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A Book that Invades your Dreams

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Lots of us read books for enjoyment during our waking hours, for entertainment and educational purposes.

I am currently reading a book which provides me with some entertainment (or is it education?) during my sleeping hours as well.

experiment-with-time-j-w-dunneThe book is An Experiment with Time by JW Dunne. If you end up buying this book, be warned: It was written over 100 years ago, and much of it is cumbersome, tiring, technical reading. But if you can get past some of that, the ideas are rather surprising, and as I said, provide you with something to think about while you sleep.

The basic idea behind the book is that all of us have dreams about the future. Yes, you too.

If you follow a few suggestions that Dunne makes in recording and reviewing your dreams, you will realize that you regularly dream about future events.

I am not done with the book yet, and I am not doing a very good job following the suggestions of Dunne in recording my dreams. But I have noticed one thing: I find myself thinking about the book in my dreams, and even taking steps inside my dreams that the book suggests. I don’t think that has ever happened to me with any book before. It is very strange.

I’m only about 1/3 of the way through the book, and so far, I haven’t had any dreams about the future (that I’m aware of), but then, I’m not really following Dunne’s suggestions either. Part of this is because I just don’t see the point. His dreams about future events are about things he reads in the newspaper, or events he later hears about at a family gathering. As far as I can tell (so far), he didn’t have dreams about anything useful. You know, things that would save lives, or keep him from making a bad decision.

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The Bible Contains Errors

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Now that I have summarized what I was taught in Bible College and Seminary about the inerrancy of Scripture (Inerrancy 1, Inerrancy 2, Inerrancy 3, Inerrancy 4), let me turn to asking the questions about inerrancy that I had neither the time nor the courage to ask while I was in seminary.

Let’s with this statement:

The Bible is not inerrant. It does contain errors.

Before you call me a heretic, let me say that I pulled that statement right out of my Bible College class notes. And I didn’t go to some liberal college either. Moody Bible Institute is about as conservative as you can get. The year I started there, they finally decided to let females wear pants to class.

Is the Bible Inerrant?

So what did my Professor mean when he said that? He meant, as is universally known and accepted, that the Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible are copies of ancient manuscripts, and these copies have textual errors which have crept in over the course of time. Not all the copies are in full agreement with each other. Therefore, the Bible has errors.

The bible has errors

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Arguments Against Inerrancy

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Is the Bible Inerrant?

My seminary class notes present refutations for several of the common arguments against inerrancy. I remember not being too impressed by these refutations at the time, but now, some of them seem quite absurd.

Do not misunderstand. I believe in inerrancy. But I believe a slightly different version of it than what I learned in seminary. We will discuss my view later this week. (If you are new here, make sure you subscribe to the posts so you don’t miss out).

So here are some of the typical arguments against inerrancy, and how to refute them. I include my own comments in parentheses.

Cults Teach the Inerrancy of Scripture

The argument here is that inerrancy cannot be right because some of the biggest proponents of inerrancy are found in the teachings of cult leaders. They use the doctrine of inerrancy to support their outlandish teachings from the Bible. Therefore, inerrancy must be wrong.

Refutation: So what if they teach it? They teach all sorts of things that agree with sound Christian doctrine. So do other religions. Similarity in teachings does not mean that the teaching is wrong.

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How to Solve Biblical Difficulties

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bible mistakes

When dealing with the inerrancy of Scripture, it is important to recognize that there are typically only 24 problems that people point to, and of these, only 12 are fairly serious.

Here are some examples:

  • Genesis 1:11-12 says that the land produced vegetation, but in Genesis 2:5-7, it says that no shrub had yet sprung up from the land.
  • Many people like to ask, “Where did Cain get his wife?” Genesis 4:17 says that he had a wife, but up to this point in the text, the only people on earth were Adam, Eve, and Cain (Abel was born, but murdered).
  • Number 25:9 says that 24,000 died in a plague, but in talking about the same plague, 1 Corinthians 10:8 says that 23,000 died.
  • In 2 Samuel 24:1, we read that God incited David to take a census of Israel, but 1 Chronicles 21:1 says that it was Satan who incited David.

How can apparent errors in Scripture be solved?

There are, of course, way more than just 24 problem passages in the Bible.

Guidelines for Solving Biblical Difficulties

There are some basic guidelines for solving all biblical difficulties. Here is what I was taught in seminary:

  1. Recognize that the existence of tensions and apparent contradictions is not something new in the study of Scripture.
  2. The admission of certain textual problems is an honest and open response that invites study and positive evaluation.
  3. Be clear about the distinction between actual and apparent errors.
  4. Realize that the resolution of these problems must take place within an interpretive framework that takes account of the Bible as a whole.
  5. Remember that the doctrine of inerrancy teaches that solutions to problems in Scripture do exist, but the doctrine itself does not guarantee a ready solution.
  6. Recognize that there are currently unexplained difficulties, but this does not mean that they will always be unexplained. Further research in linguistics, archaeology, science, and Scripture may uncover a solution in the future. Many of the difficult Scriptural problems from previous centuries have been solved this way in recent years to the satisfaction of both Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals alike.

