there is future false teachings!
2 timothy 4.2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Preservation as espoused by the KJV Translators
"For when your Highnesse had once out of deepe judgment apprehended, how convenient it was, That out of the Originall sacred tongues, together with comparing of the labours, both in our owne and other forreigne Languages, of many worthy men who went before us, there should be one more exact Translation of the holy Scriptures into the English tongue"
"The Scriptures then being acknowledged to bee so full and so perfect, how can wee excuse our selves of negligence, if we doe not studie them, of curiositie, if we be not content with them? "
"Finally a fountaine of most pure water springing up unto everlasting life. And what marvaile? The originall thereof being from heaven, not from earth; the authour being God, not man; the enditer, the holy spirit, not the wit of the Apostles or Prophets; the Pen-men such as were sanctified from the wombe, and endewed with a principall portion of Gods spirit; the matter, veritie, pietie, puritie, uprightnesse; the forme, Gods word, Gods testimonie, Gods oracles, the word of trueth, the word of salvation, &c. the effects, light of understanding, stablenesse of persuasion, repentance from dead workes, newnesse of life, holinesse, peace, joy in the holy Ghost; lastly, the end and reward of the studie thereof, fellowship with the Saints, participation of the heavenly nature, fruition of an inheritance immortall, undefiled, and that never shall fade away: "
"If you aske what they had before them, truely it was the Hebrew text of the Olde Testament, the Greeke of the New. These are the two golden pipes, or rather conduits, where-through the olive branches emptie themselves into the golde. Saint Augustine calleth them precedent, or originall tongues; Saint Jerome, fountaines. The same Saint Jerome affirmeth, and Gratian hath not spared to put it into his Decree, That as the credit of the olde Bookes (he meaneth of the Old Testament) is to bee tryed by the Hebrewe Volumes, so of the New by the Greeke tongue, he meaneth by the originall Greeke. If trueth be to be tried by these tongues, then whence should a Translation be made, but out of them? These tongues, therefore, the Scriptures wee say in those tongues, wee set before us to translate, being the tongues wherein God was pleased to speake to his Church by his Prophets and Apostles. Neither did we run over the work with that posting haste that the Septuagint did,"
This is a basic summary of our position with preservation and inerrancy
nottice:"If you aske what they had before them, truely it was the Hebrew text of the Olde Testament, the Greeke of the New. These are the two golden pipes, or rather conduits, where-through the olive branches emptie themselves into the golde. Saint Augustine calleth them precedent, or originall tongues; Saint Jerome, fountaines"
Zechariah 4:11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.:
The manuscripts travel through time and the ages as the 2 pipes flowing as a fountain. The purity of the fountain flows sometimes in a large delta and other times slipping through the rapids being divided all across the plain But the purity is attracted to both the center and the out come. just like a flood may split the fountain, the irrigation drips it right back in place"
What the Bible says about errors
2 Samuel 6:7And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God."
Job 19:4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself."
Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults."
Ecclesiastes 5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?"
Ecclesiastes 10:5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
Isaiah 32:6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Jeremiah 10:15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jeremiah 51:18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Daniel 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him."
Matthew 27:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Hebrews 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
2 Peter 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2 Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness."
1 john 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."
This is all the mentions of the word error in the kjv. You may notice that every mention of the word is negative in nature.
So if the Bible is said to be inerrant, then it is free from sin. But if Bible the is charged with error, then the Bible is not actually Holy.
Insane amount of criticism levied against KJV and the Bible in general.
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/50-000-Errors-and-Biblical-contradictions-190303
50,000 errors?!?!
"There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament. This gives a total of 31,102 verses, which is an average of a little more than 26 verses per chapter."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapters_and_verses_of_the_Bible#:~:text=There%20are%2023%2C145%20verses%20in,than%2026%20verses%20per%20chapter.
There are more allegations of error in the Bible than there are even verses in the Bible!!
This amount of error would turn off the normal reader if the allegations were true. Therefore, it is apparent that the critical school has an explicit bias.
Science agrees with the Bible
The darkness of space
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
Invisible structure (the idea that the physical universe is upheld by invisible forces)
Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
The stars have a structure
Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent."
1 cor. 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
The stars are innumerable
Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
Global spin and the solar circuit
Psalm 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."
The Earth hangs in space
job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."
Gravity
Prov. 26:27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
The land/earth emerged out of water
Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."
Wind cycle
Ecclesiastes 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits."
The rain cycle
Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them."
