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Is it possible that Christianity is true, yet the Bible contains errors?

Doc Helpful

*banned*
Since you BELIEVE it is " Gods word "
you mat feel justified in stating this as fact.

However, stating opinion as fact is inherently
dishonest as youd soon learn in coutt where
perjury is viewed quite hsrshly.

Just why anyone would presume that god who is said the value character in people would want his sycophannts to lie on his behalf is something I'd like you to explain.

You must have it worked out, else something so
fraught would be approached with great trepidation.
Or avoided utterly

Since you BELIEVE it is " Gods word "
you mat feel justified in stating this as fact.

However, stating opinion as fact is inherently
dishonest as youd soon learn in coutt where
perjury is viewed quite hsrshly.

Just why anyone would presume that god who is said the value character in people would want his sycophannts to lie on his behalf is something I'd like you to explain.

You must have it worked out, else something so
fraught would be approached with great trepidation.
Or avoided utterly even unto death.
I believe that the books of the Bible as enumerated at the Council of Hippo in AD 397
Since you BELIEVE it is " Gods word "
you mat feel justified in stating this as fact.

However, stating opinion as fact is inherently
dishonest as youd soon learn in coutt where
perjury is viewed quite hsrshly.

Just why anyone would presume that god who is said the value character in people would want his sycophannts to lie on his behalf is something I'd like you to explain.

You must have it worked out, else something so
fraught would be approached with great trepidation.
Or avoided utterly even unto death.
I believe Catholic versions of the Bible to be the most complete Word of God, for these Bibles contain the most Words of God. Similarly and equally true, the Bible contains the Word of God expressed in human words since God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, was equally both God and man--as were His words. Thus, it is understood that by just saying that the Bible is "the Word of God," it is also being said, implicitly, that the Bible also is the "word of man." Or, the Bible is God's Word in human words (because God AND man wrote the Bible).
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
I believe that the books of the Bible as enumerated at the Council of Hippo in AD 397

I believe Catholic versions of the Bible to be the most complete Word of God, for these Bibles contain the most Words of God. Similarly and equally true, the Bible contains the Word of God expressed in human words since God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, was equally both God and man--as were His words. Thus, it is understood that by just saying that the Bible is "the Word of God," it is also being said, implicitly, that the Bible also is the "word of man." Or, the Bible is God's Word in human words (because God AND man wrote the Bible).
Okay, but the title of the thread is "It it possible that Christianity is true, yet the Bible contains errors. If you are Catholic then you should say "Yes" since the Catholic Church has learned over the years and they rightfully declare the doctrine of biblical inerrancy to be heresy. But not all Catholics believe the same so I will not tell you what you believe.
 

Audie

Veteran Member
I believe that the books of the Bible as enumerated at the Council of Hippo in AD 397

I believe Catholic versions of the Bible to be the most complete Word of God, for these Bibles contain the most Words of God. Similarly and equally true, the Bible contains the Word of God expressed in human words since God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, was equally both God and man--as were His words. Thus, it is understood that by just saying that the Bible is "the Word of God," it is also being said, implicitly, that the Bible also is the "word of man." Or, the Bible is God's Word in human words (because God AND man wrote the Bible).
People believe all manner of bizarre things.
 
Then you did nothing. You did not refute anything. You simply misunderstood sources that you tried to use.
Nonsense. Anyone can see that I/the quotes I cited refute most scholars saying 1Timothy, 2Timothy and Titus were not written by Paul. Follow as l said in the link you provided and when you’re done you prove the quotes (as they are written) are not sources that say/have these three letters were written by Paul. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t want to do it or don’t like it-anyone can read in black and white the quotes are clear they do say/have these three letters were written by Paul and are included in his thirteen letters he wrote. It appears you all should go back to Polycarp’s and Irenaeus’ understanding which most scholars had before the 1700’s.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Nonsense. Anyone can see that I/the quotes I cited refute most scholars saying 1Timothy, 2Timothy and Titus were not written by Paul. Follow as l said in the link you provided and when you’re done you prove the quotes (as they are written) are not sources that say/have these three letters were written by Paul. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t want to do it or don’t like it-anyone can read in black and white the quotes are clear they do say/have these three letters were written by Paul and are included in his thirteen letters he wrote. It appears you all should go back to Polycarp’s and Irenaeus’ understanding which most scholars had before the 1700’s.
How do you think that you refuted anyone? Seriously. You did not come close to making a point.

Your best "source" is Polycarp. How would he know? Seriously. He was not even born until 4 years after Paul died. It would take another 20 years for him to grow up and even begin to be a scholar, if he ever was one. What you presented was exceedingly weak sauce. None of your sources were alive while Paul was alive and they were unlikely to have taken the deep dive into the works of Paul that modern scholars have.

If someone else took over writing my posts it would not take too terribly long for people to realize that someone else was writing for me if they did not have me down pat. You did not touch any of these arguments. You only referred to people born after Paul died, some of them quite a while after Paul died:

"Although the pastorals are written under Paul's name, they are different from his other epistles, and since the early 19th century, scholars have increasingly seen them as the work of an unknown student of Paul's doctrine.[4][5] They do not address Paul's common themes, such as the believers' unity with Christ,[3] and they reflect a church hierarchy that is more organized and defined than the church was in Paul's time.[5]"
 
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Doc Helpful

*banned*
Okay, but the title of the thread is "It it possible that Christianity is true, yet the Bible contains errors. If you are Catholic then you should say "Yes" since the Catholic Church has learned over the years and they rightfully declare the doctrine of biblical inerrancy to be heresy. But not all Catholics believe the same so I will not tell you what The Catholic Church acknowledges
 

Doc Helpful

*banned*
Okay, but the title of the thread is "It it possible that Christianity is true, yet the Bible contains errors. If you are Catholic then you should say "Yes" since the Catholic Church has learned over the years and they rightfully declare the doctrine of biblical inerrancy to be heresy. But not all Catholics believe the same so I will not tell you what you believe.
The Catholic Church does NOT . . . "rightfully declare the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy to be heresy." While acknowledging human error and copyist errors in reproducing the text and in handing it down over many centuries, the Church teaches that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God in matters of Faith and Morals. Only the ORIGINAL Scriptures are truly inerrant; however, no original manuscripts exist; all have perished. What remains are copies reproduced over and over through the ages. The heresy is the Protestant teaching of "Scripture Alone," that is, using only the Bible as the sole Rule of Faith. Thus, Protestants risk the truth of their brand of Christianity being questioned when human errors in the text are revealed. Many, if not most Protestants believe that because the Bible is the Word of God, it contains NO errors, human or Divine. For them, the Bible becomes a kind of idol to be worshiped; hence the term "bibliolatry" or the Bible worship. Protestant Christianity cannot be true because the Bible contains human errors.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
The Catholic Church does NOT . . . "rightfully declare the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy to be heresy." While acknowledging human error and copyist errors in reproducing the text and in handing it down over many centuries, the Church teaches that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God in matters of Faith and Morals. Only the ORIGINAL Scriptures are truly inerrant; however, no original manuscripts exist; all have perished. What remains are copies reproduced over and over through the ages. The heresy is the Protestant teaching of "Scripture Alone," that is, using only the Bible as the sole Rule of Faith. Thus, Protestants risk the truth of their brand of Christianity being questioned when human errors in the text are revealed. Many, if not most Protestants believe that because the Bible is the Word of God, it contains NO errors, human or Divine. For them, the Bible becomes a kind of idol to be worshiped; hence the term "bibliolatry" or the Bible worship. Protestant Christianity cannot be true because the Bible contains human errors.
It appears that you contradicted yourself. You put a qualifier on to how it is "inerrant'. They leaned their lesson from Galileo, though it took them long enough to admit it. A Catholic should not be bothered by the historical errors or the scientific ones.

They should be concerned a bit about the moral errors of the Bible.

And it seems to be that some Catholics disagree with you. The sort of errors that we are talking about here are events that clearly never happened, such as the Flood of Noah and other myths of the Old Testament:

 

Doc Helpful

*banned*
It appears that you contradicted yourself. You put a qualifier on to how it is "inerrant'. They leaned their lesson from Galileo, though it took them long enough to admit it. A Catholic should not be bothered by the historical errors or the scientific ones.