What do you think of these six points? To critics of biblical inerrancy, it sounds like we Christians are making the same argument as this man uses:
Bible errors
Is this what we do with Scripture? Do we need to be right so much that we arrogantly blind ourselves to the errors of Scripture, and when we cannot “explain away” some of them, we simply say, “Well, someday the Bible will be proved right”?

Or is it true that we really, truly have a book which is absolutely, completely free of all errors?

Inerrancy of Scripture (Seminary Notes)

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As with this entire series on Blogging through my Seminary notes, I begin by summarizing what I was taught in seminary. Here is what I was taught about the Inerrancy of Scripture.

What the Inerrancy of Scripture Means

The most basic understanding of the Inerrancy of Scripture is that Scripture has “no error” or is “without error.”

This means that the Bible is a record of things as they actually were, and a true account of those things about which it speaks.

A more detailed definition is as follows:

Inerrancy is the doctrine that the Bible teaches no error of any kind, whether doctrinal, ethical, historical, or scientific. All of the teachings are in perfect harmony with reality.

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When Someone Says, “I’m smarter than you!”

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I'm Smarter than you!Nobody says to a dog, “I’m smarter than you!”

Why not?

Because they know they are smarter.

Therefore, people only say, “I’m smarter than you!” when they know they are not.

So the next time someone says, “I’m smarter than you!” just smile and thank them for the compliment.

I am Always Right

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Rush LimbaughI was listening to Talk Radio the other day, and an advertisement came on by Rush Limbaugh in which he said he is always right. He said something like this: “I, Rush Limbaugh, the all-seeing one, the all-knowing, the omnipotent, the omnipresent, the omnivorous…”

I just had to laugh, because the “all-knowing” one just claimed to be “all-eating.” Omnivorous means that he eats everything. Carnivores eat meat. Herbivores eat plants. Omnivores eat both.

I really doubt this is what he meant to say. It sounds like he was trying to come with “Omni-” words, and without really knowing what they all mean, just spouted out a few. This mistake is understandable, since those are some “big words” but what really surprised me was this excerpt made it into a radio ad spot. Does everyone just assume Rush is always right, and so whatever he says must be accurate?

It seems so.

It also seems that we should not be hasty in blindly trusting the words of men.

Can We Trust the Bible?

But what about when it comes to the Bible? Cannot we simply assume that since the Bible is “God’s Holy Word” that it is completely accurate in everything written within it’s pages?

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Most Inspired Comments

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Blog CommentsI am going to end the series on Inspiration (for now), and move on to the issues of canonicity, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture. If that sounds boring, don’t worry, I’ll spice it up for you.

I want to thank you for all the great comments and feedback you provided on inspiration. If you missed the comments of others, here are some of the best. They were so good, I wonder if they are “inspired”? Just kidding!

Throughout the entire series, Dylan Dodson, from Looking for Purpose, asked great questions. At one point, he stated that he is writing from a position of practical concern, which is where all questions of theology should come from:

Lastly, inspiration of scripture hits very close to home for me. I am currently a college student getting a degree in philosophy and religion, and am in a department full of atheists and agnostics (professors included). I have seen all of the “secular” beliefs of how the bible came to be written and canonized, and can attest to the dangers and how simply un-authoritative the bible becomes if it is in fact not inspired by God. I know that if I did not bible that the bible was both infallible and inerrant, I would not believe in it.

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The Inspiration of Nature

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Inspiration of Nature

Many are confused about how to approach Scripture. Should we approach it like a novel or history book to be read and enjoyed? Or should we approach it like a text book to be studied and analyzed? The answer is: Yes.

It is helpful if we remember that both the Bible and nature are forms of divine revelation, and based on this, realize that we can approach Scripture in the same way we approach nature.

How does one approach nature?

You can approach it as a scientist, seeking to categorize, systematize, and organize it, or you can approach it like a person who sits in their backyard, listening to the birds and watching the sunset. He also is encountering, appreciating, and enjoying nature, but in a much different way, for a much different purpose, with a much different result.

And the two approaches must not mock each other.

The scientist must not sneer at the guy sitting in his back yard enjoying the sunset, saying, “He doesn’t know anything about nature. I have my degrees, and advanced research tools. I am a research professor at a prestigious university. I have published books and articles. That man knows nothing of nature.”

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What is the Best Bible Translation?

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best bible TranslationPeople often ask, “What is the best Bible translation?”