Deep sea rivers
psalms 8:8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Medical benefits to running water
Leviticus 15:13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean."
and Quarantine
lev. 13:46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be."
An ancient society like the jews without any scientific tools should not have all this advanced knowledge. It is easy take this for granted in our modern age. But we have to ask ourselves if this is a primitive society without God, then WHY is their worldview still competitive?
What we are not saying about errors
There are errors which associate themselves to scripture, but while people can use the words in an awkward way. They do not qualify as the type of errors that we refer to when we say that the scripture has no error.
A. Interpretational errors through philosophy
If you put a philosophy behind the scripture it can pervert the interpretation of scripture to make an error.
B. Interpretational errors eisegesis through tradition.
Assuming ancient traditions can leave the interpretation of scriptures making it prone to error
C, Interpretational errors through cults and a false canon
If a group wants to pervert the basic teachings of scripture then they should be condemn and not the scriptures.
D. Interpretational errors through errors in popular scholarship.
Many things are claimed to be scholarly, but they are beyond our ability to discerned and so we leave the scriptures to be the standard instead of men with diplomas.
E. Preservation errors in the ancient manuscripts.
A manuscript by itself can be damaged, even not properly copied, or torn up that does not alter the heavenly manuscript and should not have the authority to altar other manuscripts.
F. Translational errors in the ancient translations.
Translators can create inaccurate or inappropriate translations but this does not altar the standard.
G. Preservation errors due to ware and tear or burning.
Many evil people have burned up manuscripts for evil reasons also some have been burned because they were already bad copies. But that will not destroy the scriptures.
H. Preservation errors due to printing errors.
Some errors of age innocently leav a manuscript altered. This happens but we can still access the original.
I. Confusion regarding archaisms
Essentially our view of errors and scripture is almost identical to the world of biblical studies with a small but massive difference. We are confident that there is a minimum of 1 manuscript available to mankind that has been perfectly preserved.
J. Estimations of numbers
It is linguistically normal to use numbers with multiple zeros as an estimation. So if there is a number, sy... 24.000, it could be figurative of a more exact number 23.982 and still be technically correct. It doesn't mean that all zeros are estimates but that the is flexible in this situation.
The bible's claims about itself
"The writers of the Old Testament make literally thousands of claims to the truthfulness of what they wrote. Over two thousand times they claim to be speaking the very words of God. That’s just the Old Testament writers. " John MacArthur https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-323/the-bible-is-gods-word
The unity of the Bible
It is ironic how often you can debate an atheist on facebook and have them assert that the bible is a single volumed book/
66 writings, Written on 3 continents (asia Africa and Europe)
published over 1500 years and 40 generations with over 40 authors. A wild variety of backgrounds (shepherd, king, tax collector, fishermen, poets, scholars, politicians etc. Written in diverse places: a dungeon/sewer, a palace, prison, a hillside, a tabernacle, wilderness, on the road etc.
"For all that, the bible is simply not an anthology: there is a unity which binds the whole together. An anthology is compiled by an anthologist, but no anthologist composed the Bible." Bruce Metzger 15/88 Evidence that demands a verdict volume pg. 17
The Availability of the Bible.
"One key milestone in the history of the Bible comes in the early 19th century, when the first Bible Societies were founded. These organizations ordered Bibles in huge numbers, but gave them away or sold them at cost as part of their Christian mission. From this point on, the majority of Bibles were freely distributed rather than sold. A study produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society (founded in 1804) calculated that 2,458,000,000 Bibles were printed between 1815 and 1975.The 5–7 billion figure has been arrived at by adding the above-mentioned figures to annual estimates compiled by United Bible Societies (the global umbrella organization). In the 21st century, Bibles are printed at a rate of around 80 million per year."
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction
If God wanted to to communicate to the world it would have to be through this book! Because it is more available in every time of existence and place! What other book makes this claim?
"The Chicago statement" critiqued
A SHORT STATEMENT
1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order
thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord,
Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God's witness to Himself.
2. Holy Scripture, being God's own Word, written by men prepared and superintended by
His Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: it is to be
believed, as God's instruction, in all that it affirms, obeyed, as God's command, in all that
it requires; embraced, as God's pledge, in all that it promises.
3. The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward
witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning.
4. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its
teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation, about the events of world
history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God's saving
grace in individual lives.
5. The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in
any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's
own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church.
ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL
Article I
We affirm that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God.
We deny that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any
other human source.