They should be concerned a bit about the moral errors of the Bible.

And it seems to be that some Catholics disagree with you. The sort of errors that we are talking about here are events that clearly never happened, such as the Flood of Noah and other myths of the Old Testament:

To be perfectly clear and without contradiction: The DOCTRINES found in the Bible are inerrant, but not all doctrines are found in Scripture. For example, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is not found in Scripture; therefore it is a self-refuting doctrine.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
To be perfectly clear and without contradiction: The DOCTRINES found in the Bible are inerrant, but not all doctrines are found in Scripture. For example, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is not found in Scripture; therefore it is a self-refuting doctrine.
That is not too unreasonable. Though I would like to know what the claimed doctrines were and their justification if I was debating specifically for or against Catholicism. From what I have seen those that believe in Sola Scriptura tend to be fundamentalists, and their beliefs are self refuting on multiple levels.
 
How do you think that you refuted anyone? Seriously. You did not come close to making a point.
I did not refute by myself most scholars saying 1Timothy, 2Timothy, and Titus were not written by Paul. I put myself with the quotes they refute most scholars with their words. I have no problem following them. It appears you haven’t heard their words let alone see they’re correct.

Your best "source" is Polycarp. How would he know? Seriously. He was not even born until 4 years after Paul died. It would take another 20 years for him to grow up and even begin to be a scholar, if he ever was one. What you presented was exceedingly weak sauce. None of your sources were alive while Paul was alive and they were unlikely to have taken the deep dive into the works of Paul that modern scholars have.
Polycarp isn’t my only best “source.” Polycarp knew John the Apostle-he was the last known connection with the Apostles so John knew Paul while he was alive as well the other Apostles. Then Irenaeus knew Polycarp. Thus, my best ‘sources” are Polycarp, John the Apostle, the rest of the Apostles, and Irenaeus. Polycarp and Irenaeus took the deep dive going back to John to-into the works of Paul. I see modern scholars haven’t taken that deep dive.
If someone else took over writing my posts it would not take too terribly long for people to realize that someone else was writing for me if they did not have me down pat. You did not touch any of these arguments. You only referred to people born after Paul died, some of them quite a while after Paul died:
If you had read the quotes in the Wikipedia link you provided you would have read that argument. I.H. Marwell (I think it was him and I think I got the last name right-not going back to look I don’t want to risk losing this post) argued with two or three scholars saying to what you are that Paul didn’t write them. He said it is virtually certain Polycarp used 1Timothy and 2Timothy (in his preaching). He’s correct. Irenaeus learned from Polycarp and he used all thirteen letters Paul wrote to cite in many of his quotes of the NT.
"Although the pastorals are written under Paul's name, they are different from his other epistles, and since the early 19th century, scholars have increasingly seen them as the work of an unknown student of Paul's doctrine.[4][5] They do not address Paul's common themes, such as the believers' unity with Christ,[3] and they reflect a church hierarchy that is more organized and defined than the church was in Paul's time.[5]"
Acts 15:41, “ And he (Paul) went through Syria and Cilia, strengthening the churches.” This defines Paul was organizing church hierarchy in his time. Why have you scholars been unable to find who the unknown student is who you say wrote 1Timothy, 2Timothy, and Titus? More important is why have you not found Paul is their author that is traced all the way back to the Apostle John who knew him in their time? Your unknown student of Paul’s doctrine can’t go back that far to his time or soon/any time after either. There was no one left who knew Paul in his time-John was the last one who did.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
I did not refute by myself most scholars saying 1Timothy, 2Timothy, and Titus were not written by Paul. I put myself with the quotes they refute most scholars with their words. I have no problem following them. It appears you haven’t heard their words let alone see they’re correct.
Once again, you did not refute anything.

Polycarp isn’t my only best “source.” Polycarp knew John the Apostle-he was the last known connection with the Apostles so John knew Paul while he was alive as well the other Apostles. Then Irenaeus knew Polycarp. Thus, my best ‘sources” are Polycarp, John the Apostle, the rest of the Apostles, and Irenaeus. Polycarp and Irenaeus took the deep dive going back to John to-into the works of Paul. I see modern scholars haven’t taken that deep dive.

He probably did not know John, there is no evidence of that. Their lives would have barely intersected with each other:

"We have no text from Polycarp himself making this claim. Nor do any of the letters we have addressed to Polycarp mention it. There’s also no evidence any Apostle was actually alive when Polycarp was even a schoolboy—which would have been the late 70s A.D. at the earliest, when the Apostles would have been in their late 60s or even 80s, if any were even alive at all, and we have no evidence any were. Average lifespan for an adult at that time was 48 (On the Historicity of Jesus, Element 22, Ch. 4). Not even the Martyrdom of Polycarp, which is basically a fawning eulogy of him, makes any mention of his ever knowing any Apostles or tutoring under John."

If you had read the quotes in the Wikipedia link you provided you would have read that argument. I.H. Marwell (I think it was him and I think I got the last name right-not going back to look I don’t want to risk losing this post) argued with two or three scholars saying to what you are that Paul didn’t write them. He said it is virtually certain Polycarp used 1Timothy and 2Timothy (in his preaching). He’s correct. Irenaeus learned from Polycarp and he used all thirteen letters Paul wrote to cite in many of his quotes of the NT.

Yes, I did and since it was in incredibly weak argument I ignored it. Here is what you are doing wrong. You are willing to believe anything that supports you no matter how poor the evidence. I am merely pointing out how weak your evidence is.
Acts 15:41, “ And he (Paul) went through Syria and Cilia, strengthening the churches.” This defines Paul was organizing church hierarchy in his time. Why have you scholars been unable to find who the unknown student is who you say wrote 1Timothy, 2Timothy, and Titus? More important is why have you not found Paul is their author that is traced all the way back to the Apostle John who knew him in their time? Your unknown student of Paul’s doctrine can’t go back that far to his time or soon/any time after either. There was no one left who knew Paul in his time-John was the last one who did.
Do you think that the experts are ignorant of those verses? You appear to be conflating the fact that he was working on a process and a story from years later after he was dead and his work began to bear fruit.

You are lacking in reliable evidence for any of your claims.
 

1213

Well-Known Member
Since the Bible is God's Word in human words, for God AND man wrote the Bible, human "error" reflects the humanity of the Word of God. For example, Mt 2:23 "There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” This prophesy is found nowhere in the Old Testament.
If it is not found in OT, it does not mean there could not have been such a prophesy.
Another example is Mt 1:17 "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations." If you count the generations from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, there are only thirteen generations instead of fourteen. Again, this demonstrates the humanity of the Word of God.
So, are you telling there was no such generations? (Also, Bible doesn't seem to use the word only).
 

Muffled

Jesus in me
The contradiction is that according to John there were no false witnesses, but according to Matthew there were.
I believe I don't remember John saying there were no false witnesses but perhaps you can refresh my memory since you have the Matthew quote.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Sounds a lot like circular reasoning and confirmation bias.
No. That is your sin. The scientific method relies upon evidence. There is no circular reasoning there. The sciences will use reasonable "assumptions". Facts that have been confirmed a thousand times over are assumed to be accurate. For example they do not have to prove that gravity is real every time that they run an experiment. And even those assumptions are not sacrosanct. If someone showed that gravity was very wrong there would be massive scrambling to reassess all sorts of sciences.

What you did was just the equivalent of the pot calling the silverware black. You are trying to falsely justify your irrational circular reasoning by accusing those that take great steps to avoid it of using circular reasoning.

As to historians they too have consistent standards of what is and what is not evidence and why. And if you ignore those standards you cannot claim to be doing history. That is why I can say with confidence that when it comes to being historically inerrant the Bible fails there too.

The number of this Commandment varies a bit with Christian sects, but you continually break the Commandment about forming an idol. You have made an idol of the King James Bible. You have done so by trying to raise it to a level that it cannot meet.
 
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