Originally posted by Coletti
I don't think there are any real inaccuracies or contradictions in the Bible. I've seen supposed errors - but these are usually minor or unsubstantial or cases trying to make the text tell us things it was not intended for. For instance ...[text shortened]... stand of the reader regarding the purpose of the text in question.
Coletti, I had a feeling you might find this topic interesting, welcome. 😉
I’m inclined to agree with you in the respect that there exist within Christianity (and without) a great lack of understanding regarding what a given scriptures purpose is. However, you seem to be suggesting with regard to the gospels that the errors in question are simply differences in perspective or style. This is clearly not the case. The differences in the accounts of Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection range from who was there to when it happened to the number of angels present. These are not merely stylistic differences.
Further, as I’m sure you will agree the Gospels are a very special part of the Bible. The real nuts and bolts of Christianity, if you will. This is where we find some of the axial Christian doctrines such as sin, grace and atonement. It is also one of the relatively rare sections of the Bible that can be tested, to some degree. Because four different accounts of the same basic story were written we can see how they match up, thus verifying their accuracy. While the four do a remarkably good job of staying fairly consistent they do not match up perfectly…or even nearly so. What we are left with is a bit of a problem if we want to maintain this claim of inerrancy. Essentially what we must believe is that the Bible is perfect in every way…except when it is not. This, to me, is a rather unenviable position to be in.
If God set out to use people to create his perfect tool for communicating to us don’t you think it would, in fact, be perfect? Why would God want us to be confused about how many angels were at Jesus’ tomb, for instance? God does not strike me as the type of deity willing to “not sweat the small stuff”. It is, therefore, my opinion that God is far clever than we give him credit for and allowed the Bible to be truly and simply ‘inspired’ by him. This relieves him of the trouble of using imperfect tools (humans) to create a perfect document AND allows us our free will by giving us a book that can be understood in more than just one way.
This makes me very, very glad!
TheSkipper
EDIT: I should correct myself. When i said there were four different accounts of the same basic story, referring to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In reality there are over fifty, including the Gospel of Andrew, Thomas and Peter...some of these documents still exist today. We can only hope God did not intend for them to be included in the Bible as well.