Article II
We affirm that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the
conscience, and that the authority of the Church is subordinate to that of Scripture.
We deny that Church creeds, councils, or declarations have authority greater than or
equal to the authority of the Bible.
Article III
We affirm that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God.
We deny that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in
encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity. "
Article IV
We affirm that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation. We deny that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation. We further deny that the corruption of human culture and language through sin has thwarted God’s work of inspiration.
Article V
We affirm that God’s revelation within the Holy Scriptures was progressive.
We deny that later revelation, which may fulfill earlier revelation, ever corrects or contradicts it. We further deny that any normative revelation has been given since the completion of the New Testament writings.
Article VI
We affirm that the whole of Scripture and all its parts, down to the very words of the original, were given by divine inspiration. We deny that the inspiration of Scripture can rightly be affirmed of the whole without the parts, or of some parts but not the whole.
Article VII
We affirm that inspiration was the work in which God by His Spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. The origin of Scripture is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us.
We deny that inspiration can be reduced to human insight, or to heightened states of consciousness of any kind.
Article VIII
We affirm that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared.
We deny that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.
Article IX
We affirm that inspiration, though not conferring omniscience, guaranteed true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write.
We deny that the finitude of fallenness of these writers, by necessity or otherwise, introduced distortion or falsehood into God’s Word.
Article X
We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.
We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant.
Article XI
We affirm that Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is true and reliable in all the matters it addresses.
We deny that it is possible for the Bible to be at the same time infallible and errant in its assertions. Infallibility and inerrancy may be distinguished, but not separated.
Article XII
We affirm that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.
We deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood.
Article XIII
We affirm the propriety of using inerrancy as a theological term with reference to the complete truthfulness of Scripture.
We deny that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage or purpose. We further deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as a lack of modern technical precision, irregularities of grammar or spelling, observational descriptions of nature, the reporting of falsehoods, the use of hyperbole and round numbers, the topical arrangement of material, variant selections of material in parallel accounts, or the use of free citations.
Article XIV
We affirm the unity and internal consistency of Scripture.
We deny that alleged errors and discrepancies that have not yet been resolved vitiate the truth claims of the Bible.
Article XV
We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy is ground in the teaching of the Bible about inspiration.
We deny that Jesus’ teaching about Scripture may be dismissed by appeals to accommodation or to any natural limitation of His humanity.
Article XVI
We affirm that the doctrine of inerrancy has been integral to the Church’s faith throughout its history.
We deny that inerrancy is a doctrine invented by scholastic Protestantism, or is a reactionary position postulated in response to negative higher criticism.
Article XVII
We affirm that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the Scriptures, assuring believers of the truthfulness of God’s written Word.
We deny that this witness of the Holy Spirit operates in isolation from or against Scripture."
Article XVIII
We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.
We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship.
Article XIX
We affirm that a confession of the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ.
We deny that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and to the Church.
REPLY TO STATEMENT
Generally the short statements are good. In fact, it is easy for a young seminary student can be entranced by complete set of conformity to God's Word. The issue of the error however over the decades has opened and people who claim this confession often fall short of it, regardless. more so they simply claim it as their own, then they violate several of it's tenets while no one else cared.
"xvIII. We affirm that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship."
"5. The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church."
Not only would but the majority of preservationists and kjvo's whole heartedly agree as if it were coming from one of our own rank.
HOWEVER, there a distinct difference.
"We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original."
Without the inspiration of the text we do not have the inerrancy of the text. I asked SBC Theologian (head of theology at SBTS at that time) If he believed that there was at least a single inerrant manuscript upon the earth. He said in accordance with this that he did "not have confidence" in that.
this little ideological crack I believed has caused a slippery slope.
Now one place that I struggled with this issue was the idea that perhaps providence was helping the perfect word be preserved, But, where does the bible allow for it not to any longer sta inspired?
This is the Achilles heel of the Chicago statement, this small insert completely changes the nature of the document. Thus we see evangelicals like Tim Keller who has ascended to the heights of leadership among several denominations, yet is an open advocate of theistic evolution as well as the social gospel. Yet do we hear any complaints about his contradiction with the chicago statement? Not a peep. Because manmade documents were never that authoritative and with man remaking the texts of our scriptures neither will the bible in evangelical society.
The limits of epistemic certainty
"Science is not a system of certain, or well established statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances toward a life of finality. Our science is not knowledge (episteme); it can never claim to have obtained truth, or even a substitute for it, such as probability; we do not know, we can only guess.
The old scientific ideal of episteme- of absolute certain, demonstrable knowledge- has proven to be a false idol. The demand for scientific objectivity makes it inevitable that every scientific statement must remain tentative forever. " Karl Popper (1902-1994): Logic of Scientific discovery; p,278, 280
http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/codex/date.aspx"Palaeography can be used to provide information about the date at which a document was written. However, "paleography is a last resort for dating" and, "for book hands, a period of 50 years is the least acceptable spread of time"[6][7] with it being suggested that "the 'rule of thumb' should probably be to avoid dating a hand more precisely than a range of at least seventy or eighty years".[7] In an 2005 e-mail addendum to his 1996 "The Paleographical Dating of P-46" paper Bruce W. Griffin stated "Until more rigorous methodologies are developed, it is difficult to construct a 95% confidence interval for NT manuscripts without allowing a century for an assigned date."[8] William M Schniedewind went even further in the abstract to his 2005 paper "Problems of Paleographic Dating of Inscriptions" and stated that "The so-called science of paleography often relies on circular reasoning because there is insufficient data to draw precise conclusion about dating. Scholars also tend to oversimplify diachronic development, assuming models of simplicity rather than complexity".[9]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palaeography#Document_dating
- 7)Turner, Eric G. (1987). Greek Manuscripts of the Ancient World (2nd ed.). London: Institute of Classical Studies.
- 7)Nongbri, Brent (2005). "The Use and Abuse of P52: Papyrological Pitfalls in the Dating of the Fourth Gospel" (PDF). Harvard Theological Review. 98: 23–48 (24).
- 8)Griffin, Bruce W. (1996), "The Paleographical Dating of P-46" Schniedewind, William M. (2005). "Problems of Paleographic Dating of Inscriptions". In Levy, Thomas; Higham, Thomas. The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating: Archaeology, Text and Science. Routledge. ISBN 1-84553-057-8.
So we see that even physical science stops short of giving us concrete certainty. But the foundations of textual criticism, like paleography are incapable of even giving us hard science there is way too much room room for fraud.
A criticism for textual criticism
"The higher criticism of an awakened critical faculty to a particular kind of material, and was encouraged by the achievement of this faculty to form it's bold conclusions. If the biologists, the geologists, the astronomers, the anthropologist had not been at work, I venture to think that the higher critics would have been either non-existent or a tiny minority in a world of fundamentalist." F.M. Powicke
Textual criticism is based in textual evolution only because other sciences were nudged in that direction.
"Evidently, therefore, those words of Jesus which are to be regarded as authoritative by modern Liberalism must first be selected from the mass of recorded words by a critical process. The critical process is certainly very difficult, and the suspicion often arises that the critic is retaining as genuine words of the historical Jesus only those words that conform to his own pre-conceived ideas. But even after the sifting process is completed, the liberal scholar is still unable to accept as authoritative all the sayings of Jesus; he must finally admit that even the "historical Jesus" as reconstructed by modern historians said some things that are untrue." J. Greshem Machen Christianity and Liberalism pg. 77
This type of evolution may not be accepted by all adherents of the critical school, but it is substantially the view of the leaders, Reuss, Graf. Kuenan and Wellhausin. To them all nature and history are a product of forces within and in process of development. There has not been and could not be any direct action of God upon man, there could be no break in the chain of cause and effect, of antecedent and consequent. Hence there can be no miracle or anything of what is known as the supernatural. There could be no 'interference' in anyway with the natural course of events, there could be no 'injection' of any power into the cosmic process from without, God is shut up to the one method of bringing things to pass. He is thus little more than a prisoner in his own cosmos. Thus I discovered that the critical movement was essentially and fundamentally anti-supernatural and anti miraculous. According to it all religious movements are human developments along natural lines. The religion of Israel and the Bible is no exception to this principle. The revelation contained in the Bible is strictly speaking, no revelation; it is a natural development with God in the cosmic process behind it, but yet as a steady straight-lined, mechanical development such as can be traced step by step as a flight of the stairs may be a foot-rule. There could have been no epoch-making revelation, no revivals and lapses, no marvelous exhibitions of divine power, no real redemption. With these foregone conclusions fixed in their minds, the entire question is practically settled beforehand."
What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,
or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
17 Seeing thou hatest instruction,
and castest my words behind thee."
The fait of the Word of God is not left up to the judgement of a dying world. Because God is judging that dying world and not the other way around.