As I indicated yesterday, there really is no best Bible translation. The best Bible translation all depends on what you want to accomplish with your Bible reading, devotional habits, or study plan. Other factors to consider are whether or not you will be preaching or teaching the Bible to others, or whether you are just reading the Bible for understanding and inspiration.

But here is my basic simple guide for helping you pick the best Bible translation for your purposes and goals.

The Best Bible Translation for Preaching and Teaching

I would recommend one of the following:

  • New King James Version (NKJV)
  • New American Standard (NAS)
  • English Standard Version (ESV)
  • Revised Standard Version (RSV).

These all are quite accurate translations of the Biblical text, and so are good for preaching and teaching. As you look at these Bible translations in the charts below, you can see that they all fall on the “Formal Equivalent” or “Word for Word’ approach to translation, rather than the “Dynamic Equivalent” or “Paraphrase” approach.

However, I think that when most people ask about the best Bible translation, they are probably not pastors or teachers, and simply want to read the Bible and learn what God says in Scripture.

The Best Bible Translation for Reading and Personal Devotions

So when I recommend the best Bible translations for reading and personal devotions, I often recommend one of the following:

  • New King James Version (NKJV)
  • New International Version (NIV)
  • New Living Translation (NLT)

I know that most might think that the NLT is a paraphrase, but this is because of it’s similarity with “The Living Bible” which is a true paraphrase. The New Living Translation is an actual translation of the Bible in the “Dynamic Equivalent” approach

Now, there is a third category of best Bible translations, and it this:

The Best Bible Translation for Tradition and Religious Tone

By far, the best Bible translation for the tradition of Christianity is the King James Version. It is highly poetic, and most religious traditions and religious rites were written using the King James Version of the Bible.

So which one is truly the Best Bible Translation?

Really, the best Bible translation is the one you enjoy reading.

The best Bible translation will be the one that, when you are reading it, you forget you are reading “the Bible.” The one that, when you are reading it, you don’t have an urge to pull out a Bible Dictionary, or put together an outline for your next sermon. The one that, when you are reading it, you forget to “look for the main point” and just enjoy the story, the poetry, or the letter which is being read.

I suggest spending several hours (yes, that is how long it will take), and go down to a local Christian bookstore, getting a cup of coffee, and pulling all the Bible translations off the shelf and then just flip them open and start reading. The one that you have trouble putting down is the best Bible translation for you.

Lots of people who have done this find that Eugene Peterson’s The Message is the best Bible translation for them, but I could never really get into that version.

For myself, I chose the New King James Version. I felt that it had the accuracy I wanted for my preaching, teaching, and study, the readability of some of the other translations, and the style of the traditional King James. This is the best Bible translation for me, and is the one I have been using now for almost 20 years.

A young girl once wrote a letter to C. S. Lewis complaining about “silly adventure stories without any point.” He wrote back (as he did with all the letters he received from children), saying this:

I’m not quite sure what you meant about “silly adventure stories without any point.” If they are silly, then having a point won’t save them. But if they are good in themselves, and if by a “point” you mean some truth about the real world which one can take out of the story, I’m not sure that I agree.

At least, I think that looking for a “point” in that sense may prevent one sometimes from getting the real effect of the story in itself — like listening too hard for the words in singing which isn’t meant to be listened to that way (like an anthem in a chorus). –From Letters to Children, p. 35.

So which is the best Bible translationt? The one you can read without “looking for the point.” I think that in some sense, Bible study methods and Hermeneutics have ruined the Bible. It would be far better if most of us just read the Bible to get the “real effect of the story in itself.” I encourage picking a Bible translation which will help do that for you. For this, I usually recommend the NLT, The Message, but if you also want to study and teach the Bible, then I highly recommend the NKJV.

For those of you who want a more detailed explanation of the various Bible translations, and the strengths and weaknesses of each, here are some charts and graphs.

Bible Translation Charts and Graphs

This first chart is for “literal” translations. Those near the top try to translate each Greek and Hebrew word literally, and as close as possible to the original word order. Of course, that makes them somewhat difficult to read and understand. Those at the bottom are considered “paraphrases.” They take the idea of a sentence or paragraph, and then try to express that idea in modern language.

bible-translation-graph

The following chart is similar to the one above, but shows it a little differently.

bible translation

The following chart shows where our translations came from, and how the translations relate to one another. You see that although many translations try to be straight from the Greek or Hebrew, they also build on previous translations, so that if a particular translation has a long tradition, the tradition might get carried forward, even if that way of translating the word or idea is not the best.
Bible-Translation-tree

I included the following chart because I thought it was funny. It is not helpful for me at all. It is no wonder that people are confused about Bible translations when they see something like this. Of course, the rest of the charts may not be that helpful either….

Bible Translation continuum

Finally, here is a chart which briefly describes the style and features of various translations, and then gives a sample verse for comparison.

guide-to-bible-translations

So which Bible translation do you use, and why do you use it? What do you think is the best Bible translation?

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