Can the Bible be inspired by God and still be imperfect just as all the Bible translations are not perfectly translated?

Answer 1

Biblical Answer: 2 Timothy 3:16,17 - "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."

2 Peter 1:19-21 - "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, and you are doing well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place (until day dawns and a daystar rises) in your hearts. For you know this first, that no prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation. For prophecy was at no time brought by man's will, but men spoke from God as they were moved by holy spirit."

The Bible itself claims to be the word of God. Although there are many translations and some judgment calls when it comes to translating ancient Hebrew and Greek into modern languages, most scholars agree that the overall message of the Bible is in tact with almost all versions. Some translators may have made mistakes in some places, but with the discoveries of older manuscripts over the centuries a large consensus is that the Bible has been preserved to a remarkable degree.

The Bible tends to interpret itself and is extremely repetitive. Therefore, when a passage may have a questionable rendering or translation, it would be important to look elsewhere in the Bible to see if that rendering is correct or in harmony with other passages. Many Christians feel this is the only way to truly discover what the Bible really teaches.

When it comes down to it all, it would be a matter of faith that God would preserve his word if you believe the Bible is the word of God. The canon choices, the translations, and the preservation of meaning would have to be considered a divinely guided act by God so that his word would be available.

Another Answer There is a difference between being dictated the word of God through an Angel (a revelation) and getting an inspiration. God is perfect. Therefore nothing He says or reveals to human beings can be imperfect. It all just boils down to the question: Do you believe that if there are imperfections in the Bible, then it can be a direct dictation from God. The Gospel reavealed by God to Jesus was perfect. Whatever Jesus said was perfect because he was saying inly what God had told him to say. But to say that today's bible with so many different versions and so many contradictions through translations and otherwise is the original dictation by God to Jesus Christ, in my opinion would not be fair. When you think about it, the word BIBLE itself is not in the bible. It is often called the book of books. I think we should just believe that the Gospel as revealed to Jesus by God was the perfect word of God. Though it is not possible to find it, but let's not think the God's word can be imperfect.

Another Answer The first answer is "begging the question" by presupposition that there's a god (small g) and there was a Jesus. You got proof outside the Bible and the fraudulent insertion in the works of Josephus? Back to the question; The imperfection of the Bible is caused by different interpretation of the Author's (mostly anonymous) different hearsay source. None was written during, or immediately after the event happened. It's mostly the runaway Hebrew's campfire talk and fables..

Another Answer (Note: the following assumes the "presupposition" that there is a God (big G), that Jesus did exist, and that the historical writings of Josephus were as accurate as any others. This is not the place to discuss those details!) Every single one of us has our own ideas, presuppositions, and biases. In that sense none of us are "perfect." For that matter, our own definition of "perfect" cannot be considered to be "perfect" at all; how can imperfection create perfection? If the Bible is at all important, then God would preserve the important information. That doesn't mean it meets 21st century standards of "perfection" or accuracy or precision, nor should it be expected to do so; for that matter, no historical account should, since the standards were different then. On the other hand, those who choose to keep their minds open to the possibility that their idea of "perfection" may be wrong may be able to see what God is trying to tell us all through the Bible, even with the imperfections generated by human transcription and translation difficulties. Mother Teresa is not perfect but she lived an inspiring life. We can believe in her and respect and learn from her. I think the same about the bible. God's revelation is perfect but human's translation and communication is far from perfection. The bible's translation may not be perfect but it is still inspiring to humanity down through the history. We can still believe that it is God's revelation and respect and learn from it just like we can believe, respect and learn from Mother Teresa.

Another Answer First, the word bible does appear in the bible, several times. Bible comes from the Greek biblos, which simply means book. The word is used in some places to refer to book in general, in other places it refers to specific books of the Hebrew Scriptures, and in other places it refers to the Greek Scriptures, or books of the Greek Scriptures. In Revelation, believers are warned not to add a word to, or delete a word from, this "book". Some interpret this to mean the entire bible, others consider it to refer to Revelation only. In any event, if we are to concede that the bible is not flawless (few would disagree) then a monumental problem surfaces. Who gets to decide what parts are "reliable" and what parts are dispensible? Parts of the material that are not reliable may be just the parts that resonate with my own biases and hatreds. This makes the material far more dangerious than if people just accepted it as a remarkable human effort.

Another Answer Some 'truths' are not inspired by god or gods. If god is perfect, then his book must also be perfect. If the book is "imperfect" then it's not inspired by a perfect god.

Another Answer The Bible we have known today is a compilation of books and letters which most of them attributed from unknown authors and questionable sources. It is actually a reconstructed document which is a product of translation, interpolation, substitution and speculation after the originals were lost. It is supposedly to contain the originals, namely: the Hanif of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms and Proverbs of David and Solomon and lastly the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all in one. Unfortunately, everything did not end well because of so much imperfection, contradiction and confusion they had encountered in their reconstruction effort it can never be closed and worthy to be called as God's inspired book.

Another Answer After reading the Bible several times, especially 1 Samuel, Joshua 6 and Noah's flood, I came to the conclusion that no rational man (at least for me) can accept that the Bible was inspired by a god. A god for me is kind and compassion regardless..... The punishment meted is not commensurate to the crime of not believing. The god of the Bible made himself known only to the Hebrews. He did not make himself known to the other tribes.

Another Answer Words.. If they are spoken they are nothing more than vibrations in the air. If they are written they are nothing more than ink on a page. If those words are "inspired" by another human being's experience of the One and the evoke an understanding in you that helps you experience the One in a manner that transcends time and space, that is the Word. If you're going to read the Bible because someone told you it was Truth, you probably won't get it. I like the description of the Bible as a "lamp unto my feet". They are still your feet, you still have to take responsiblity for where they go. If the Bible sheds light on that Path, great. If you find another lamp somewere else, God be with you. The Word, in the ancient Hebrew context, is the essence of creation and that which eminates directly from God. The Word by definition must transcend ink on a page. I believe the Bible can assist in the discernment of the Word, but no man's words and no man's book can equate to the Word. Yes, the Bible can be inspired by God. Yes, an inspired book can still be imperfect (not because of God, but because of translation problems, human interaction with the original text, etc.) I think the Mormon Church hits it on the head when they say as one of their main beliefs that "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly."