Is The Bible Inerrant and Complete?

Is The Bible Inerrant and Complete? is an article by LDS author Michael T. Griffith that addresses the topic of my earlier post, ...as far as it is translated correctly....

Mr. Griffith expresses quite well the same thoughts I have regarding this topic:

Most of the lay fundamentalists with whom I occasionally dialogue express the view that the doctrine of inerrancy applies to our present-day Bible, that is, that the Bible as now have it is inerrant. Most fundamentalist scholars, on the other hand, take a somewhat different position. They maintain that the doctrine of inerrancy applies only to the "original autographs" of the Bible. However, notwithstanding this declaration, they are very hesitant to admit the presence of even the most obvious biblical errors. Gleason Archer's book, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE DIFFICULTIES, which is very popular among fundamentalists, is a prime example of this hesitancy. In attempting to explain undeniable errors, Archer provides answers that are strained and unconvincing. A number of his explanations constitute tacit admissions of error.

In discussing Bible difficulties, it is not my intent to denigrate or demean the Bible in any way. The Bible is scripture. It is sacred and inspired. However, it has not come down to us in perfect or complete form. Fortunately, being LDS, I am not bound by
fundamentalism's either-or view of the Bible. Latter-day Saints do not accept the fundamentalist claim that the Bible must be perfect in every way or else it can't be from God. Thanks in large part to modern revelation, Mormons can look past the Bible's problems and appreciate its beauty, importance, and inspiration. Judged by any reasonable standard, the Bible is a literary and revelatory masterpiece, and it is an important source of information about returning to our Heavenly Father.

Personally, I am of the opinion that the doctrine of inerrancy is actually harmful to the Bible, (1) because it is unscriptural and demonstrably incorrect, and (2) because it sets up an indefensible "straw man" view of the book that can easily be demolished by atheists and other hostile critics.

He concludes by with some quotes that express the LDS attitude toward the Bible.

President George Q. Cannon, a member of the First Presidency under three different prophets, expressed the Church's feelings about the Bible: This book [the Bible] is of priceless worth; its value cannot be estimated by anything that is known among men upon which value is fixed. . . . To the Latter-day Saints it should always be a precious treasure. Beyond any people now upon the face of the earth, they should value it, for the reason that from its pages, from the doctrines set forth by its writers, the epitome of the plan of salvation which is there given to us, we derive the highest consolation, we obtain the greatest strength. It is, as it were, a constant fountain sending forth streams of living life to satisfy the souls of all who peruse its pages.
(2:248)

President Cannon also spoke eloquently about what our attitude ought to be with regard to mistakes in the Bible: We are not called to teach the errors of translators but the truth of God's word. It is our mission to develop faith in the revelations from God in the hearts of the children, and "How can that best be done?" is the question that confronts us. Certainly not by emphasizing doubts, creating difficulties or teaching negations. . . .

The clause in the Articles of Faith regarding mistakes in the translation of the Bible was never intended to encourage us to spend our time in searching out and studying those errors, but to emphasize the idea that it is the truth and the truth only that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts, no matter where it is found. (2:249)

Curriculum

Discipleship
Clean Hands and a Pure Heart, Elder David A. Bednar


Bible
...as far as it is translated correctly...
Is The Bible Inerrant and Complete?
Series on New Testament textual criticism
Modern History of Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament
The Johannine Comma
The King James Only Controversy
KJV Bible as the LDS Authorized Version


Book of Mormon
Proposed Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon

Early Christian History


The Nature of God
And this is life eternal, that they might know the only true God and Jesus Christ
Anthropomorphism

...as far as it is translated correctly...

The 8th Article of Faith states:

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

The Articles of Faith were written in 1842, about 166 years ago!

I just received a copy of "Misquoting Jesus", subtitled "The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why" by Bart D. Ehrman.

From the introduction:

This brings me back to my interest in the manuscripts of the New Testament and the study of those manuscripts in the field known as textual criticism. It is my conviction that textual criticism is a compelling and intriguing field of study of real importance not just to scholars but to everyone with an interest in the Bible. What is striking, however, is that most readers - even those interested in Christianity, in the Bible, in
biblical studies, both those who believe the Bible is inerrant and those who do not - know almost nothing about textual criticism. And it is not difficult to see why. Despite the fact that this has been a topic of sustained scholarship now for more than three hundred years, there is scarcely a single book written about it for the lay audience - that is, for those who know nothing about it, who don't have the Greek and other languages necessary for the in-depth study of it, who do not realize there is even a "problem" with the text, but who would be intrigued to learn both what the problems are and how scholars have set about dealing with them.

That is the kind of book this is - to my knowledge, the first of its kind. It is written for people who know nothing about textual criticism but who might like to learn something about how scribes were changing scripture and about how we can recognize where they did so. It is written based on my thirty years of thinking about the subject, and from the perspective that I now have, having gone through such radical transformations of my own views of the Bible. It is written for anyone who might be interested in seeing how we got our New Testament, seeing how in some instances we don't even know what the words of the original writers were, seeing in what interesting ways these words occasionally got changed, and seeing how we might, through the application of some rather rigorous methods of analysis, reconstruct what those original words actually were.

If textual criticism of the New Testament has been going on for 300 years, perhaps Joseph Smith had good reason for adding "as far as it is translated correctly" to the 8th Article of Faith. I wonder how prevalent the knowledge of such translation errors in the Bible were in the 1830s and 1840s?

While there are no doubt many traditional Christians that believe the Bible they read is inerrant, others who know better say rather that the original text of the Bible was inspired and perhaps inerrant, but not the Bible we have today.

The great gift of the Book of Mormon, is that it provides a second witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Confirming the account, provided by the New Testament, that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and the Savior of all mankind, to a doubting world.

Book List

The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church
Wipf & Stock Publishers (March 31, 2003)
Edwin Hatch

Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted
Brigham Young University (2007)
Donald W. Parry

Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis
Research Pr (October 1998)
John W. Welch

A New Witness for Christ: Chiastic Structures in the Book of Mormon
Horizon Pub & Dist Inc (March 1, 1997)
H. Clay Gorton

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling
Vintage (March 13, 2007)
Richard Lyman Bushman

The Apostolic Fathers
Baker Academic; 3 edition (November 1, 2006)
Michael W. Holmes

Ante-Nicene Fathers: 10 Volumes
Hendrickson Publishers; New edition (June 1, 1994)
Editors Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, Philip Schaff, Henry Wace

The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration
Oxford University Press, USA; 4th edition (April 15, 2005)
by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
HarperOne (November 1, 2005)
by Bart D. Ehrman

Rescue for the Dead: The Posthumous Salvation of Non-Christians in Early Christianity
Oxford University Press, USA (August 31, 2001)
by Jeffrey A. Trumbower

The Dead Sea Scrolls - Revised Edition: A New Translation
HarperOne (October 25, 2005)
by Michael O. Wise

The Nag Hammadi Library
HarperOne (October 12, 1990)
by James M. Robinson

How Greek Philosophy Corrupted the Christian Concept of God
Horizon Pub & Dist Inc (March 2005)
by Richard R. Hopkins

From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith
HarperOne (October 25, 2005)
by L. Michael White

The Early Church
Penguin (Non-Classics); Revised edition (October 1, 1993)
by Henry Chadwick

Exploring Mormon Thought: The Attributes of God
Greg Kofford Books Inc; 1st edition (October 2001)
by Blake T. Ostler

Exploring Mormon Thought: The Problems With Theism And the Love of God
Greg Kofford Books Inc; 1st edition (March 2006)
by Blake T. Ostler

Doing The Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy : Its Origin, Practice, and Demise
Arthur H. Clark Company (May 15, 2007)
by B. Carmon Hardy

The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Princeton University Press; New edition (July 18, 2005)
by David M. Goldenberg

Noah's Curse : The Biblical Justification of American Slavery
Oxford University Press, USA (February 27, 2002)
by Stephen R. Haynes

The Birth of Plenty : How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created
McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (April 2, 2004)
by William Bernstein

What's So Great About Christianity
Regnery Publishing (October 16, 2007)
by Dinesh D'Souza

(cont'd) And this is life eternal...

Continuing with Elder Holland's talk from my previous post

Elder Holland continues with further examples from the New Testament of the fact that Jesus Christ and God the Father are two separate beings:

With these New Testament sources and more ringing in our ears, it may be redundant to ask what Jesus meant when He said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” On another occasion He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Of His antagonists He said, “[They have] . . . seen and hated both me and my Father.” And there is, of course, that always deferential subordination to His Father that had Jesus say, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” “My father is greater than I.”

To whom was Jesus pleading so fervently all those years, including in such anguished cries as “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”and “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”?

1. “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” (John 5:19)
2. “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38)
3. “[They have] . . . seen and hated both me and my Father.” (John 15:24)
4. “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matt. 19:17)
5. “My father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
6. “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt. 26:39)
7. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”? (Matt. 27:46)

There are countless more examples, as Elder Holland points out. It is hard to imagine reading the New Testament and coming away with anything other than the idea that Jesus Christ and God the Father are two separate beings. Anything else greatly diminishes Jesus Christ and all that he accomplished for us and for his Father.

Elder Holland adds one more quote from the New Testament to his list:

“Christ Jesus . . . being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” (Philippians 2:5-6)

An interesting verse which makes sense when you understand God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate beings, but seems a bit pointless otherwise, nor does it have quite the same meaning for the believer.

Elder Holland moves on from his argument that God and Jesus Christ are separate beings, to argue that God has a glorified body. That we really are made in the image of God! After all, what does Genesis mean when it states in chapter 1:

26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

You really have to scratch your head over these verses if you think God the Father does not have a body. I really have to research the trinitarian interpretation of these scriptures. It should be interesting. And what does the Genesis writer mean by saying in "our" image? Who is the "our"? That only makes sense if God is speaking to someone else.

Here is Elder Holland's argument:

A related reason The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is excluded from the Christian category by some is because we believe, as did the ancient prophets and apostles, in an embodied—but certainly glorified—God. To those who criticize this scripturally based belief, I ask at least rhetorically: If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a trueChristian will want to do that.

Elder Holland asks some tough questions for those who don't believe God has a glorified body.

I can't end without providing Elder Holland's testimony of God and Jesus Christ:

Now, to anyone within the sound of my voice who has wondered regarding our Christianity, I bear this witness. I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after ascending to His Father to complete the process of that Resurrection, He appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name
given under heaven whereby a man can be saved and that only by relying wholly upon His merits, mercy, and everlasting grace can we gain eternal life.

My additional testimony regarding this resplendent doctrine is that in preparation for His millennial latter-day reign, Jesus has already come, more than once, in embodied majestic glory. In the spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy, confused by many of these very doctrines that still confuse much of Christendom, went into a grove of trees to pray. In answer to that earnest prayer offered at such a tender age, the Father and the Son appeared as embodied, glorified beings to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. That day marked the beginning of the return of the true, New Testament gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoration of other prophetic truths offered from Adam down to the present day.

I testify that my witness of these things is true and that the heavens are open to all who seek the same confirmation. Through the Holy Spirit of Truth, may we all know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent.” Then may we live Their teachings and be true Christians in deed, as well as in word, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

(cont'd) And this is life eternal...

Continuing with Elder Holland's talk from my previous post

Continuing with Elder Holland's point:

"We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings..."

A second example he uses to make his case is:

2) His baptism at the hands of John (Matthew 3)

The gospel of Matthew records:

13 ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

In verse 16, Jesus comes out of the waters of baptism and sees the Spirit of God descending upon him, then in verse 17, God the Father speaks from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It is hard to get more direct evidence than that provided by these two versus that God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three individual beings.

3) The Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17)

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them:
and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

Peter, James and John are with Jesus when God the Father proclaims, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." Here is yet another self-evident instance in the New Testament of the separate nature of God the Father, and his son, Jesus Christ.

4) The martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7)

The account of the martyrdom of Stephen provides yet another instance of God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings.

54 ¶ When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

In verse 55, Stephen sees "Jesus standing on the right hand of God", and proclaiming "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

There is no denying the plain witness of the New Testament that God the Father and Jesus Christ are two separate beings.

Elder Holland does not stop there. He continues with more examples. These will be examined in subsequent posts.

(cont'd) And this is life eternal...

Continuing with Elder Holland's talk from my previous post:

We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen—to name just four.

With these New Testament sources and more ringing in our ears, it may be redundant to ask what Jesus meant when He said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” On another occasion He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Of His antagonists He said, “[They have] . . . seen and hated both me and my Father.” And there is, of course, that always deferential subordination to His Father that had Jesus say, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” “My father is greater than I.”

To whom was Jesus pleading so fervently all those years, including in such anguished cries as “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” and “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”?

Elder Holland starts out with:

"We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings..."

Then provides several examples from the scriptures:

1) The Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer (John 17)

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Verse 1 is a perfect self-evident example of the fact that Jesus Christ and God the Father are two separate beings. Is Jesus praying to himself? Of course, if you have already accepted the nature of God as defined in man made creeds, this is exactly what you believe!

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

Verse 2 records Jesus referring to the power his Father has given him. This is yet another self-evident example of the correct nature of God and Jesus. "thou", "him", "he", "thou", "him"... how awkward for someone who believes God and Jesus are the same being! Traditional christian belief has Jesus talking to himself!

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Verse 3 is powerful. In one sentence, Jesus proclaims that life eternal is to know God and Jesus Christ, and in the same sentence Jesus teaches an important fact about God, that Jesus and God the Father are two separate beings, by proclaiming, "and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".

The following verses continue to relentlessly teach Jesus and God the Father are two separate beings:

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.

In the second half of verse 11, Jesus begins to the doctrine of "oneness".

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Jesus asks the Father that his disciples may be one as God the Father and Jesus are one. This oneness cannot refer to the trinity as the disciples cannot be one as the trinitarian God and Jesus are one.

In the following versus, Jesus continues to pray for his disciples, all the while continuing to demonstrate that he is praying to someone other than himself:

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Perhaps a believer in the trinity may say that Jesus is pretending to pray to God the Father for the benefit of those overhearing his prayer. Someone recorded it! Hopefully that idea made you cringe. God is no deceiver.

In the next several versus, Jesus continues teaching about the "oneness" doctrine. He also includes another group in the oneness he desires for his apostles, those who believe Jesus based on the testimony of the apostles about Jesus.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Note in verse 21 that not only does Jesus want the apostles and those who believe their witness of Jesus to be one with each other, but he also wants them to be one with God and Jesus. In verse 22 and 23, Jesus reiterates the nature of the relationship he desires for the apostles and those who believe their witness of Jesus.

that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me

As stated above, the use of the word "one" by Jesus in this prayer refers to something completely different than the trinitarian idea that God the Father and Jesus are one and the same being. So what could it mean?

Jesus is praying that the apostles and those who believe their testimony of Jesus will willingly submit their will to the will of the Father, just as Jesus has. Faith in Jesus and God the Father yields love and humility. A willingness to submit to the will of God naturally follows.


Examing this one self-evident example of the correct nature of God, as recorded in the New Testament, was more involved than I had thought, but I think it is worthwhile. I will continue with Elder Holland's other examples in subsequent posts.